Florida and Alabama elections lead to runoffs, school boards to welcome newcomers

August 27, 2014

By Abbey Smith and Lauren Dixon

Out of 116 school board seats up for general election in Florida on August 26, 2014, 31 remain undecided and will advance to a runoff election on November 4, 2014. More than half of those seats will be won by newcomers, since only 12 incumbents are moving on to the runoff election. Thirteen other incumbents were unseated in the general election. With the 26 open seats added to those victories by challengers, 27 out of the 36 Florida school districts that held elections will be welcoming newcomers onto their school boards. Two school districts, Hernando County and Volusia County, will welcome three newcomers to their school boards as two incumbents were unseated and one seat was open in each district. In contrast, two other school districts, Bay and Nassau County, canceled their elections due to lack of opposition.

One Alabama school district, Huntsville City Schools, also held elections on August 26, 2014. No incumbents ran for the three seats up for election. Beth Wilder defeated Richard V. Buchanan for the District 2 seat, and Walker McGinis defeated Kimberly Battle for the District 4 seat. The District 3 seat will be determined in a runoff election on October 7, 2014, as neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote.

Spotlight: Duval County Public Schools

The winner of the District 2 seat on the Duval County School Board won't be determined until the runoff election on November 4, 2014, as no candidate in the election received 50 percent of the votes, but who will advance to the runoff election could still be up in the air. According to unofficial election results reported on election night, Scott Shine received the most votes, with candidates Samuel Hall, Theresa Graham and Shannon Russell coming in behind. The top two vote-getters move on to the runoff election, but Hall received 2,443 votes and Graham received just two less at 2,441, making the race too close to call.

Candidates

Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.

Alabama

Huntsville City Schools
District 2
☑ Beth Wilder
☐ Richard V. Buchanan

District 3
Elisa Ferrell
Anson Knowles
☐ Ellen Brusick
☐ Kathie Rooker
☐ Pat Sanders

District 4
☑ Walker McGinis
☐ Kimberly Battle

Florida

Alachua County Public Schools
District 1
☑ April M. Griffin (i)

District 3
☑ Gunnar F. Paulson (i)
☐ Philoron A. Wright

District 5
☑ Rob Hyatt
☐ Jancie Vinson

Bay District Schools
District 2
☑ Ginger Littleton (i)

District 3
☑ Joe Wayne Walker (i)

District 5
☑ Steve Moss (i)

Brevard Public Schools
District 1
☑ Misty Belford
☐ Paul Chinaris

District 2
John Craig
Keith Yarbrough
☐ Bob Mentillo

District 5
Denise Coyle
Andy Ziegler (i)
☐ Dale D. Davis
☐ Dean Paterakis

Broward County Public Schools
District 1
☑ Ann Murray (i)
☐ Felicia Mychele Brunson

District 3
☑ Heather Pomper Brinkworth (i)
☐ Sam Budyszewick
☐ Nicholas A. "Nick" Sakhnovsky

District 4
☑ Abby Merle Freedman (i)
☐ Robert Alan Mayersohn

District 6
☑ Laurie Rich Levinson (i)
☐ Lisa Lafferty Spince

District 7
☑ Nora Rupert (i)
☐ Hubert St. Clair

District 8
☑ Donna Pilger Korn (i)

Charlotte County Public Schools
District 1
☑ Charles Lee Swift (i)
☐ Anthony Peter Verdin

District 4
☑ Ian Michael Vincent (i)

Citrus County Schools
District 1
☑ Thomas Kennedy (i)
☐ Thomas "Tommy" Corkery
☐ H. Dean Morrison

District 3
☑ Doug Dodd
☐ Quinton R. Herrin Jr.
☐ Sheila Whitelaw

District 4
☑ Sandy Balfour (i)
☐ Beverly "Bev" Howard

District 5
☑ Linda B. Powers (i)
☐ Donna Fletcher

Collier County Public Schools
District 1
☑ Kelly Mason
☐ Kathleen Greenawalt
☐ Jacob Winge

District 3
Erika B. Donalds
Kathy Ryan
☐ Luis Bernal
☐ JB Holmes

District 5
☑ Roy Terry III (i)
☐ Thomas Andler

Columbia County School District
District 1
Daniel C. "Danny" Green
Linard Johnson (i)
☐ Allison Lashea Scott

District 3
☑ Steve Nelson (i)
☐ Edgar "Reggie" Clauser III

District 5
☑ Stephanie K. Finnell (i)

Duval County Public Schools
District 2
Scott Shine
Samuel Hall
☐ Theresa Graham
☐ Shannon Russell

District 4
☑ Paula D. Wright (i)
☐ Darryl Willie

District 6
☑ Becki Couch (i)

Escambia County School District
District 1
☑ Jeff Bergosh (i)

District 2
☑ Gerald W. Boone (i)

District 3
Linda Moultrie (i)
Charlie Nichols
☐ Laura Dortch Edler

Flagler County Public Schools
District 1
☑ Andy Dance (i)
☐ Maria Barbosa

District 2
John Fischer (i)
Janet McDonald
☐ Toni Baker
☐ Lynnette Callender

District 4
☑ Trevor Tucker (i)
☐ Michael McElroy

Hernando County School Board
District 1
Mark Johnson
Donald Whiting
☐ John K. Sweeney (i)

District 3
☑ Beth Narverud
☐ Jay Rowden

District 5
Susan Duval
Robert Neuhausen
☐ Anna Liisa Covell
☐ Cynthia Moore (i)

Hillsborough County Public Schools
District 2
Sally Harris
Michelle Popp Shimberg
☐ Michael Weston

District 4
Terry Kemple
Melissa Snively
☐ Dee Prether

District 6
April Griffin (i)
Dipa Shah
☐ Asher D. Edelson
☐ Alison McGillivray Fernandez
☐ Stacy Hahn
☐ Paula P. Meckley
☐ Lee Sierra
☐ Randy Toler

Lake County Schools
District 1
☑ William John Mathias (i)
☐ John J. Ardizone

District 3
Tod Andre Howard (i)
Marc Anthony Dodd
☐ Jamie Maret Hanja

District 5
Stephanie Ann Luke
Nancy L. Muenzmay
☐ Peter E. Tarby

Leon County Schools
District 1
☑ Alva Swafford Striplin
☐ Forrest Van Camp (i)

District 3
☑ Maggie Lewis-Butler (i)

District 5
☑ Georgia "Joy" Bowen (i)

School District of Manatee County
District 2
☑ Rodney K. Jones
☐ Charles "Charlie" Kennedy

District 4
☑ Karen H. Carpenter (i)
☐ Frank Brunner

District 4
Julie B. Aranibar (i)
Mary S. Cantrell
☐ James T. Golden
☐ Carlton "Les" Nichols

Marion County Public Schools
District 3
Bobby James (i)
Jane Moerlie
☐ Jim Touchton
☐ Ed Wilson

District 4
Angelia Lorraine Boynton (i)
Michael Chase Basinger
☐ Jamie L. Bevan
☐ Diane Lynn Schrier

District 5
☑ Kelly D. King
☐ Ronald Bruce Crawford (i)

Martin County School District
District 1
Christia Li Roberts
Loretta "Lorie" Shekailo
☐ Jennifer Ann Doak

District 3
☑ Rebecca Jean Negron (i)

District 4
☑ Tina Maria McSoley
☐ Maura Barry-Sorenson (i)

Miami-Dade County Public Schools
District 2
☑ Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (i)

District 4
☑ Perla Tabares Hantman (i)
☐ Duysevi "Sevi" Miyar

District 6
☑ Raquel A. Regalado (i)

District 8
☑ Marta Perez (i)
☐ Lawrence "Larry" Orihuela

Orange County Public Schools
District 1
☑ Joie Cadle (i)
☐ Joshua A. Katz

District 2
☑ Daryl Flynn (i)
☐ Phil Stump

District 3
Linda Kobert
Regina Hellinger
☐ Chadwick Hardee
☐ Julio Rocha

Nassau County School District
District 1
☑ Donna Martin (i)

District 3
☑ Jamie Deonas (i)

District 5
☑ Kathy Knight Burns (i)

Okaloosa County School District
District 1
☑ Lamar White
☐ Cindy Frakes (i)

District 3
Rodney Walker (i)
Joseph Slusser
☐ Christoffer Hyden

District 5
☑ Melissa Thrush (i)
☐ David E. Scholl

Pasco County Schools
District 1
☑ Allen Altman (i)

District 3
☑ Cynthia Armstrong (i)

District 5
☑ Steve Luikart (i)
☐ Marc Yacht

Pinellas County Schools
District 2
☑ Terry B. Krassner (i)
☐ Chris Tauchnitz

District 3
☑ Peggy O'Shea (i)
☐ Kent "Kip" A. Curtis

District 4
Beverley Billiris
Ken Peluso
☐ John H. Nygren

District 6
☑ Linda Lerner (i)
☐ Maureen Ahern

Polk County School District
District 3
☑ Hazel Sellers (i)
☐ Randy Wilkinson

District 5
☑ Kay Fields (i)

District 6
☑ Lynn Wilson
☐ Debra Smith Wright (i)

District 7
☑ Tim Harris (i)
☐ Lisa Bone Miller

Putnam County School District
District 1
☑ Nikki Cummings (i)

District 2
☑ David Buckles (i)
☐ Tommy Morgan
☐ Bethany Masters Brunny

District 4
☑ Kathy Jorgensen (i)
☐ Bud McInnis

District 5
Jane Thomas Crawford
Allen Baggett
☐ Tara Jenkins
☐ Shirley Diaz-Basel

Santa Rosa County School District
District 1
☑ Diane L. Scott (i)
☐ Sandra Nicely

District 3
Carol Boston
Jim R. Taylor
☐ Debbie Gunnoe
☐ Fuchsia Ann Spann

District 5
☑ Scott Thomas Peden (i)

Sarasota County Schools
District 1
Ken Marsh
Bridget Ziegler (i)
☐ Paul J. Schafer
☐ Velton Hodges

District 4
☑ Shirley Brown (i)
☐ Helen Wolff

District 5
☑ Jane Goodwin (i)
☐ Randy McLendon

School Board of Highlands County
District 1
Charlene Edwards
Ronnie L. Jackson (i)
☐ Al Joe Hinson

District 4
☑ William "Bill" Brantley (i)

District 5
Jill Compton
Clinton T. Culverhouse
☐ William F. Hutchinson III
☐ Trevor A. Murphy
☐ William "Tres" Stephenson III

School District of Clay County
District 1
Janice Kerekes
Kenny Leigh (i)
☐ Amber Harmony Shepherd

District 3
☑ Betsy Condon
☐ Tina Bullock (i)

District 5
Sandra Dunnavant
Ashley Gilhousen
☐ Brian Graham

School District of Indian River County
District 1
☑ Shawn R. Frost
☐ Karen Disney-Brombach (i)

District 2
☑ Dale Simchick (i)

District 4
☑ Charles G. Searcy
☐ Randy Heimler

School District of Lee County
District 1
☑ Mary Fischer (i)
☐ Marilyn Stout

District 4
Don H. Armstrong (i)
Steve Teuber
☐ Arvella Clare
☐ Richard L. Dunmire

District 5
☑ Pam LaRiviere
☐ Carla Ronco

School District of Osceola County
District 1
☑ Jay Wheeler (i)
☐ Leah H. Carius

District 4
☑ Clarence L. Thacker
☐ Barbara R. Horn (i)

District 5
☑ Ricky Booth
☐ Wade Davis
☐ Lynn Dower
☐ Linda B. Oliverio

School District of Palm Beach County
District 3
☑ Karen Brill (i)
☐ John Michael Hartman
☐ David Benoit Mech

District 4
Erica Whitfield
Thomas G. Sutterfield
☐ Justin Katz
☐ Larry F. Rosensweig

District 6
☑ Marcia Andrews (i)
☐ Carla Donaldson
☐ Joe Moore

District 7
☑ Debra L. Robinson (i)
☐ Piaget "Peppi" Hendrix

Seminole County Public Schools
District 1
Jeff Bauer
Rich Sloane
☐ Frank D. Curcio

District 2
☑ Karen Almond (i)
☐ Gracia Miller

District 5
☑ Tina L. Calderone (i)

St. Johns County School District
District 1
☑ Beverly Slough (i)
☐ Kelly Lorbeer

District 3
☑ William "Bill" Mignon (i)
☐ Karen Harvey
☐ Ralph D. Klein

District 4
☑ Kelly Dawn Barrera
☐ Nicholas M. Graham

St. Lucie County School Board
District 1
☑ Debbie Johnson Hawley (i)
☐ David Whittaker

District 3
☑ Donna Maria Mills (i)
☐ Jeremy Theisen
☐ Mark Young

District 5
☑ Troy Ingersoll (i)

Volusia County Schools
District 1
John M. Hill
Don Sarro
☐ Larry Candeto
☐ Patricia W. Whites
☐ Chris Sorensen

District 3
Linda Cuthbert
George Trovato
☐ Stan Schmidt (i)

District 5
☑ Melody Johnson
☐ Diane J. Smith (i)

See also

• School board elections, 2014
• Florida school board elections, 2014
• Florida elections, 2014