Will Messer forced out of Leon County Schools after less than two weeks on the job

Will Messer, a well-known Tallahassee insurance executive who twice ran for local office, saw his new job with Leon County Schools end abruptly last week amid the district’s bus routing system meltdown.

Messer took a risk management coordinator position Aug. 2, working in an area that played no apparent role in the bus problems. But last Wednesday, he was asked to resign or be fired after less than two weeks on the job.

Earlier in the day, he went to lunch with a group of friends including Manny Joanos, the district’s transportation director, who had just been sidelined over the bus mess. After lunch, Messer expressed support for Joanos in a conversation with his supervisor, Janet Heath, he said in an interview.

He said he’s unclear what role if any his support of Joanos played in his departure, though he assumed his comments were passed up the chain of command. He said the main problem was Heath, whom he described as "difficult at best" to work with.

“I may be wrong but I don’t think it has anything to do with politics,” Messer said of his exit. “But I don’t know.”

Heath, in an email, indicated the personnel move was not politically motivated. She also said she has always had a wonderful relationship with employees in her office.

"After about two weeks in the position it was obvious that Mr. Messer had many responsibilities in the community and his professional life," she said in an email. "We mutually agreed that it was not a best fit for either of us."

Messer, a commercial account executive for the Earl Bacon Agency, said he took the $71,000-a-year job because he felt he had a lot to offer the district. He hoped to move up the ladder after Heath retired.

“I applied for it and interviewed and was hired to come in with the understanding that Janet Heath is in the DROP program and retiring,” Messer said. “So the idea was I would shadow her. Basically the implication was that I would fulfill that role at her retirement."

He spent a week helping the department move from offices on Pensacola Street to the Bloxham Building. Last Wednesday, the same day the district announced Joanos was going on paid leave, Messer joined him and others for lunch at the Village Inn.

Messer said Joanos, a close friend who ran his 2006 campaign for County Commission, had a lot on his mind, though the bus issue didn’t come up. When Messer returned to the office, he said he shared his thoughts about Joanos’ situation with Heath.

“I think that I told her I felt like Manny was falling on the sword,” he said.

Later that afternoon, Messer said he got a phone call from Heath, who told him he wasn’t working out. She mentioned personal phone calls he had made and complained he hadn't moved boxes into her office as instructed. He asked whether she had talked to Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

“She said yes, the decision has been made," Messer said. "I said OK. She said you can either resign or terminate Monday. I said I’ll let you know tomorrow what I decide to do.”

Messer said he called Hanna, who told him to resign now but that the door could be open for his possible return sometime in the future.

“He indicated to just resign and that we could look at it again later,” Messer said. “And I said OK. The implication was that other people had worked for Janet prior and that was a difficult scenario to do. I wouldn't recommend anybody work for Janet Heath."

Messer emailed his resignation letter to district officials on Thursday morning.

“Please accept this email as my resignation effective today,” Messer wrote. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

Chris Petley, spokesman for the school district, said Hanna was not aware of any conversation Messer and Heath had about Joanos. 

“The superintendent was informed that Mr. Messer and Ms. Heath mutually agreed that the position was not a good fit,” Petley said in an email. “He accepted the resignation letter just a few days after Mr. Messer began work.”

Messer ran for the District 4 County Commission seat in 2000 and 2006. Last year, he was one of nine finalists for appointment to the City Commission seat left vacant by Scott Maddox's indictment and subsequent suspension from office.

He sai it was “ridiculous” for him to be forced out after less than two weeks on the job. But he said he would consider returning one day as long as he didn’t have to work with Heath, who he said has caused high turnover at the office.

“I may be a casualty of war,” Messer said. “But I’m not willing to fall on the sword for anyone. And if you were comparing the Manny situation to me, that would be the difference.”

Heath wrote in her email she was offended by Messer's false accusations and representations of the department.

"I wish him well in his future somewhere other than Leon County Schools," she said.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.