VERO BEACH — School District of Indian River County Superintendent Dr. David K. Moore will leave his post at the end of the 2026-27 school year, the district announced Wednesday.
Moore, who has led the district for nearly seven years, said his last day will be June 30, 2027. His tenure ranks as the second longest among Florida’s appointed school superintendents.
He informed School Board members and his cabinet first, then shared the news with district and school leaders.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished, but even more so of what we have built together,” Moore said. “Serving as Superintendent of Schools has been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life. Nearly seven years later, my belief in the power of public education to transform lives is stronger than ever.”
When Moore took the job, Indian River ranked 38th among Florida’s 67 school districts. It has since climbed to fifth, earned four straight A grades and moved from 47% of schools rated A or B to 100%, with 96% now earning an A.
Third-grade reading scores jumped from 38th to third in the state. Four elementary schools hit the 90% literacy mark. Overall English language arts performance rose from 31st to ninth, math from 36th to 12th, science from 35th to fifth and social studies from 38th to sixth. Middle school acceleration improved from 56th to fourth, and high school college and career acceleration from 21st to sixth.
The district posted a 96% graduation rate, expanded school choice options, earned Cognia accreditation and the 2023 Cognia Values-Driven Award of Excellence. Niche named it Florida’s No. 1 Best Place to Teach for 2026. Teacher pay moved from below the state average to among the highest in Florida.
Moore’s administration also created four K-8 schools, a classical education school and a Creative Learning Lab, launched the Indian River Education Fund and reported more than $11.1 million in cumulative cost savings through restructuring. The district’s financial rating improved from negative to positive, and voters approved the operating millage. Moore was named Florida Superintendent of the Year in 2025 and a national finalist.
“These accomplishments tell an extraordinary story of improvement, but they are not the story itself. They are the evidence of the story,” Moore said. “The story is what happens when beliefs become behaviors, behaviors become habits, and habits become coherent systems of work.”
For his final year, Moore set two clear targets: every school earning an A and the district becoming No. 1 in Florida.
“We have spent close to seven years proving that dramatic improvement is possible,” he said. “This year, I want us to demonstrate just how far a mature, coherent, high-performing system can go.”
After he leaves, Moore said he plans to keep working with school systems to help make strong results more consistent and lasting.
“If what we have learned can help another school system accelerate improvement for children, the impact becomes exponentially greater,” he said. “Exceptional outcomes should not have to be anomalies.”
Moore thanked the School Board, teachers, administrators, support staff, families and community partners for their role in the gains.
“This is not an ending to the work,” he said. “It is an opportunity to demonstrate that the system we have built is bigger than any one person, position, or tenure.”