SMITH'S EXIT INTERVIEW

was taking place with remote learning because we were isolating and trying to mitigate illness and so forth. But I felt welcomed to the community and was excited about it."

Death By Video

But then came the training video uproar at the start of 2021 school year. The video was intended to train teachers and staff on how to educate and interact with students of a different race. Whites and Blacks complained that the stereotypes portrayed were divisive. Smith was blasted for bringing race theory into the district, and he dropped the video and publicly apologized to the school board.

Smith believes the video controversy was the beginning of his troubles with the board and

By Rick Outzen

Dr. Tim Smith took Escambia County's school superintendent job because he liked the county's diversity. He had the experience to do the job, probably the most extensive of his predecessors—a doctorate in educational leadership and a 31-year career with the Orange County School System as a teacher, vice principal, principal and area executive over high schools.

However, his broad experience may not have been prepared Smith for the internal and external politics of the Escambia County School District. On May 16, three school board members voted to terminate his contract and send him packing by the end of the month.

Before he left, Smith presided over the district's high school graduations. He also sat down with Inweekly to talk about his tenure here.

"For me, the core goal is for our district to perform in such a way that we are reaching as many kids as we possibly can at high levels of learning," he said. "That's where it all starts; how can we reach every kid and have them successfully learn and grow?"

erendum switching from an elected superintendent to one appointed by the school board by 910 votes, and Smith was hired with a 3-2 vote in 2020, with board members Kevin Adams and Paul Fetsko on the losing side.

Escambia County's first appointed superintendent was in for some tough battles, but Smith focused on the students, not the politics.

"For me, when I came into the district, my thing was all about, how can we close the achievement gap? What do we need to do to get all of our kids learning?" Smith said. "That's a heavy, heavy lift, but it's leading the district in that direction. And there's just going to be a lot of change that might be different, that might look different and feel different."

He continued, "Some people get excited about that, and other people get concerned. And so I really think as I reflect upon what's happened in the past two and a half years, there's kind of a struggle there, and I think there are growing pains going through the changes."

The transition from elected to appointed went smoothly. Smith recalled, "The first six months I thought were fluid. Certainly, there were some challenges with the uniqueness of all that

"The whole purpose of the video was to open up the conversation of, 'It's hard for me as an individual sometimes to understand people in other situations,'" Smith said. "The middle class is the world I've lived in, so I might not understand what it is like to live in the lower or high-end economic class."

He continued, "As a young principal, I learned that, and it was one of my most powerful experiences. I happened to be in an inner-city school at the time, and it changed how I worked with kids. When I learned that I don't know what it's like to be in that kid's shoes, I approached education differently. "

Smith was surprised at the response from staff and the community. He said, "For me, it was all about trying to help people, to help kids. It was that straightforward in my hope, but it ended up the way it did."

The honeymoon was over, but the superintendent stayed focused on moving the district forward. Smith shared, "I didn't think in terms of Republican, Democrat or Independent ideas or Conservative or Liberal. I was thinking, here's what we need to do, and maybe people had a hard time figuring out who I was from those standpoints."

2022 Election

The tension with the school board began to heat up during the 2022 election cycle. Fetsko faced opponents and wanted the board to discuss Smith's contract last fall. However, the other board members blocked it from being added to the agenda.

"Paul won handily, and I don't know that he needed to worry as much as he did," Smith said. "But I think there were many constituents speaking to him who weren't pleased with me, and I think those were challenging times for him."

The negotiations with Charter Schools USA concerning Warrington Middle School and the long public forums over removing books from school libraries added to the stress.

"We get to February, Rep. Michelle Salzman asked for my resignation, and then Kevin (Adams) followed with trying to get an elected superintendent referendum on the 2024 ballot, which failed," Smith said.

The negotiations with Charter Schools USA bogged down, and when the charter operator lists its non-negotiables, the school board balked and made plans to close the middle school. The state Board of Education intervened and demanded the school board sign a contract within 48 hours or risk losing their salaries.

The vote to accept the Charter Schools USA deal came hours after the state's ultimatum and minutes before they fired Smith.

A persistent rumor Inweekly heard was that Smith's predecessor, Malcolm Thomas, helped engineer his ouster. Smith said Thomas wouldn't undermine his leadership.

"No, he was a mentor to me, and I'm grateful for him," Smith said. "I could pick up the phone anytime and call him. We've had several conversations, and I can tell you I've had some perplexing situations, and he has helped me get through those."

He continued, "I think he has a passion for education, and I'm very confident that he wanted me to be successful."

Smith also wants his successor to succeed. He said, "My hope with the board is that with the next superintendent, whoever that may be, the perfect match occurs, and that person can work with the board to take the vision and to move us forward." {in}