Elected vs. appointed? How FL school districts choose their superintendents can be messy

As the sassiest state in the union, Florida loves to set herself apart from the others. One major way is how Florida school districts decide who will run their schools.

As Florida’s educational system has spent recent years increasingly wrapped up in the political culture war, a lot of ire has been turned to school superintendents. Hernando County Schools Superintendent John Stratton survived a vote of no confidence in May — during a meeting that featured Moms for Liberty activists, Proud Boys, and student protesters. Former Broward County Schools Superintendent Vikki Cartwright was fired after Gov. DeSantis appointed the majority of the school board.

Of Florida’s 67 school districts, a majority elect their superintendents. The practice is uncommon, nationally. Florida and Alabama are the only two states in the country that allow some voters to select the head of their school district.

However, the state’s ten largest school districts operate under an appointment system. And those 10 are: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Pinellas, Lee, Polk, and Brevard, according to U.S. Census data.