Starting Nov. 16, Florida Keys Community College will have a new interim president. Larry Tyree of Sarasota will take the helm five weeks after the dramatic departure of Jill Landesberg-Boyle, who negotiated an early release Oct. 21.</p><p>Tyree signed his contract Sunday to serve as interim president and is taking the next two weeks to move to Key West.</p><p>"I'm really excited and looking forward to being back in my home state," Tyree told the Keynoter Tuesday. Over the past three years, he has served as interim president at four community colleges as far afield as Illinois, New York and Kansas.</p><p>"I love the challenge," of serving in an interim capacity Tyree said. "The imperative that I've found is to listen a lot. I need to hear the perspectives and issues and concerns of faculty, staff, students, community members and trustees."</p><p>Tyree's deal is for six months with a renewal option for another six at $15,000 per month. He also gets a $3,000 monthly housing allowance, $130 cell phone stipend, a $400 vehicle allowance and moving costs.</p><p>Tyree said he has spoken with Landesberg-Boyle and her predecessor Bill Seeker, who was president of the college for nearly 24 years.</p><p>"She has issued some areas that she thinks should be areas of emphasis," Tyree said, listing work on accreditation as a chief need. Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges is considered a critical gauge of college processes and their effectiveness.</p><p>"The key is having the right people in the right place doing the right things," Tyree said. "It's not rocket science, it's not meant to be baffling. The whole purpose is continuous improvement of the institution."</p><p>When Tyree reports for duty, that triggers Landesberg-Boyle going on sabbatical until her three-year contract expires on June 15. She resigned after negotiating a release agreement with the college that allows her to continue drawing full pay, benefits and perks.</p><p>She left on Oct. 21 following more than a month of vocal, public criticism from staff, including high-level administrators, about her abrasive management style often referred to as "toxic." The complaints boiled over at a public meeting in Marathon and at an earlier trustees meeting on campus.</p><p>One sticking point in Tyree's negotiations was over use of the presidential office suite in the Stock Island college's main administrative building.</p><p>"He will be having the president's suite," college spokeswoman Amber Ernst-Leonard said.</p><p>That came only after some caustic back and forth between trustees, college board attorney Buck Devane and Landesberg-Boyle.</p><p>"On Wednesday, they didn't come to any kind of agreement and the board instructed to have her stuff boxed and relocated to another office," Ernst-Leonard said. "It's smaller." That other office will be in the Tennessee Williams Theatre.</p><p>In her release agreement, Landesberg-Boyle receives use of "her office on FKCC's Key West campus during the sabbatical leave." During the trustees interviews with candidates for the interim post, the sticking point over use of the president's office surfaced and the conclusion was nothing specifies where "her office" should be located.</p><p>"She's come to campus since the 21st maybe three times, and very quietly," Ernst-Leonard said. "It's not like the office would be used."