The Brevard County (Fla.) school board has selected a principal at one of the district's high schools as its new superintendent.
Florida Today reports that Mark Rendell, principal of the district's Cocoa Beach Junior-Senior High School and a former superintendent in the Indian River County (Fla.) district, will lead the 74,000-student Brevard district.
Rendell was the only finalist for the job with history in Brevard County. He began as a teacher in 1993 and later was an assistant principal and principal. He also has worked as deputy superintendent in the St. Lucie County (Fla.) district and was superintendent for Indian River County Schools from 2015 to 2019.
Rendell will be the third superintendent since the board ousted former superintendent Mullins in November. The newly elected board discussed the possibility of not renewing Mullins’ contract, and Mullins stepped down before it could be brought to a vote.
Following Mullins’ resignation, Robert Schiller was chosen as interim superintendent and took on the role in January. However, after a public falling-out that involved an internal memo from Schiller blasting the board’s superintendent search timeline and “immaturity” during board meetings, he was placed on leave during a March board meeting. Acting superintendent Sue Hann was appointed immediately following his removal.
The search for a superintendent brought in 33 candidates from around the nation. The field was narrowed down to 11 Floridian semifinalists April 4. From there, the board chose four finalists at a meeting on April 18.
This superintendent search brought in far fewer applicants than a 2015 search, which attracted 106 applicants.
