Tampa, Florida - It was standing room only at the Hillsborough County schools board meeting Tuesday afternoon.
The meeting started off as school board member Doretha Edgecomb asked that a moment of silence be recognized for their students who are out of school for the summer. The last day for students was Friday.
There were several topics on the school board's agenda. The meeting opened up though with public comments addressing issues with school buses and whether or not to accept bids submitted by multiple vendors. Some members of the public praised new Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
Eakins is shaking up the district's highest ranks and the school board voted to approve his measure to add some new faces and new jobs. The school board approved the first of a two-phase plan to reorganize district staff, which includes creating six new positions and eliminating four positions as well as changing some job titles.
As outlined in the plan, the goal is to improve customer service and address critical district and community issues. Eakins told school board members the move will make sure there's more diversity in our schools so that teachers and staff mirror the students and the community they serve. He also says the shakeup will improve achievement in our highest need schools making the Hillsborough district a model across the country.
Rather than two deputy superintendents reporting to Eakins, his plan adds just one, with the addition of a new chief of staff.
Eakins has tapped Alberto Vazquez-Matos, schools superintendent for the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, to be his chief of staff, a $148,000-a-year job that involves overseeing charter schools and school security, among other responsibilities.
SEE CHANGES:Names of new leaders and their backgrounds
Jefferson High School Principal Van Ayres has been promoted to deputy superintendent with an annual salary of $144,400.
Lewis Brinson, the district's assistant superintendent of administration, is shifting into the new role of chief diversity officer at $134,292 per year. Brinson retired last fall, but was brought back on as a contractor.
Larry Sykes, assistant superintendent of academic services and federal programs, is getting a new job title — chief of schools. He will manage day-to-day operations at the district's 200-plus schools.
Area 7 leadership director Owen Young will step in as area superintendent of priority schools to oversee school improvement initiatives.
Another new position is the workforce connections officer, to be filled by Scott Brooks, now the district's general director of career and technical education.
The school board decided to talk about new buses at a meeting in two weeks.
