The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

The Ellenberger Dual-Officeholding Resolution of 1921

Historical records of early Highlands County contain an apparent administrative contradiction regarding educational leadership:

  1. Executive commission records and Works Progress Administration historical surveys of Highlands County’s founding in April 1921 record Professor I. C. M. Ellenberger as the inaugural Superintendent of Public Instruction appointed by Governor Cary A. Hardee.[wpa-highlands-history]
  2. State Department of Public Instruction biennial reports and local school records list W. A. Marshall (1921–1922) and Col. Frank N. K. Bailey (from 1922) as Highlands County Superintendent, while listing Ellenberger continuously as the Principal of Avon Park High School for the 1919–1924 academic years.[fl-biennial-1924]

When Highlands County was carved out of DeSoto County under Chapter 8513 on 23 April 1921, Governor Cary A. Hardee was tasked with appointing a complete slate of initial county officers.[lof-1921-8513] Professor Ellenberger, a respected educator who had served as borough school superintendent in Sunbury, Pennsylvania before arriving in Avon Park in 1919, was chosen for the county superintendent post.

However, under Article XVI, Section 15 of the Florida Constitution of 1885, no person could hold or perform the functions of more than one office under the government of the state at the same time. Governor Hardee informed Ellenberger that he could not constitutionally hold the commissioned county office of Superintendent of Public Instruction while concurrently serving as a paid principal in the public school system.[maxwell-1976]

The decision to remain at Avon Park High School

Faced with the requirement to vacate one position, Ellenberger chose to decline the county superintendent commission and remain principal of Avon Park High School, where he was actively directing the institution’s regional accreditation campaign.[maxwell-1976] Executive commission records confirm that Ellenberger formally resigned the superintendency on September 9, 1921.[fl-secstate-1921-1922]

Under his ongoing principalship from 1919 to 1924:

  • Avon Park High School expanded to over 200 enrolled students.
  • The high school earned formal membership and secondary accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
  • William A. Marshall of Avon Park, who had been appointed to the school board for District 1 (Avon Park) in April 1921, resigned his board seat on September 18, 1921, and was commissioned County Superintendent on September 23, 1921, to succeed Ellenberger.[fl-secstate-1921-1922] Marshall served through 1922 and was re-commissioned on December 6, 1922, following the general election.
  • Col. Frank N. K. Bailey subsequently succeeded to the office, serving a long tenure as superintendent.

The historical record is thus fully reconciled: Ellenberger was appointed in April 1921, but resigned the county office on September 9, 1921 upon the Governor’s dual-officeholding notice, maintaining uninterrupted tenure as Avon Park’s high school principal through 1924.

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida, Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, 1976 (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  2. Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey, History of Highlands County, Florida (Works Progress Administration county history, about 1939), transcribed (1939)
  3. State of Florida, Department of Public Instruction, Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Florida for the Two Years Ending June 30, 1924 (1924)
  4. State of Florida, Office of the Secretary of State, Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida for the Period Beginning January 1, 1921, and Ending December 31, 1922 (1923)
  5. Legislature of the State of Florida, Chapter 8513, Laws of Florida 1921: An Act Creating the County of Highlands (references/laws-of-florida-chapter-8513-1921.md) (1921)

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.