A look at past school superintendents
Art Johnson, ousted in February as Palm Beach County School Superintendent, is one of 23 (actually 22, one served twice), dating back to when the area still was in Dade County before it split in 1909.
The shortest tenure: 1 month (James Daniels, 1991). The longest: 15 years (Howell Watkins, 1948-1964).
Here’s a list, with starting date:
1. James C. Harris (July 13, 1900): The first superintendent, he also founded the downtown West Palm Beach store that still operates.
2. Henry W. Lewis (Dec. 9, 1910): The county’s first elected superintendent, a news article called him a “painstaking officer.”
3. Guy Metcalf (above, Jan. 2, 1917): Publisher of the region’s first newspaper, a mayor of West Palm Beach, and a key mover in the county’s split from Dade, he was arrested for forging a bill for $333.49 for science equipment; he was found dead the next day of an apparent suicide.
4. Jackson B. McDonald (Feb. 15, 1918): He went on to become Martin County’s first superintendent when the county split off in 1925.
5. W. E. Keen (Dec. 4, 1918): Reported to the governor in 1920 that in two years, enrollment had jumped from 2,000 to nearly 2,500 — at least in the white schools. Black enrollment isn’t mentioned. He also said seven rural schools had been built. And he complained that the School Board pay of only $4 a day mostly attracted “inexperienced business men.”
6. Agnes Ballard (Jan. 4, 1921): The county’s first — and for seven decades, the only — female superintendent also was Florida’s first female licensed architect.
7. Joe A.Youngblood (Jan. 6, 1925): He steered the booming region for a dozen years before leaving to run the National Youth Administration.
8. John I. Leonard (above, Sept. 21, 1936): In his dozen years, the county struggled through the Depression, World War II came right to Florida’s shores, and black teachers began struggling for equal rights. He also was the first president of Palm Beach Junior — now State — College.
9. Howell L.Watkins (above, July 2, 1948): The county’s longest-serving superintendent, Watkins founded Palm Beach Junior College in 1933 and was its dean.
Next week: From the boom years to today.
Tags: schools
