A teacher at The Villages Charter School has jumped into the race for Sumter County school superintendent.
Logan Brown, who teaches business and geometry at The Villages Charter High School, has filed paperwork with the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections, indicating he is ready to challenge Richard Allen Shirley Jr., who is hoping to succeed his father, longtime Superintendent Richard Shirley. Both Brown and Shirley Jr. will be running in the Republican primary.
Brown, who attended Sumter County schools, immediately took off the gloves.
“The current superintendent was elected to office the fall of my second grade year! He has held elected office for more than 28 years and has stacked the deck in his favor to push his ideas through with no pushback. The last thing this county and school system needs is nepotism to allow the same family to control our schools for the next four years. No elected official should be able to make a career as a politician,” Brown said.
Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Midway College in Midway, Kentucky and was a college athlete. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he worked in the front office for the Tennessee Titans in the NFL while pursuing a master’s degree. He went on to successful career in healthcare management as a director of hospitals in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Nashville, Tennessee.
“In 2016, I returned to central Florida to start my own family and raise my children in the best place in the world. Upon my return, I took a job in Sumter County Schools where I taught for five years. I quickly realized that this school district is NOT the way it was when I left it and there was a strong need for change in the leadership ranks,” Brown said.