School superintendent search

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- With Ed Pratt-Dannals retiring, the hunt is well underway for a new superintendent to lead the entire district of almost 200 schools.

"They expect you to come in as a white knight with a magic wand to change things overnight," says former Duval School Superintendent John Fryer, "It doesn't work that way."

Fryer told Action News running these schools will take years to accomplish your objectives. But that kind of time is rarely afforded to superintendents in a school system this large.

Fryer got seven years, but a superintendent in a district like this gets on average less than three years.

His advice for applicants is to conduct extensive research on the complexities and issues related to this unique district. "Some of the candidates who competed against me had not done any of that homework and I think that was their deficiency," said Fryer.

As of this date, only four people (all women) have submitted applications for the superintendent's job. A woman has never before held the post as leader of Duval Schools. The deadline for applications is July 23rd. The district expects the vast majority of applications to be submitted in the few days prior to the deadline.