Update: Escambia County’s superintendent referendum was approved Tuesday evening, with unofficial final results showing 38,588 votes, or 71.16 percent, in favor and 15,639 votes, or 28.84 percent, against, out of 54,227 total votes cast on the measure. As a result, voters will elect the county’s next school superintendent rather than have the position filled by appointment.
Escambia County, Florida voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide whether the county’s school superintendent should be elected by voters or continue to be appointed by the Escambia County School Board.
The referendum appeared on every ballot in Tuesday’s primary election, regardless of a voter’s party affiliation or district. The exact wording voters saw read: “Shall the superintendent of schools of Escambia County, Florida, be elected by the majority of the qualified electors of Escambia County, Florida? Yes or No.”
With the measure now passed, Escambia County voters will elect their next school superintendent during the November 2028 general election.
Countywide Turnout
Unofficial results showed overall voter turnout in Escambia County at 27.32 percent, with 55,592 of the county’s 203,476 registered voters casting ballots across 80 precincts. Neighboring Santa Rosa County, which shares the northwest Florida media market with Escambia County but did not have the superintendent question on its ballot, saw a turnout of 22.65 percent, with 32,129 of 141,852 registered voters casting ballots across 41 precincts.
Neither the town of Jay in Santa Rosa County nor Century in Escambia County had local municipal contests on Tuesday’s ballot. Century’s Precinct 22, which votes at the Billy G. Ward Courthouse, saw 61 total votes cast, with the superintendent referendum passing there 44 to 16 and one undervote recorded. In Santa Rosa County, Precinct 4 in Jay’s Linda Carden Community Center saw 372 voters turn out to cast ballots.
A Question Voters Have Weighed Before
This isn’t the first time Escambia County has revisited the issue. In November 2018, county voters chose by a narrow margin to move from an elected to an appointed superintendent. Just over a year ago, the Escambia County School Board voted 3-2 to send the question back to voters. The February 18, 2025 vote came after District 5 board member Tom Harrell introduced the referendum; Harrell, Kevin Adams and Paul Fesko voted in favor, while Carissa Bergosh and David Williams voted against putting it back on the ballot.
Harrell, who has campaigned for a return to an elected superintendent, said at the February board meeting that he believes the decision belongs with voters. “I feel very strongly about this,” Harrell said. “The county, I think, feels very strongly. There’s never anything wrong with letting the people decide. When you have a democracy, it’s all about people making decisions.”
“Deep down in my heart, having been here in this district for 60 years, that’s what the people of this district want,” Harrell added. “It’s the right time; it’s the right thing to do.”
Current Leadership
Escambia County’s current school superintendent, Keith Leonard, was appointed by the school board under the existing system. With Tuesday’s referendum now passed, future superintendents will instead be chosen through a public election, beginning with the November 2028 general election.