The Collier County School Board swore in the county’s new superintendent Kamela Patton Wednesday. The board voted April 20 to hire Patton, the region administrative director for Miami-Dade Public Schools.

Patton praised the board’s budget dealings, saying when the county had additional money supplied by the federal government it foresaw the concerns down the road and saved that money for today.

“So, I think the first two cracks at the budget have been done and done very well so now it will be my turn,” she said. “It’s really a district that I think I can bring in enhancements so I’m going to bring my set of skilled eyes from the budget process to see what else might they have not necessarily have missed but I would see it from a different angle.”

She’ll earn $200,000 her first year. Her contract runs through June 30, 2014. Patton replaces Dennis Thompson who was fired in April.