A year ago, it took a drawn-out and contentious process for the Hernando County School Board to pick Ray Pinder as the new superintendent.
There was a staunchly different vibe at the April 22 workshop, as the board members were unanimous in their praise of Pinder while discussing their evaluation of his first year on the job and agreed to move forward with negotiations for a multi-year contract.
“I feel that it’s a pleasure working with you, Mr. Pinder,” Board Chairperson Shannon Rodriguez said. “You have implemented different things here in our district that needed to happen, and you were open to suggestions and you’ve always been. Your door has always been open. So I love the fact that we have an open communication with all of us as board members with you, that you’re very accessible.”
The board accelerated its timeline for the superintendent evaluation from the fall to the spring due to Pinder being on a one-year contract. With previous superintendent John Stratton retiring at the end of the last school year, the board decided to hire his replacement on an interim basis since it was an election year.
They chose Pinder, who was at the time the assistant superintendent of business and support services. Not only was he an internal candidate with over 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator within the district, but he is “homegrown,” having come up through the school system and graduated from Hernando High in 1987.
“I’ve known Ray for many, many years. I do have a little bit of an advantage over all of you as administrator to administrator working with him,” board member Susan Duval said. “I find him to be an exceptional leader. I think Mr. Stratton was perfect in his wanting Ray to come to the district level and move Ray into different positions, capture that learning experience district-wide.
“Ray has taken on the role of responsibility in a manner that I find every honorable, and his breadth of knowledge and his expertise in administration and communication has served this district well. So I do appreciate what you have done Ray, what you will continue to do.”
Duval is the only current board member who voted to hire Pinder last June. The other two remaining board members, Rodriguez and Mark Johnson, voted against him. Rodriguez had pushed for former Parrott Middle School and Moton Elementary principal Brent Gaustad, who ended up withdrawing his name just before the final vote.
Rodriguez had been a harsh critic of Stratton during his tenure, a trend she continued during the April 22 workshop. She responded to Duval’s comment about Stratton moving Pinder into district administration by saying that was the one thing the previous superintendent did right.
That began a terse exchange between Rodriguez and Duval, with the former feeling she was entitled to express her opinion and the latter warning she may become more willing to offer her own. Rodriguez’s evaluation of Pinder frequently referenced how things have improved.
“Your visibility and communication; you created a schedule to visit school sites and district departments to speak with all stakeholders,” Rodriguez told Pinder. “For two years, I have said that we need to get out and talk to the teachers, and it needs to be more than just the board members when we go and visit our schools and hearing their hearts and how they feel. That is very, very important to me and you have done that, you still continue to do that.
“… For two years, Mr. Johnson and myself have been saying that up here, over and over, that the teachers want to see change, and there’s things that they can bring to the table and suggestions. But they really didn’t feel that they had the platform to be able to do it. So you have changed that and that means a lot.”
Rodriguez also noted that Pinder has brought back the Leader in Me program to the district to improve discipline issues, that he has increased the number of participants in the School Safety Guardians program to increase safety at schools and he has started a recognition program for staff with over 30 years in the district.
The common thread among all the board members was that Pinder’s greatest strength was his communication and the work he has done to stay connected to everyone involved with the district.
“There isn’t anything that I ask you to attend that you say no. You’re there,” Rodriguez said. “That means a lot also to our constituents and to everybody in the community to see you’re engaged and to see that you are out at all these events, and that it matters to you.”
Rodriguez also had Pinder speak to his efforts to fill ESE jobs in the district and his desire to raise the level of respect for staff by asking they adhere to an appropriate dress code.
“I would say all those things sound amazing and that’s another reason why we want to keep him here, to keep those wheels going and give him more time to continue what he’s starting,” board member Kayce Hawkins said.
Pinder said he was “perfectly fine” entering into talks on a multi-year contract, with three years being the typical standard. The caveat is the impending possibility that superintendent may become an elected position in Hernando County. “I am committed to this district. I support employees and I support our students,” Pinder said. “That’s my job, to support students and then employees, and everyone else. All of us, all of you, all of my team.
“… I appreciate your support. I appreciate your comments. There is always room for improvement, always room for improvement. I took forward to that conversation moving forward.”
