GAINESVILLE - For John Stewart, retirement was more a matter of paperwork than anything close to a change in lifestyle.
The Florida High School Athletic Association's associate commissioner for athletic operations, Stewart has kept busy in three different jobs since ending a 14-year tenure as superintendent of Polk County schools in 1996.
"I put in my 30 years then, but I fully intended to keep working," Stewart said. "I don't want to retire for several more years."
Stewart, 60, is one of three finalists to become the FHSAA's next commissioner and generally considered the front-runner. He is the only finalist unanimously selected by the commissioner search committee and the only one who has the recommendation of current commissioner Bob Hughes.
"He knows more about the association and has the best background, training and experience that would make the easiest transition to be effective in this job," said Hughes, who brought Stewart aboard the FHSAA staff in August.
Stewart had served on the FHSAA's board of directors three times, twice as a superintendent and once as a representative of the Commissioner of Education.
Working in Tallahassee for the state Department of Education has helped him in Gainesville, Stewart said, giving him relationships with many of the state organizations that work closely with the FHSAA.
Before working in Tallahassee, Stewart spent three years as deputy superintendent of Pinellas County schools, working under Howard Hinesley, a former president of the FHSAA's board of directors.
If there has been any criticism of Stewart, it is he has never been a high school coach and would preside over the state's athletics without firsthand experience.
"Being a coach is not a prerequisite for the job," he said. "... If you're a principal or superintendent, you're involved in the hiring of coaches, you're working constantly with coaches, you're just not out on the field or court."
The other finalists with Stewart, a unanimous pick by the commissioner search committee, are:
Tom Seitz, 45, a former college athletics director at Jacksonville State University and Jacksonville University who is now executive director of USA Water Polo.
Gary Shiffrin, principal at Merritt Island High School for the past year and at nearby Jefferson Middle for the previous nine years.
