Mitch Perry
The Hillsborough County School Board on Tuesday approved a two-year contract for new superintendent Jeff Eakins that will pay him $225,000 annually beginning July 1. It then must be approved by the board on an annual basis beginning in 2018.
The audience at the school board meeting erupted in cheers after his contract was unanimously OK’d 7-0 by the board. The 49-year-old Eakins had been deputy superintendent prior to his selection last month to succeed MaryEllen Elia. He was approved on a 4-3 vote at the time, although several board members thought the search should be expanded beyond Eakins, already the interim superintendent after the board abruptly fired Elia in January.
“This is kind of a dream come true,” a visably emotional Eakins said to the audience, which included his wife and parents, who traveled from Ohio to be a part of proceedings. “Every day I will never forget where I came from, and everybody that has served me throughout my career.”
School board member Melissa Snively was on the losing end of the vote in March to have the search go national. On Tuesday she said she had been “overwhelmed by the positive feedback” she has subsequently heard about Eakins from district officials. “That was very impressive,” she acknowledged. She was “ecstatic that this board can come together as a whole and agree that we have leaders who are ready to put the students first and put fun back the classroom.”
“I believe Mr. Eakins is the right person for the job at this moment in time,” agreed school board member April Griffin, who has faced intense criticism for leading the charge to oust Elia. Griffin said she’s happy the contract for Eakins was “nothing like the last one,” referring to Elia’s deal.
That deal was a three-year contract that rolled over for an additional year annually with an at least “satisfactory” job evaluation. Such arrangements are no longer allowed under state law.
She was paid more than $270,000 a year, including bonuses tied to student performance. Eakins $225,000 salary contains no bonuses. It runs from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2017. There is no automatic renewal, every board beginning in June 2018 will decide his fate for the coming year. He can be fired with cause and receive no severance. Without cause, he is entitled to receive 10 weeks of severance pay.
