The Duval County School Board could face a bidding war for its next superintendent.
Chairwoman Betty Burney said it is the board’s goal to select a new superintendent before the Aug. 14 election for board members, with that individual being on the job by the end of the year.
Outgoing Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, whose contract was not renewed, is leaving Dec. 31.
Competition, however, is fierce nationwide for high-caliber superintendents, especially among urban school systems similar in size to Duval County. Successful candidates can command contracts sweetened with such perks as a car or car allowance, cellphone, computer, Internet services, housing allowances and sometimes even recreational club memberships, national education experts say.
“There is a lot of competition right now for top-notch, experienced superintendents like Duval County is going to be looking for,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.
Essentially serving as chief executive officers of a business with budgets that can top $1 billion, school superintendents make far less, he said, than their private sector counterparts.
“The going rate for a school district that [Duval’s] size is about $250,000 to $300,000 annually. That’s just base salary excluding perks like cars, cellphone and computers,” Domenech said. “In this economy, a lot of districts are offering benefits because an individual might prefer having their retirement contribution paid, or deferred compensation.”
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