SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROGER DEARING APPLIES FOR
FHSAA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION

(Bradenton, FL - May 9, 2008) Manatee District Superintendent Dr. Roger Dearing has applied for the position of executive director of the Florida High School Activities Association. Dr. John Stewart, the FHSAA´s current executive director, has announced he will be stepping down later this year. Stewart has been the executive director of the FSHAA since January 15, 2005.

“I´m happy to be superintendent here in Manatee County and I am not interested in applying for any other superintendent positions,” Dr. Dearing said. “This happens to be a specific position that interests me because it deals on a statewide basis with athletics and extra-curricular activities which are at the core of what I was involved in when I first started my career in education.”

Dr. Dearing has served on the FHSAA´s Board of Directors for the last two years and he spent seven years on the FHSAA´s Appeals Board. He started his education career in Orange County as a teacher and coach in 1971. During his career he has been a head coach or assistant coach for football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and he has served as an athletic director.

Dr. Dearing served as an assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent in Osceola County before becoming the superintendent in Indian River County in 1994. Dr. Dearing has served as the superintendent of the Manatee District since July 1, 2003. Dr. Dearing´s wife, Candace, a principal at Phillippi Shores Elementary in Sarasota, is scheduled to retire from the Sarasota County School System in November.

The FHSAA hopes to name a replacement for Mr. Stewart by the middle of June. Throughout the application process, Dr. Dearing said his focus will remain on being the fulltime superintendent in Manatee County.

“My fulltime job is leading this district and I´m committed to helping get us through the budget crisis and financial urgency we face,” Dr. Dearing said. “I´ve always said, if you´re going to be a superintendent of schools, there´s no place better to be than Manatee County.”

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