Voters throughout Florida showed their support for students and educators in public schools during Tuesday’s primary, with school board candidates endorsed by the Florida Education Association and its local unions winning big across the state.
“Voters have spoken, and they firmly stand behind candidates who support neighborhood public schools,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association. “Anti-public education politicians like Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies have used every opportunity— from working to erode our voting rights to pouring countless millions into candidates that will back their interests— to politicize school board races and to take the focus off what really matters- our students and their ability to access a free, world class public education. Today’s primary results show that Floridians want strong public schools that are fully funded, staffed and resourced, they want teachers to be valued more than a #50 rank in average salary, and they want leaders who will ensure teachers and education staff professionals can do their jobs. There is still much work to be done but today shows that teachers, parents and community members want more from decision makers.”
Voters elected the following FEA endorsed school board candidates across the state, with runoffs noted:
- ALACHUA: Thomas Vu (District 2), Leanetta McNealy (District 4)
- BREVARD: John Thomas (District 3), Matt Susin (District 4) [runoff in D4]
- BROWARD: Debra Hixon (At-Large District), Rebecca Lynne Larew Thompson (District 2), Sarah Margaret Kreuz Leonardi (District 3), Jeff Holness (District 5)
- CLAY: James “Jim” Hughes (District 2) [runoff in D2]
- COLLIER: Stephanie Lucarelli (District 2), Erick Carter (District 4)
- DUVAL: Cindy Pearson (District 3), Hank Rogers (District 5) [runoff in D5]
- HERNANDO: Kayce Hawkins (District 2; Elected without opposition)
- HILLSBOROUGH: Nadia Combs (District 1), Jessica Vaughn (District 3), Henry ‘Shake’ Washington (District 5), Lynn Gray (District 7) [runoff in D7]
- INDIAN RIVER: Peggy Jones (District 3), David Dyer (District 5)
- LEON: Rosanne Wood (District 2)
- MIAMI-DADE: Joe Geller (District 3), Maxeme “Max” Tuchman (District 7), Luisa Santos (District 9) [runoff in D3, D7]
- MONROE: Yvette Mira-Talbott (District 2)
- ORANGE: Vicki-Elaine Felder (District 5, Elected without opposition), Stephanie Vanos (District 6)
- PALM BEACH: Matthew Jay Lane (District 1), Virginia Savietto (District 2, Elected without opposition), Mindy Koch (District 5) [runoff in D1 and D5]
- PINELLAS: Laura Hine (District 1), Eileen M. Long (District 4)
- POLK: Sarah Beth Renyolds Wyatt (District 4)
- SEMINOLE: Abby Sanchez (District 3), Robin G. Dehlinger (District 4) [runoff in D3]
- VOLUSIA: Cassandra Gonyer (District 2) [runoff in D2]
Looking forward to the general election, voters will have the ability to not only choose top of the ticket races but will vote on critical local referendum and constitutional amendments.
The FEA’s voting guide with a full list of endorsements can be found at feaweb.org/elections.
