© 2024 WFIT
Public Radio for the Space Coast
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brevard County superintendent Mark Mullins to leave at the end of December after board vote

Brevard County Superintendent of Schools Mark Mullins speaks during  a special school board meeting Monday morning.
Brevard Public Schools via YouTube
Brevard County Superintendent of Schools Mark Mullins speaks during a special school board meeting Monday morning.

Brevard County Superintendent of Schools Mark Mullins will be leaving Dec. 31 after the new School Board approved a separation agreement Monday.

Three board members -- Megan Wright, Gene Trent and Matt Susin -- indicated last month that they wanted the change.

That earlier meeting marked a shifting tide for Brevard County Schools as the new board restricted bathroom access for transgender kids and got ready to update its book-banning policy.

The removal of Mullins, who enforced a mask mandate, is part of that.

At Monday's meeting, more than a dozen people defended him as a remarkable educator and leader. Phil Moore of Palm Bay called out the three board members, saying the decision is politically motivated.

"This action was a personal vendetta against school staff and, in this case, with the superintendent," he said.

New board member Megan Wright got elected with backing from GOP Governor Ron DeSantis.

"While I understand that the community is not necessarily happy with all of the decisions that are being currently made, what I will say is that we are headed in a different direction, and that is a change that is going to happen," she said.

The separation agreement includes 20 weeks of pay plus three and a half months of accrued vacation time and sick leave.

Mullins was superintendent for four years and worked for the district for 29 years.

The board plans to name an interim superintendent later this month and begin a nationwide search.

Copyright 2022 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.