Former Florida commissioner Pam Stewart in running to lead Volusia County schools

Pam Stewart didn’t expect her career in education to completely end after she retired as Florida education commissioner in late 2018.

She just said she needed time to think about what her next step might be.

Fast forward six months, and Stewart has an idea. She’s popped up as one of eight candidates to serve as interim superintendent for Volusia County schools, where the School Board recently decided to drop Tom Russell and seek new leadership, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

“My main focus would be to ensure that everything necessary is in place to begin the 2019-2020 school year on a positive trajectory for success in moving the district to an A grade,” she wrote in her cover letter to the board. “Particularly in the last five years of my career, as Florida’s Commissioner of Education, I’ve grown to believe in the potential of all students and our role as educators to ensure they reach that potential.”

Volusia is the largest in-state competitor to Hillsborough County looking for a chief executive. It anticipates having an interim superintendent for at least six months while it searches for a permanent leader.

In addition to serving as education commissioner for much of the Rick Scott administration, Stewart has also worked as a teacher, principal and district-level administrator in several Florida districts, including St. Johns and Marion.