An Education Leader Retires to Accolades for Her Work

Assistant Manatee County Superintendent of Schools Lynette Edwards bowed out Monday night, after 13 years over curriculum and student instruction and 32 years in the system. 

Her retirement caps a career as an educational theorist: a person who can visualize what a first grade student needs to know to graduate from high school, and how to get them there. 

“I want to make sure it’s every child, every day. I mean all of them,” she told the Manatee County School Board Monday night. “Those who are different, from places we wouldn’t go, those kids in juvenile justice programs, those kids that are just mean. Every child deserves a quality education.”

Robert Gagnon, who has served as the principal of Manatee High School for the past four years will take over as assistant supervisor of instruction and curriculum. Edwards encouraged the board to support Gagnon in his efforts.

“The unified support the board has given is going to need to continue to make sure our students are prepared for the rigor before them,” Edwards said.

She encouraged the board to stick to its mission, core values, community priorities and strategic thinking all developed as part of the district's EdVantage plan.

“What this assures, as students move, they are geting the same curriculum at every school at the same degree of rigor,” said School Board Chairman Harry Kinnan. “It was driven by the best of all academic thought.”

Edwards warned the journey is not over.

“This is just a start to incorporate the new Florida standards,” she said. “ We are now charged with a new strategy and new end results. This is a more rigorous environment than we’ve ever had before. It will need new teaching techniques to meet those standards.”

In other news

The school board adopted identical voting districts with the Manatee County Commission. Dave Miner, an attorney and a school board watchdog said,

“I don’t think these districts are really the best," David Miner, an attorney and a school board watchdog told the board. "It’s driven by serving incumbents, but let’s make it work.”

With Board Member Barbara Harvey gone, the four voting members deadlocked on the consent agenda, which normally passes without discussion. By the time the smoke cleared, five items on the consent agenda, including four new contracts for custodial services at Miller Elementary, Prine Elementary, Braden River Elementary and Haile Middle School, were kicked into next month. The fifth item was a proposal to hire a Clearwater real estate agent so sell excess Manatee School Board property.