ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The School Board unanimously voted Tuesday night to rehire Michael Lannon as superintendent after a 30-day retirement that allowed him to cash out about $15,000 in accrued sick and vacation days and return to the pay, benefits and responsibilities he left Oct. 1.

Supportive comments made by School Board members at a Sept. 23 meeting and afterwards left little doubt about outcome before Tuesday’s decision.

Nevertheless, teachers, principals and parents filled the meeting room to urge School Board members to bring Lannon back to work.

Lannon was not present in the audience. But board Chairwoman Judi Miller was mindful that the meeting would be televised.

“I hope that Mr. Lannon takes the time to watch this meeting and see that there are many people who love him,” Miller said.

Twelve people spoke about rehiring Lannon to the post; All but one spoke in favor of it.

Richard Kolleda, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Education Advisory Committee, said schools have been doing a good job preparing public school students for the workplace under Lannon’s direction.

“A lot has happened with the career academies and the business community’s support of the academies,” Kolleda said.

Melissa Milford, senior and student government president at Lincoln Park Academy, applauded Lannon’s “courageous” decision to weather controversy and support HIV prevention education in schools.

“Please allow me to shake the hand of Michael Lannon when I walk across the stage in May to receive my diploma,” she said.

Ginger Miranda, former chair of the school district’s Hispanic Advisory Committee, described how Lannon labors with teachers and parents at school events.

“I’ve seen, personally, Michael Lannon roll up his sleeves and get dirty with the rest of the volunteers,” Miranda said. “I’ve never seen him hold back.”

Scott Neil, principal of Lakewood Park Elementary, pointed to improved student assessment test scores throughout the district since Lannon arrived at work six years ago.

“Today, we have 18 designated ‘A’ schools — a 300 percent increase under the leadership of Mr. Lannon,” Neil said.

School Board critic Bryan Longworth was the sole speaker to question the deal given to Lannon: Board members have repeatedly cited numbers of rank-and-file employees who, like Lannon, have retired, cashed out vacation and sick days, then returned to work.

“I’ve talked to teachers,” Longworth said, “who have done it and taken a 25 percent cut in pay.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 11:19 pm and is filed under Schools, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.