Manatee County School Board names interim superintendent

Manatee County School Board members Monday night named Bob Gagnon as interim superintendent of schools, after accepting a letter of resignation from Superintendent Tim McGonegal.

McGonegal's resignation was effective immediately. He previously had planned to retire in February.

Gagnon, who moved into his role as assistant superintendent of teaching and learning about seven months ago, agreed to fill the interim role under the conditions he could apply for the permanent superintendent position if desired, the district would undergo an independent budget audit and his job would be protected under a new superintendent.

School Board members also delayed adoption of the school district's budget to give themselves time to better grapple with findings the district is facing a $3.4 million deficit.

McGonegal on Sept. 7 made public the error, noting salaries and benefits for 66 teachers had been accidentally excluded from the budget, as had allocations for high school text books.

For a full story, see this week's issue of the East County Observer.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].