The School Board of Manatee County voted unanimously on Dec. 17 to extend Superintendent Cynthia Saunders' employment through June 2023. Prior to the move, Saunders' contract was set to expire at the end of next year. Saunders has 30 years of experience in public education in Florida, and was sworn in as superintendent in 2018. She prepared Manatee County for its transition to online learning at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and has overseen the distribution of more than 11,000 laptops and 960,000 meals to students.