Palm Beach County public schools will soon have a new leader from inhouse.
After three rounds of voting, school board members chose Donald Fennoy to be the district’s next superintendent.
Fennoy, 41, has been the district’s Chief Operating Officer since May 2016. He will be the first black superintendent of Palm Beach County schools.
“My role is to be a model for equity, to be a model for leading with dignity and respect, and also be a model for just listening,” Fennoy said.
Fennoy will succeed current superintendent Robert Avossa, who announced his resignation in early February.
Contract negotiations will take place over the next week. Fennoy will be sworn in privately on March 14.
He’ll take over as superintendent the following day.
“There's so many great things happening in Palm Beach, there’s not a lot to change. I think it’s just keeping the momentum moving forward,” Fennoy said.
A self-described military ‘brat’ who moved frequently growing up, Fennoy graduated from Florida A&M University in 1999 and began teaching third-graders in an Orlando public school.
As superintendent, he will oversee about 180 schools with 190,000 students.
Palm Beach County is the 11th largest school district in the U.S. The school system is the largest employer in the county, with around 22,000 employees.
Fennoy, his wife Kendra and their two sons live in Wellington.
