Pinellas School District Wants Community's Input Into Selection Of New Superintendent

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Pinellas County residents will have an opportunity to weight in on the search for a new schools superintendent during a series of town hall meetings this month.

The meetings will take place Feb. 23, 24 and 28 at 6 p.m. at Pinellas Park, Countryside and St. Petersburg high schools. Residents can participate virtually or in person.

Residents are also invited to take the Pinellas Superintendent Search Opinion Survey.

The Pinellas County School Board will advertise for the position of outgoing Superintendent Mike Grego in March and hopes to announce the new superintendent at a special meeting May 17.

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Grego is retiring after 10 years as superintendent of the school district. The board will advertise the position in March after gathering information from an ongoing survey and the community meetings. The board is searching for outgoing Superintendent Mike Grego’s replacement, who retires in June following a decade with PCS. The board plans to announce the hire at a special meeting on May 17.

Current Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Michael A. Grego announced he is retiring July 1 after leading the school district for 10 years.

Starting his career as a classroom teacher in Hillsborough County, Grego has spent 42 years in education and said the timing was right to "hand off the baton to the next person."

His retirement comes as the school district announced it set a new record graduation rate in 2021, jumping from 72 to 92 percent, placing it among the top 10 school districts in Florida.

The graduation rate for Black students rose from 56 percent to 86.3 percent and the rate for Hispanic students went from 63 percent to 92 percent.

Additionally, the grade levels for more than 20 schools increased from Ds and Fs. There are currently no F-rated schools in the county.

Grego said PCS has also eliminated over 20 D and F-rated schools, and there is no longer a school with an F grade in the district.

Grego also oversaw the investment of $750 million in school renovations including at Clearwater and Largo high schools and Pinellas Park Middle School.

During his tenure, Pinellas schools have also seen growth in magnet, STEM and career education programs.

He is also credited with implementing numerous initiatives to increase learning opportunities and equity for students, including the ambitious summer learning program called Summer Bridge to tackle summer learning losses.

He launched the Pinellas Talent Identification Program to expose seventh-graders to the SAT and led the PCS Connects districtwide computer initiative, providing take-home laptop computers for students at Title I elementary schools.

“We’re leaving things in great shape,” said Grego. “It’s a very healthy district.”

Grego lauded staff for making these improvements despite the negative impact of and adjustments surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our district’s done a great job to keep pushing forward, and nothing has fallen backward,” he said. “Our educators are complete overachievers, and they do a remarkable job.”

Grego leaves education with a long list of awards and accolades. He served as the 2020-21 president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and was the 2018 Florida Superintendent of the Year.

In 2013, Florida Trend magazine named Grego one of its “People to Watch,” for his plan to expand summer learning opportunities. That same year, he was a finalist for the Florida Department of Education’s Florida District Data Leader of the Year Award.

In 2014, Grego received the inaugural Whitney M. Young Jr. Leadership Award from the Pinellas County Urban League for his commitment to the community and, in 2016, was awarded the USF College of Education Dean’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Also in 2016, he was recognized by the Board of Directors of Personal Enrichment through Mental Health Services with the 2016 Pacesetter award and was a finalist for the Green-Garner Award from the Council of the Great City Schools.

In 2017, Grego was named Florida Art Education Association Superintendent of the Year and Superintendent of the Year by the National School Foundation Association.

He's also the recipient of the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education Superintendent of the Year award, the Education Leadership Award from the Hispanic Education Coalition of Palm Beach County for promoting educational equity for Hispanic students, the Florida Music Education Association Superintendent of the Year Award and the Administrator of the Year by the National Association for Gifted Children.

He's finishing off his career as the 2021 Magnet Schools of America Superintendent of the Year.

Before he was named superintendent of Pinellas County Schools, Grego served as assistant superintendent for technical, career and adult Education, and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Hillsborough County Schools.

After serving 28 years with Hillsborough County Schools, he was selected as superintendent of the Osceola County School District, where he was credited with academic improvements, especially for minority students.

Before joining Pinellas, he served as Florida’s interim chancellor of K-12 education and was an associate professor on the educational leadership team at the University of Central Florida.

Grego earned a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. He holds two master’s degrees, one in industrial technology education from Illinois State University and one in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. He earned his doctorate degree in educational leadership from USF.