School Superintendent proud of his legacy

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. -- Retiring Duval County School Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals began his final state of the schools address moments after board members began discussing contract terms for his replacement.

Pratt-Dannals said, "We've come a long way. We still have a long way to go. But we built a foundation as Dr. Vitti comes in."

The board last week selected Miami-Dade assistant school superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti to take the helm of Duval schools when Pratt-Dannals retires in December after five years as superintendent.
 
"When you look back at five years. It really looks impressive," said Pratt-Dannals. 

He touted higher test scores and lower drop out rates.

But the district has also had multiple teachers arrested for child sex charges in recent months.  Pratt-Dannals did lead the district through national economic turmoil which led to budget constraints.
 
More than half of the district's school buildings are more than 50 years old.  He hopes the next superintendent will be able to replace an infrastructure among the oldest in the state.

The school board still has to agree on contract terms with the new superintendent.