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Pensacola Chamber Reaffirms Support For Appointed School Superintendent
August 4, 2026
The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has formally reaffirmed its support for maintaining an appointed Superintendent of Schools in Escambia County.
The Chamber first adopted its stance in 2018 when voters approved the measure. The Board of Directors remains united in that commitment as the measure returns to the ballot on the August 18 primary election.
“The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce has held a clear and consistent position on this issue since 2018, and our board of directors is united in reaffirming that stance today,” said Chamber Board Chair Ildi Hosman on Monday. “We believe that an appointed superintendent model best serves the students, families, and employers of Escambia County, and we encourage the business community and all eligible voters to consider the long-term implications of this decision for our region’s future.”
The upcoming August 18th primary election ballot will allow all eligible registered voters in Escambia County to vote on whether the Escambia County School Superintendent should remain an appointed position or return to an elected one.
In November 2018, Escambia County citizens voted to move from an elected to an appointed superintendent.
Here is how the referendum will appear on the primary ballot:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM
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
Comments
11 Responses to “Pensacola Chamber Reaffirms Support For Appointed School Superintendent”
Does “qualified electors” mean “All legitimate voters” — or ?
if not ‘elected’ by qualified electors, then elected by whom?
i don’t know who the ‘chamber’ has chosen to be ‘qualified electors’, nor have i heard by what criteria the Chamber believes these qualified.
this is a poorly written ballot.
the voters , the registered voters who actually pay the taxes, should choose, not some body of elitists who deem their crony ‘qualified’.
why the obfuscation?, other than to make it appear that the registered voter actually has a voice in this.
The school board is better qualified to evaluate candidates than the general public. Leave the system alone!
I agree with Concerned. The word should 100% be voters. Some people will think the School Board people are qualified electors. Just make it simple.
Shall the Superintendent of Schools of Escambia County Florida be elected by the majority of voters of Escambia Count or the School Board of Escambia County?
Voters
School Board
Answering the ballot question: Yes.
Chamber of Commerce: No.
Terrible wording! Qualified Electors are WE the people! It should read qualified voters!
The last two comments I read started out with “Nope” making it sounded like they were going to vote NO?? then their discussion was that they don’t want
the superintendent to be appointed!
My vote is for a YES. While I don’t believe that every “qualified” voter completely knows best for the students, I don’t trust the powers that be to appoint anyone unwilling to implement a political agenda.
NOPE . Vote and vote . Chamber of commerce stay out and concentrate on businesses ways and means , stay out of school elections that’s up to the voters parents and tax payers .
Nope! We will get more bang for the buck if elected. No to the good o’ boy appointment. Appointments the making it a big salary cushy job just handed to someone. You never appreciate anything that you don’t work for. If elected the superintendent knows he has to answer to the people or in four years he is out of a job by the people. Electing someone QUALIFIED that has served in the trenches of the school system knows first hand what is best for our schools. Period.
Just saying
Vote YES,
The chamber should be focused on business improvements instead of politics. We have appointed system now, we had to suffer through a couple of “appointed ones” until we finally got who should have been in there to start with.
The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce believes that the average Joe Blow is way too unintelligent to choose the person in charge of YOUR children’s education. Take back your vote in this matter.