Partisan School Board Elections

Lee County school board members learned their current superintendent, Christopher S. Bernier, wanted to end his reign over the past weekend. They turned again to Ken Savage. He had been interim superintendent prior to Bernier's appointment in 2022.

Christopher S. Bernier's request to leave the ninth largest school district in the state is effective immediately. Until Lee County elects its next superintendent this fall, Pasco is the largest school district to have partisan superintendent races.

A proposed constitutional amendment requiring partisan elections for school board members on or after November 2026 is on this year's ballot. The measure would also apply to the primaries for the 2026 general election.

This week on The Florida Roundup, we discussed the proposed amendment to shift to partisan school board races in Florida. Then, we discussed the push to get abortion rights and recreational marijuana on the 2024 ballot. Plus, we also caught up on some recent health and environmental news stories from across the state.

Opponents say the state shouldn’t politicize school board elections.

Historically, school-board candidates ran with partisan labels, but voters in 1998 passed a constitutional amendment to shift to non-partisan races.

If the proposal is ultimately approved by the Legislature and by voters, board candidates could run with party affiliations starting in 2026.

Florida Republicans have been trying for years to make local school board races partisan, but it may finally happen this time, if Florida voters agree.

A Florida House subcommittee voted in support of putting a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot.

More school board candidates are seeking office for political reasons than in decades past, and voters need to be savvy at the polls, says Florida Atlantic University associate professor Meredith Mountford.

In the run-up to the midterm elections, a growing number of conservative groups are turning their attention to often-ignored school board races. Their aim is to put conservatives in control of more school systems to scale back teachings on race and sexuality.

Of the 30 candidates endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis,19 won their races Aug. 23, and another six are headed to the general election in November.