Manatee School Board fires superintendent

Mainly citing concerns over communication, the Manatee County School Board last week fired Superintendent Jason Wysong with just over 13 months remaining on his contract. Kevin Chapman, the school district's chief of staff, was named interim leader. His compensation will be determined at a future school board meeting. 

Leading up to the 3-2 vote to end Wysong’s three-year contract early, School Board members complained about Wysong’s lack of engagement with them, slow responses to questions or emails and complaints from the public.

One school board member even said Wysong nodded off in a meeting.

Parents, on the other hand, sang Wysong’s praises and questioned the timing of a special meeting on a Tuesday morning after being scheduled the previous Friday.

Parrish resident Jenn Williams described the timing of the meeting “suspicious.” She has two children who attend McNeal Elementary School. She said the four-hour meeting was her first.

“Everything I’ve seen and heard were that Dr. Wysong was doing a great job,” she said. “I’m shocked that adults in a position of authority could get away with firing someone in this manner, but they did. Manatee County employees and students will be the ones to suffer because of the grudge these three held against a common enemy.”

School Board members Chad Choate, Charlie Kennedy and Cindy Spray voted to end the contract without cause. Heather Felton and Richard Tatem voted against it, preferring to go through “counseling instead of divorce” as Tatem put it. 

Wysong said he was “certainly dismayed we’ve reached this point.” In a letter to employees, he wrote:  “A few moments ago, our School Board voted to make a change in the Superintendent’s office. Although our journey together has been much shorter than I expected, I am departing SDMC with many wonderful memories of meeting students, attending events, and watching you do great work to support children in our beautiful community.”

The main concerns that were presented by Kennedy had to do with Wysong’s communication skills. He said he had sometimes received no response from Wysong when issues were raised.

“Think about how many people rely on him for decisions,” Felton said. “Yes, we are his bosses, but he gets hundreds of emails a day. If you’re not getting a response, shoot him a text.”

Felton said she sees Wysong at just about every event they are invited to and sees it as a positive thing.

“He is engaged. He will speak to anyone that wants to talk to him,” Felton said.

Choate said he felt Wysong spent too much time doing those things, acting as an assistant superintendent rather than the superintendent.

Wysong said it was fair criticism and he could have spent more time in the office and answering emails. He said he was humbled to head up the leadership team and said they are in good hands with or without him.

“I do wish there was a path forward, I think my style of work is adaptable to the board’s expectations,” said Wysong.

“Tone is not always there, all right, but I still have absolute trust in what he's doing," Felton said. "I see his integrity and I see his heart."

Tatem said he and the board have failed Wysong in the sense of not providing enough feedback and said he could have mentored him better to avoid a situation like this.

“At least try counseling before divorce,” Tatem said to his fellow board members.

Tatem questioned what kind of message the firing sends to the public and people in the workforce, as Wysong was not doing anything unethical or illegal. He said Wysong has good morals and the metrics of the school district were headed in the right direction.

“Who’s going to come to fill the position knowing the last guy was fired without cause?” Tatem said.

Previous superintendent Cynthia Saunders was promoted to the position in 2018 from roles as executive director of secondary schools and then the interim superintendent. She retired in June 2023. Wysong had previously been a deputy superintendent in Seminole County.

School district attorney Stephen Dye said that anyone who goes through termination without cause, as Wysong was, is entitled to 90-day notice with full compensation. On top of that, a severance payment of up to 20 weeks will be provided. On July 3, 2023 Wysong was sworn in on a three-year contract with a starting salary of $235,000.

This salary and employment package is another reason why Kennedy expressed concern and said it was unfair that Wysong was able to negotiate a higher salary than his predecessor. He also said he felt as if Wysong wasn’t always paying attention to him when he was speaking.

While Kennedy was running for his current seat on the school board, he was invited to a meeting with Wysong for all the candidates.

“The superintendent dozed off on me twice during that meeting,” Kennedy said. “I said it's probably been a long day, it was the end of the work day. So I said, thank you and I left.”

Wysong said he was leaving with integrity intact, and that it has been a privilege for him to serve Manatee County schools.