Dylan Tedders at the OHS graduation ceremony.

OKEECHOBEE- The Okeechobee County School Board selected Dylan Tedders to serve as their interim superintendent at a special meeting on Jan. 9.

Tedders’ first day as interim superintendent will be March 1. Current superintendent Ken Kenworthy’s last day will be Feb. 29. The board officially accepted his retirement at the special meeting on Jan. 9. Kenworthy has accepted a position with the Florida School Boards Insurance Trust.

Kenworthy was first appointed as superintendent in Okeechobee back in 2011, replacing Dr. Patricia Cooper. He got his start in the district in 1989, working his way up from a classroom teacher, and held several administrative posts for Okeechobee schools before he applied and received the superintendent's job.

School Board attorney Tom Conely said that he has been working with Kenowrthy for over a decade and praised him for never letting the pressure of the job get to him. Conely also said that he has never met someone with more knowledge of the district than Kenworthy and that his eventual replacement has big shoes to fill

With the interim superintendent selected, the Okeechobee County School Board will now move on to choosing Kenworthy’s replacement. One point of debate during the meeting was if the board would allow the interim superintendent to apply for the full time position. Board members debated the pros and cons of letting the interim superintendent be considered as a candidate, with some worried it would provide an unfair advantage over other applicants.

Ultimately the board voted 3-2 to allow the interim superintendent to apply for the position.