Board ousts College of the Florida Keys president immediately

The College of the Florida Keys Board of Trustees voted unanimously to terminate President Jonathan Gueverra effective immediately, ending the tenure of the college’s sixth president and CEO after a round of appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis changed the board’s makeup.

CFK is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees. Recent appointments included Bob Broton, Peter Batty, Michael Downer, Edward “Eddie” Kertis and Andrew Dulcey, with Alexandria Suarez also named in a separate appointment, giving the board a new composition before the termination vote. Board meetings in late 2024 had already included discussion of Gueverra’s future.

Gueverra has been a visible face of the college. CFK’s own pages identify him as the sixth president and CEO, and the college continued to publish his public messages in 2024 and 2025, including Memorial Day and Veterans Day salutations and a 2025 Memorial Day message. That visibility made the unanimous firing especially abrupt for a campus leader who had remained in public view right up to this year.

The decision also lands at a sensitive point for one of Monroe County’s core public institutions. CFK was established in 1965 as Monroe Junior College and describes itself as the southernmost institution in Florida’s Great 28 college system. In a county where the college is tied to local education and training, the leadership change puts new attention on how the board will steer the school next.

There has also been local support for Gueverra. A Facebook post urged people to help keep Dr. Gueverra as president, a sign that the firing has already stirred reaction beyond the boardroom. With a unanimous vote and immediate removal, the board’s decision now signals a sharper turn in the governance of the College of the Florida Keys than a routine personnel change.