Rendell named Brevard Public Schools superintendent: Here's what we know
Just more than five months after Brevard's superintendent was ousted by the then-newly elected board and following two months of searching for a replacement, Mark Rendell — principal at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School — was chosen this week to take on the role.
The decision was not unanimous. Three board members cited familiarity with Brevard, gains in his previous district and community support as a reason for choosing him, while two opposed making him superintendent, saying he could further divide the community and that the other candidates were more qualified.
Here's what we know from Tuesday's meeting regarding the choice of Rendell, whose start date has yet to be determined, and what happens from here.
3 board members favored Rendell
On Tuesday, the board named Rendell as the new superintendent with a vote of 3-2. Board Chair Matt Susin and board members Gene Trent and Megan Wright voted in favor of Rendell, with board members Katye Campbell and Jennifer Jenkins voting against his placement in the role.
Those in favor of Rendell taking on the position cited community support as a major reason for making him the new superintendent.
“The local support for this guy was like out of control,” Susin said. “I had mayors, I had church leaders — a church leader from a mile and a half from my house was saying, ‘Hey, this is the guy you need to support.’ Community, friends, staff — a lot of our staff are coming to me and saying that Rendell is a good choice.”
Trent shared the same sentiment, saying many people had spoken to him in favor of Rendell.
“I’ve had endless conversations, from the Publix supermarkets to walking down the street with students,” he said. “Countless teachers (say) the same as that.”
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Wright echoed the feeling that there was community support. She added that she felt Rendell was open to feedback, saying he had asked for an exit interview after he was not given the interim superintendent position in 2022.
“I took him up on the offer of, ‘Hey, let’s sit down and have coffee and have that conversation,’ and so I gave him my feedback on what it was that I was looking for, and some things that, you know, maybe to do differently or think about differently,” she said.
When Rendell interviewed for the superintendent position about four months later, the change was noticeable, she said.
“I was grateful for him to listen and then take that feedback, and then to humble yourself enough to say, ‘Hey, what is it that I’m doing wrong or that you didn’t like, and what should I do differently?’ I think that that speaks tremendous amounts of volume to me as a person on somebody who’s willing to take feedback," Wright said.
Trent also cited some of Rendell’s points of success in Indian River County as a reason for choosing him as superintendent, including an increase in graduation rates, test scores, reading scores for third-grade students and enrollment in advanced placement and career and technical education courses.
“Everything revolved around student achievement — that runs everything,” he said.
Jenkins and Campbell voted against Rendell
Both Campbell and Jenkins brought up concerns that Rendell would further divide the board and community, citing his controversial exit from Indian River County, where he served as superintendent from 2015 to 2019. These controversies included complaints of student and staff discipline issues, a poor work environment and concerns about the district’s finances, with a review by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents revealing issues within the human resource department that it said contributed to problems handling discipline and employee misconduct.
Campbell and Jenkins both said they also felt the other two finalists — Scott Schneider, chief of schools in Duval County; and Jason Wysong, a deputy superintendent in Seminole county — were more qualified for the superintendent role.
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“To me there were absolutely two candidates that stood out,” Jenkins said of the two out-of-town finalists. “There were two candidates that have an insane level of knowledge and experience in a large district.”
While Campbell acknowledged Rendell had the most feedback out of the three finalists, she said that was to be expected because “he’s the local guy.” She added that the feedback was polarized, whereas feedback for at least one of the other candidates was mainly positive.
Jenkins agreed, saying it wasn’t unusual to receive support “from people who support you daily.”
“I think today there is a decision that will be made that will continue the chaos in Brevard Public Schools,” she said moments before Trent made a motion to make Rendell the superintendent.
What was the selection process?
Rendell was one of 33 candidates to initially apply between Feb. 24 and March 31. From there, the board voted for 11 semi-finalists on April 4, then for four finalists on April 18 after reviewing written and video responses to board-submitted questions.
One finalist, John Stratton, superintendent of Hernando County, withdrew on April 25 due to a controversy surrounding a teacher allegedly making threats against students in the district, bringing the finalist pool down to three.
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Though the pool of 33 initial applicants was only a fraction of the number of applicants seen in 2015, which drew 106 applicants, Susin refuted the idea that Brevard had performed poorly in their superintendent search.
“We are the school district that had the most applicants across the (state),” Susin said, adding that Charlotte had 22, Manatee had 27, Osceola had 32 and Broward had 26. “We have positioned Brevard for success and we’ve had the most applicants and I just wanted that to be known.”
Both Wysong and Schneider were also named as finalists for the superintendent position in Manatee County. Rendell applied only to the superintendent position in Brevard. He also applied for the interim position after Mark Mullins was removed from the position in November 2022, but was turned down for the job.
What comes next?
Rendell’s contract will be finalized at the next school board meeting, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. His start date will be negotiated by Rendell and the board prior to the meeting, according to a statement by BPS spokesperson Russell Bruhn.
“Brevard has been my home, both professionally and personally, for most of my career, so that makes this extra special,” Rendell said via Bruhn’s emailed statement. “I am excited to close out the school year at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School and get to work on this new challenge.”
Rendell is third superintendent since November
Rendell will be the third person leading the district since former Superintendent Mark Mullins was ousted in November. Robert Schiller served in an interim role beginning in January of this year with his contract set to expire in May, though that position was cut short after a public falling-out in March. In an internal 12-page memo, Schiller blasted the board on their "immaturity" at meetings and the short timeline for finding a new superintendent.
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The email was sent in February. He was placed on leave during a March board meeting that lasted until 11 p.m., with Schiller and the board going back and forth regarding the situation for about an hour.
Sue Hann, assistant superintendent of facilities, was named acting superintendent immediately following Schiller's removal.
During Tuesday's meeting, Susin said he had previously spoken to Hann about filling the role until they could find a permanent replacement prior to Schiller's hiring, though she declined at the time.
Jenkins questioned why Hann wasn't kept on as superintendent, or why another member of BPS' cabinet wasn't promoted if they were hiring a superintendent from the district.
"If we were intending on tapping on somebody from within this district, quite frankly, I'd be tapping on a cabinet member and somebody who had a greater depth of experience or who has already sat in the seat here in Brevard and done an impeccable job," she said. "It's hard for me to replace a person in that position with somebody else from within our county that quite frankly had that opportunity somewhere else."
Mullins, who worked with the district for nearly 30 years, stepped down from the superintendent position when the topic of not renewing his contract was brought up by the newly elected board at a November 2022 meeting, with Wright, Trent and Susin sharing the opinion that they needed new leadership. He stepped down before the issue could be brought to a vote.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or [email protected]. Twitter: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Rendell is chosen as Brevard's school superintendent. What comes next?
