DeSantis appoints new Bay County superintendent in Mark McQueen

By Owen Girard

Published Jul. 27, 2023, 10:17 a.m. ET | Updated Jul. 27, 2023

Mark McQueen, appointed superintendent of Bay County Public Schools. (Photo/Panama City)

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed retired Maj. Gen. Mark McQueen as Bay County’s new Superintendent of Schools on Wednesday.

McQueen was formerly the City Manager of Panama City after a decorated, 36-year career in the United States Army.

“I was just really humbled and honored that out of all of those that the governor could pick from that he chose me to do this, and my objective is to pour everything that I can into this job to help make sure that we have the best education within Bay County,” McQueen said.

The need to fill the superintendent position came after the current officeholder, Bill Husfelt, announced in January that he would be retiring at some point later in the year.

The search took much longer than expected, according to the Bay County School Board chairman Steve Moss.

His concern was that the county had no power to select a replacement in time since the governor’s office had not provided a name to fill the position.

“This appointment is well-deserved,” said Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla. “General Mark McQueen has played a major role in rebuilding Bay County after Hurricane Michael. I have no doubt he’ll do an exceptional job as superintendent, too!”

The governor’s announcement of McQueen came five days before the Aug. 1 retirement date that Husfelt ended up agreeing to step down on.