A.G. Gancarski
A previous version of this post incorrectly reported that Nassau County School Board members did not attend Janet Adkins’ Education Leadership Summit. We regret the error. Members did attend the event, at which School Board member Kathy Burns spoke.
On Saturday, reports Nate Monroe of the Florida Times-Union, Fernandina Beach Republican Janet Adkins announced plans to run for Nassau County Superintendent.
Adkins, who has two children in Nassau County public schools, is running “as a conservative Republican… because I believe education is at a crossroads, and now is the time for change and reform,” she said in a statement.
Adkins’ educational bonafides are beyond reproach. Last week, she received an A on her legislative report card from Foundation for Florida’s Future, an educational policy think tank launched by Jeb Bush two decades ago
The Nassau County School Board has not been without controversy. Earlier this year, the body was judged to have broken state law by not getting a property appraisal before acquiring 42 acres from Rayonier in FY 13-14, reported the NCFLIndependent paper out of Nassau County.
Adkins is running against two lightly-financed opponents, a Libertarian who has reported no contributions, and a Republican, Kathy Burns, a school board member for almost two decades whom the T-U reports is just over the $7K threshold.
The current superintendent, John Ruis of Hilliard, decided in April not to run for re-election after more than two decades in the post.
The superintendent job pays just under $159K per annum.
