For the third time since his election, Manatee School Board member eyes a new job

Scott Hopes’ term on the School Board of Manatee County runs through November 2022, but his service to the district may end sooner than expected.

Former Gov. Rick Scott appointed Hopes to the school board in July 2017, filling the vacancy left by Karen Carpenter, who moved out of state. Hopes then won a full term as the District 4 board member in the November 2018 election.

Two months after the election, Hopes confirmed he would apply to be the University of South Florida’s next president, a job that went to Steven Currall.

About six months later, in July 2019, Hopes applied to be the next president of Santa Fe College in Gainesville, a job that went to Paul Broadie.

Hopes’ name is now on a list of applicants in the search for Sarasota County’s next superintendent. Nearly three dozen names and applications are available at sarasotacountyschools.net/superintendentsearch.

The School Board of Sarasota County hopes to finalize a contract by July 23.

“This has been a thoughtful decision, following months of assessment, consultation and encouragement by members of the community and professionals in the education sector,” Hopes said in his application, submitted Friday.

In an interview on Monday morning, he said all three applications were motivated by requests for help, stemming from leaders at each organization.

“There were a number of people, including members of the search firm for the Florida School Boards Association,” he said of the opportunity in Sarasota. “I’ve worked closely with many of them.”

Hopes said he planned to retire in Manatee County, but new opportunities arose — each with the same benefit.

Being a member of a five-person school board, meeting periodically and researching issues when time allows, was different than being a superintendent or college president, which are both full-time jobs, he said.

With five to 10 years left in his career, Hopes said he wanted to maximize his impact on students and teachers in the area. Leading a school district would allow him to accomplish that goal.

“I have a number of supporters who may see this as they elected me to get a job done and I’ve left it. That’s the cost,” Hopes said.

“What is the benefit? The benefit is you have almost 50,000 children who live south and directly adjoining Manatee County,” he continued. “Many of those children go on to work for employers in both counties and, quite frankly, Sarasota County schools need some strong leadership.”

After he was appointed to the board, Hopes became its chairman about four months later. And while it was a team effort, he said, the district improved its grades, finances and security over the ensuing months and years.

The job of a school board member is never done, but Hopes was optimistic about the growth in Manatee County, and the job opening in Sarasota was a chance to expand his reach.

“It provides the opportunity for me to contribute 100 percent of my time to the education of children in our community, and I treat Manatee County and Sarasota County as part of that whole Tampa Bay area,” he said.

In his application, Hopes said he had the right skill sets — “academic, political, fiscal, and administrative” — to head Sarasota County Schools.

His resume listed three degrees from the University of South Florida in Tampa: a bachelor’s degree from the College of Natural Sciences, a master’s degree from the College of Public Health, and a doctorate from the Muma College of Business, where he now works as an assistant professor.

In the ‘80s, at the start of his career, Hopes was a teacher and a department chair in Hillsborough County, and he sat on the USF Board of Trustees for several years, starting in 2013.

He also founded and led several health care companies, and he worked as the director for the Office of Health Policy under former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Hopes — now a school board member, epidemiologist and registered lobbyist — believes his experience would benefit the staff and students in Sarasota County Schools, and his colleagues agreed.

Four recommendations were included in his application, including one from Mitchell Teitelbaum, general counsel for the School District of Manatee County

“This experience will eliminate the learning curve and the need to build relationships from ground zero,” Teitelbaum concluded. “He will be able to assume the Superintendent’s role with experience that no other candidate can possibly offer.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 3:43 PM.