Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Hamilton County Schools deputy superintendent Dr. Nakia Towns speaks to the media as Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke looks on at the Avondale Youth and Family Development Center on Thursday Sept. 24, 2020.Hamilton County Schools Deputy Superintendent Nakia Towns was not selected superintendent at a Florida school district on Tuesday.
After an hour of comments from each board member, the Polk County Public Schools board in Lakeland unanimously voted for Fred Heid, superintendent of Community Unit School District 300 in Algonquin, Illinois. He will replace current Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd in July.
In their comments, Polk County school board members praised Towns for her financial background and thorough research about Polk County (Florida) Public Schools and its needs. She was in the top three candidates for three school board members.
"She shared her testimony at the beginning and it was probably one of the greatest testimonies I've heard for an educational leader that is trying to elaborate on the fact that every student can succeed, they just need someone to find the potential in him or her," said Polk County Public Schools board member Sarah Beth Reynolds, who listed Towns first in her top three choices for the position.
Other finalists for the position included Harold Border, chief of high schools for Orange County Public Schools in Florida; James McIntyre Jr., assistant professor of practice and director of the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Michael Ramirez, deputy superintendent of schools for Denver Public Schools.
Contact Anika Chaturvedi at achaturvedi@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.