So long
Pinellas Superintendent Clayton Wilcox, left, e-mailed this short goodbye to all district employees this morning:
"Thank you for the honor of serving the children and young people of Pinellas County with you. I am proud of our efforts and grateful to each of you for your support of "our" kids and their families.
"I wish each and every one of you only the best of what life has to offer."
Wilcox's last official work day is Tuesday, but he is taking vacation time until then. He begins a job soon with New York-based Scholastic Corp. Interim superintendent Julie Janssen has the keys to the district for the time being.
And because you were planning your summer vacation around the superintendent search, The Gradebook brings you the schedule for finding Wilcox's successor.
July 11: Deadline for applications.
July 14-25: Background checks of the top 10 applicants are conducted by Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association and the district's search consultant.
July 28: School Board and Blanton meet to select five finalists.
Aug. 27-29: Candidates visit Pinellas to interview with board members.
The board may schedule visits to the workplace and home city of one or more finalists. A final selection may come in late September or early October
Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
Only an insane person would take that job and deal with the people of this county.
Posted by: Kevin | May 30, 2008 at 04:26 PM
A profound loss to this community. What a shame. He is a great person, a dedicated professional. The people that hired him never gave him the change to succeed. Too bad.
At the same time, Julie is very cool, and very capable... (-:
Posted by: mayo | May 30, 2008 at 04:42 PM
Well its nice to see him gone, now we can find a replacement that will give our childern and schools what they needed. PS Julie, he was given many chances to prove himself look at his track record.
Posted by: Chris | May 30, 2008 at 05:27 PM
Julie Janssen was the head of the Center for Advanced Technologies at Lakewood High when my sons were there. She is super. She is professional, intelligent, caring, and did a wonderful job at CAT. I think she would be the best choice for Pinellas County. After all, she is a known quantity.
Posted by: Sharon | May 30, 2008 at 05:28 PM
Julie Jannsen should do a great job.
Clayt? He can go blow all of Scholastic's money on useless software, have his office painted and re-carpeted 3 times, etc. We wouldn't have nearly the budget crisis we have now if not for him. Those in the general public who thinks he's great have NO idea.
Posted by: Keith | May 30, 2008 at 06:18 PM
I'm happy he never got the "wall" of video monitors he wanted. Oh, and remember Sterling????
Posted by: Ron | May 30, 2008 at 06:19 PM
I think he was a great superintendent who really cared about Pinellas County children as well as its' schools. I wish he would have made the decision to stay and to be able to complete his work here.
Posted by: Lisa | May 30, 2008 at 06:34 PM
THE NEXT SUPER SHOULD AND WILL BE
"JULIE JANNSEN "
Posted by: weird Al | May 30, 2008 at 06:41 PM
good riddance slick willy
Posted by: | May 30, 2008 at 08:37 PM