DeLAND, Fla. – The Volusia County school board is looking to hire its former deputy superintendent, Carmen Balgobin.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, they will vote on whether to start contract negotiations with Balgobin.
In April, the board fired former superintendent Scott Frit.
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Balgobin is currently a deputy superintendent in Broward County but before that, she was the Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning in Volusia County.
“It isn’t someone who is not known to us. It isn’t someone where we don’t know their leadership style,” said the board’s chair, Ruben Colon.
Balgobin also served as interim superintendent during the pandemic when Fritz took medical leave in 2020 and 2021.
“Dr. Balgobin actually served as the superintendent for our school district for several months some of the most difficult months in education,” Colon said.
Colon said Balgobin has shown interest in a return to Volusia County and they realize how competitive it is right now to hire a superintendent.
“There’s a shortage of superintendents. A lot of superintendents after COVID decided to retire,” he said.
Colon said the board feels comfortable bringing back a familiar face whose leadership skills they know rather than open the search nationwide for a new superintendent.
Balgobin is originally from Venezuela. She moved to the U.S. in high school and has worked her way up from being a teacher to principal to a director in Orange County before coming to Volusia County in 2020.
She left Volusia a year later for a higher-paying position in Broward.
“She does have ties to the community. There have been some folks who have shown concern as to her ties to the community and I truly believe she loves Volusia County,” Colon said.
The school board meeting starts Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.