Pinellas County's school board members select Kevin Hendrick as next superintendent

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Pinellas County School Board decided Tuesday who the district's next superintendent will be. Before noon, they chose Kevin Hendrick.

Hendrick was the district's only internal finalist, and he currently serves as the district’s chief academic officer. He has worked with the administration for several years. Before stepping into his current role, he worked as the principal of Northeast High School where he was able to transform the school from a D-rated school into an A-rated school in just a few years. He said he has similar goals for the district as a whole.

Hendrick is also graduated from Largo High School and has lived in the Pinellas County community for 35 years, according to the district.

The school board held a special meeting Tuesday to select the next superintendent, who will replace Dr. Michael Grego who retires after 10 years. Last week, they narrowed it down to three different candidates, and the district said all of them are highly qualified and eager to step into the role. 

The district started with 19 different candidates, but through a lengthy interview process and input from the public, they’ve narrowed it down to Hendrick, Michael Ramirez, and Ann Hembrook.

Ramirez is the deputy superintendent for Denver Public Schools. He does have some Florida background though as he worked in administration in Broward County before moving to Denver. He brings with him valuable knowledge as he has experience in implementing the Progress Monitoring Model that Florida will be using next school year. That means testing will happen throughout the year, not just at the end

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Hembrook used to work as an elementary school teacher, but she now serves as the Marion County Schools superintendent. She previously worked in Nevada and Orange County before moving to Ocala. During her time as superintendent, she’s done a lot for her district, including starting leadership tours of the schools and helping them all perform up to state standards. She says her priority is always her students.

Last week, a community meet-and-greet was held to give the candidates a chance to answer questions, while also giving the public a chance to draw their own conclusions and give their input on the finalists. In addition, the candidates have spent the past few weeks interviewing with school board members both individually and as a group. 

Contract negotiations scheduled to start the next day. The new superintendent will officially step into their role on July 1.