Dr. Rick Surrency

Dr. Rick Surrency is in his 48th year in education and serves as the elected superintendent of the Putnam County School District in his third term. After serving as a teacher, dean, assistant principal and principal for 38 years, Dr. Surrency was elected superintendent in 2016. Putnam County has an enrollment of 10,000 students and 13 schools.

Dr. Surrency has made significant improvements in his district, raising graduation rates from 54.9% in 2015 to 96.6% in 2025, the largest increase in the state of Florida during the same period and the largest of any school district in the nation over the past 10 years.

In 2024, Putnam County earned the first K-12 STEM district accreditation in the state of Florida, and in 2025 the district was selected as the National Cambridge School District of the Year.

Under Dr. Surrency’s leadership, construction has begun to build nine new schools over the next 10 years as part of the district’s revitalization program. He led a campaign to raise $300 million in a referendum to build six of the schools. The other three will be paid with state appropriations.

In December 2022, Dr. Surrency was named the 2023 State Superintendent of the Year for Florida. He published the book, "Trust Me," about the systematic changes he made in his district.

Dr. Surrency and his wife, Penny, have six children and 10 grandchildren.