ORLANDO, Fla. – Eight candidates will take seats on county school boards across Central Florida after winning their races outright Tuesday night.
However, voters will get to choose candidates in five runoff races after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. The top two vote-getters will now face each other in November.
The races include newcomers but also prominent incumbents as well, and a number of teachers.
Meanwhile, having a mixed night were candidates endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis endorsed four Central Florida candidates. One candidate, John Thomas, won his race for Brevard County School Board District 3. In Flagler County, Derek Barrs lost to Janie Ruddy in the race for the District 3 school board. Two other candidates are among the runoff races.
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Runoff races
BREVARD COUNTY
In Brevard County, incumbent Matt Susin will face Dr. Avenese “Ava” Taylor in November for School Board District 4. Susin got 48% of the vote to Taylor’s 33%, while Keith Schachter got 11% of the vote and Max Madl got 8%.
Susin was endorsed by both DeSantis and conservative education group Moms for Liberty, along with business groups around Brevard County and the Florida Educators Association. Susin has led on school safety, working with the Brevard County sheriff to institute a zero-tolerance discipline policy and adding more armed deputies and security specialists to the schools. He was first elected in 2016.
Taylor is an active member of the U.S. Navy who got into the race after her son was the victim of a hazing incident at a Brevard County high school. She accused the school district of being too busy focusing on partisan distractions and controlling the narrative rather than investigating with transparency and integrity.
Susin was chair of the Brevard County School Board at the time of the incident.
Taylor was also endorsed by Educated We Stand, a new political action committee founded by former Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins that seeks to counteract conservative school board candidates. She supports the school guardian program as part of school safety policy and is not in favor of book bans, preferring to foster more communication between parents and teachers.
District 4 represents central Brevard County, including Viera and Rockledge.
ORANGE COUNTY
In Orange County, Anne Douglas and Kyle Goudy will move on to November after a three-way race for District 4 School Board.
Goudy garnered the most votes in the race with 37%, followed by Douglas with 33% and former teacher Jake Petroski coming in third place with 30%.
Goudy works for NBC/Universal and is a school volunteer. He also has been involved with AAU Cares, mentors with juvenile offenders in Orange County, and manages a scholarship in his father’s name. He accuses the school district of wasting tax dollars and promises to be more fiscally responsible. Goudy has the support of groups like the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association and the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, as well as the Orange County Republican Party and the conservative Florida Family Policy Council.
Douglas is a high school teacher for Orange County Public Schools who is running on a platform of rising pay and benefits for teachers and staff, building schools that are more accessible and protecting children and teachers from political agendas. She is supported by Orange County Democrats and has the endorsement of Ruth’s List.
Douglas and Goudy are running to replace retiring school board member Pam Gould. District 4 encompasses southwest Orange County, including Horizon West, Windermere and the Dr. Phillips area.
OSCEOLA COUNTY
In Osceola County, incumbent Scott Ramsey and challenger Paula Bronson each got 36% of the vote and will go to a runoff in November. Challenger Dylan Reinsel got 15% of the vote and Brian Bennett got 14%.
Ramsey, a cattle rancher, was appointed by DeSantis in July to serve out the term of a vacant seat, but had planned to run for the seat months before that. He says his goals include ensuring schools are safe, enforcing disciplinary policies and cutting down on standardized testing. Ramsey was endorsed by the Osceola Association of Realtors.
Bronson is an elementary teacher who is married to Andy Bronson of the Bronson family, one of Osceola County’s pioneering families. Bronson supports increasing parental involvement, supporting “age-appropriate” resources in the schools, and more personalized help for students. She has the support of the Florida Family Policy Council.
District 5 includes the St. Cloud and Harmony areas of Osceola County.
SEMINOLE COUNTY
Abby Sanchez, the incumbent for Seminole County School Board District 3, was the top vote-getter Tuesday night, but not enough to fend off a runoff in November.
Sanchez got 42% of the vote, while Stephanie Arguello got 31% of the vote and Kelly Critz got 28%.
Sanchez, a teacher who was first elected to the school board in 2016, touts her work in creating programs for mental health and career and technical education on her website. She wants to continue the work to enhance programs on STEM and financial literacy, support a “comprehensive” education in history and support early education. Sanchez also wants to continue to increase parental engagement, grow community partnerships, and be fiscally responsible with the district’s budget.
She has the endorsement of the Seminole County Education Association, the Seminole County School Bus Drivers Association, and Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma.
Arguello worked for AdventHealth and created a program called Mission: FIT Possible, to teach health and wellness at schools in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. She also taught at Orlando Science Center. She wants to implement comprehensive wellness programs in schools and increase counseling services to promote mental health awareness, support competitive pay and benefits for staff, reduce paperwork and other administrative tasks for teachers and implement more personalized learning strategies. She has the endorsements of Ruth’s List and Moms Demand Action.
VOLUSIA COUNTY
In Volusia County, incumbent Carl Persis will advance to a runoff in November after coming in second in the District 4 School Board race.
Donna Brosemer got 44% of the vote to Persis’ 40% of the vote. Sarah Marzilli got 17%.
Brosemer, a retired lobbyist with an education focus, got the endorsement of Gov. DeSantis. Her website carries the line, “It does not take a village to raise a child,” a refutation of Hillary Clinton’s famous statement when she was first lady. Brosemer says she is against government interference in education, saying engaged parents must make decisions for their families. On her website, Brosemer says she is against the “social revolution” in schools, specifically mentioning “pronouns” and “pornography” in regard to bathrooms, sports and locker rooms.
She supports an enforced dress code and says parents need to support classroom discipline. She also says that schools are too big, and that has led to issues with school safety. She also thinks teachers and staff should have the option to be armed with proper training.
Persis was a teacher and principal before he was elected to the school board in 2016. Persis has the endorsement of Educated We Stand and the Florida School Boards Association. He also served on the Ormond Beach City Commission as commissioner and mayor for seven years. Persis says he hopes to continue his focus on school safety, ensuring students are prepared to enter the workforce or college, and increasing the number of “A” or “B” rated schools in the district.
District 4 represents Ormond Beach, Holly Hill and parts of Daytona Beach and DeLand.
The rest of the school board race results can be seen below.
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