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Polk County Public Schools, Florida, elections (2022)

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2020
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Polk County Public Schools elections

Primary date
August 23, 2022
General election date
November 8, 2022
Enrollment ('21-'22)
105,422 students

Four seats on the Polk County Public Schools school board in Florida were up for general election on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 23, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was May 16, 2022, for petitioning candidates. For candidates paying a fee, the filing deadline was June 17, 2022.

2022 school board battleground election

This election was previewed in the October 26, 2022, edition of Hall Pass, a weekly newsletter focused on school board politics. Click here to learn more about the newsletter or to read archived editions.

Incumbent Lisa Bone Miller and Jill Sessions ran in the general election for District 7. Miller was first elected in 2017. In the primary, Miller received 42.4% of the vote to Sessions’ 37.5% and Dell Quary’s 20.1%. Although Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) did not endorse Sessions, Sessions was one of several Polk County candidates who signed DeSantis’ Education Agenda (DeSantis backed District 3 candidate Rick Nolte, who defeated incumbent Sarah Fortney in the primary).[1][2] The 1776 Project PAC endorsed Sessions.[3] Miller, a business owner, was first elected to the District 7 seat in 2017. Miller campaigned on her record, which she said includes an ongoing district efficiency review and promoting family and school collaboration.[4]

As of the 2019-2020 school year, the Polk County Public Schools had 102,952 students, 5,856 teachers, and 164 schools.

Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Candidates and results

District 3

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 3

Rick Nolte won election outright against incumbent Sarah Fortney in the primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 3 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Rick Nolte (Nonpartisan)
 
51.0
 
51,878
Sarah Fortney (Nonpartisan)
 
49.0
 
49,917

Total votes: 101,795
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

District 5

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 5

Incumbent Kay Fields won election outright against Terry Clark in the primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 5 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kay Fields
Kay Fields (Nonpartisan)
 
52.9
 
53,478
Terry Clark (Nonpartisan)
 
47.1
 
47,588

Total votes: 101,066
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 6

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 6

Justin Sharpless won election outright against Sara Jones in the primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 6 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Justin Sharpless
Justin Sharpless (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
51.4
 
51,334
Sara Jones (Nonpartisan)
 
48.6
 
48,579

Total votes: 99,913
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District 7

General election

General election for Polk County Public Schools school board District 7

Incumbent Lisa Bone Miller defeated Jill Sessions in the general election for Polk County Public Schools school board District 7 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lisa Bone Miller
Lisa Bone Miller (Nonpartisan)
 
55.6
 
109,563
Jill Sessions (Nonpartisan)
 
44.4
 
87,617

Total votes: 197,180
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 7

Incumbent Lisa Bone Miller and Jill Sessions defeated Dell Quary in the primary for Polk County Public Schools school board District 7 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lisa Bone Miller
Lisa Bone Miller (Nonpartisan)
 
42.4
 
42,314
Jill Sessions (Nonpartisan)
 
37.5
 
37,351
Dell Quary (Nonpartisan)
 
20.1
 
20,067

Total votes: 99,732
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Florida elections, 2022

What's on your ballot?
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August 23, 2022
November 8, 2022

What was at stake?

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About the district

See also: Polk County Public Schools, Florida

Polk County Public Schools is located in Polk County, Florida. The district served 105,422 students during the 2021-2022 school year.[5]

See also

Polk County Public Schools Florida School Boards
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External links

Footnotes