Published on April 25, 2025 at 7:20 pm
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The St. Johns County School District’s search for a new superintendent has four finalists, and all four are from Northeast Florida.
The person who will serve as superintendent of the 52,000-student school district will be Brennan Asplen, Kyle Dresback, Scott Schneider or Marianne Simon.
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Two are employed by the St. Johns County School District. Asplen serves as the district’s deputy superintendent, while Dresback is the regional superintendent for secondary and alternative schools.
The two other are current employees of Duval County Public Schools. Schneider is Duval’s chief of schools, and Simon is a region superintendent.
The School Board selected the four from a pool of nine semifinalists. One of the district’s original 10 semifinalists did not submit his interview responses on time.
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While the school district conducted a nationwide search for a new superintendent — and received several out-of-state applications — several School Board members said that they believe experience with Florida school systems is more relevant than experience from other states.
When it comes to Florida, whether it’s how districts are funded or how the state’s school voucher program works, School Board member Beverly Slough says Florida is “a different animal than any other state in the union.”
“Having Florida experience weighs heavy with me,” she said. “Not necessarily St. Johns, but Florida experience. It’s just different here.”
The School Board is scheduled to conduct interviews with the four finalists May 13 and 14.
The interviews on May 13 will be open to the public and conducted by the entire School Board. Those interviews will begin at 8:30 a.m. and run through the afternoon. After the interviews conclude, the finalists will attend a public meet-and-greet at First Coast Technical College from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
On May 14, School Board members will have private one-on-one interviews with each of the finalists.
The School Board is expected to select its new superintendent during a board meeting May 20. Whomever is selected will start work this summer, just in time for current Superintendent Tim Forson to begin his retirement.
