Manatee County Schools Superintendent Reprimanded For Inflating Graduation Rates: Report

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — In a settlement with Florida’s Education Practices Commission, Manatee County Schools Superintendent Cynthia Saunders was reprimanded for instructing district staff members to improperly record student withdrawals from 2014 to 2016, inflating the high school graduation rate, according to ABC 7.

As part of her settlement, the superintendent will pay a $2,000 fine and is required to pass two college courses in education ethics within a two-year period. She has also been put on probation with the commission.

During the 2014-15 school year, only six of the 121 students withdrawn from the district were properly coded, the Observer reported.

She was executive director of secondary education for the district during from 2014 to 2016 and was hired into that position in 2013.

At the end of 2018 — about six months after being sworn in as superintendent — Saunders was accused of violating two state statutes and five rules, including filing fraudulent information, using coercive means or promised special treatments to influence professional judgements of colleagues, and failure to maintain honesty in all professional dealings, reports said.

“One of the lessons I have learned through this experience is that I could have done a better job of implementing changes upon entering a new school district, different from the one I previously served. Ultimately, the lessons I have learned taught me a lot about myself and leadership that has served me well in my current position,” the superintendent said in a statement.