A Look at South Florida School Board Candidates in Tuesday's Primary

Since education emerged as a top issue for voters in this year's midterms, the focus has turned to local school board elections in Tuesday's primary.

These elections are traditionally nonpartisan, but this year, the lines have blurred as both Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Democratic opponents have endorsed dueling candidates for several seats across the state.

Then came news last week that a grand jury empaneled after the 2018 Parkland school shooting recommended that DeSantis remove from office four members of the Broward County school board, saying they and district administrators displayed “deceit, malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence” in their handling of a campus safety program.

Here's a look at the different school board races, the candidates, and the endorsements behind them. If no candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in each of the races, the candidates will face a runoff election in November.

School board members serve four-year terms.

Note: An asterisk* means the candidate is the incumbent of that seat.

Miami Dade

District 2: covers Liberty City, Overtown, Little Haiti, Wynwood, Morningside, El Portal and Miami Shores

Candidates:

• Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall*- Bendross-Mindingall was elected to her seat in 2010. Prior to being in this role, she was a former teacher, principal, and adult education administrator. She wants to "work to convey diversity, equality, parental and community involvement, and efficiency, among our other core values," according to her campaign website.

• La-Shanda West: She is currently a teacher at Cutler Bay Senior High and began her teaching career in 2001. Her focus is on creating violence-prevention programs and supporting funding for children head-start programs.

District 4: covers Hialeah and Miami Lakes

Candidates: The incumbent is stepping down so three people are vying for the open seat.

• Roberto J. Alonso: He is a businessmen and currently sits on the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees. He was endorsed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. His focus is on parental rights in school, and he opposes critical race theory. He also wants to create a district office in District 4 to speak to parents.

• Maribel Balbin: She is the CEO of a firm that focuses on voter engagement and was the former president of the League of Women Voters. She is endorsed by Florida Democrats. Her focus is on school safety, looking for ways to retain teachers, and expanding programs for students with disabilities.

• Kevin Menendez Macki: He is currently a principal at Horeb Christian School and before that he taught at Hialeah Gardens Middle School. His focus is on parental involvement and to create a "two-way communication to ensure parents are heard."

District 6: covers Key Biscayne to South Miami.

• Sandra Manzieri: She is a first-grade teacher and PTA board member at the Key Biscayne K-8 Center. Her focus is on parental involvement.

• Maria Teresa "Mari Tere" Rojas* : She has been in this seat since 2016, and it'll be her first time facing a challenger. Before this role, Rojas was a professional educator for over 4 decades. She says her focus is on students, and parents.

District 8: covers West Miami to southwest Miami-Dade

• Monica Colucci: She is a current teacher at Everglades K-8 Center, with a 26-year teaching record. She was endorsed by DeSantis and said she wants to go "back to basics" which she defines as reading, writing, math and civics.

• Marta Perez*: Incumbent since 1998. Perez is the longest-serving member on the School Board seeking reelection. Before that, she was an elementary school teacher and spent 15 years as co-owner of an airline software firm. She points to her wellness policy, and finding ways to relieve school overcrowding as her experience.

Broward County

District 1:

• Marie Murray Martin: She is the daughter of the current incumbent, Ann Murray, who is trying to replace her own mother. She was an education reporter prior to running for this office. Her focus is on school safety and increasing teacher pay.

• Rodney “Rod” Velez: He is a senior property manager and real-estate developer. His campaign focus is on creating vocational programs for all middle and high schools like coding and home economics and improving testing.

• Paul Wiggins: He is a pastor who has been in the ministry for 19 years, and is a CEO of a corporation. His focus is on giving equal access to education and that students can choose whether to go on to college or vocational school while in high school.

District 4:

• Lori Alhadeff*: She is the current incumbent of this seat. She is the mother of a student killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Her focus is school safety, managing the budget, and holding leadership accountable.

• Kimberly Coward: She is currently an attorney in Fort Lauderdale. Prior to that, she was a guidance counselor.

District 5

• Antonio Burgess: He has been a teacher for over a decade and is currently a mentor for 5000 Role Models. He wants to improve school safety and expand student support services.

• Ruth Carter-Lynch: She is the president and CEO of a marketing firm, and is a director of a charter school membership association since 2012. She wants to be inclusive and provide transparency.

• Clifford Coach Sr: There is no known online information about his candidacy.

• Jeff Holness: He is currently a director of Kumon Math and Reading Center, and prior to that was a communications university professor for over 10 years. His focuses are closing learning gaps, and addressing bullying.

• Gloria Ann Lewis: There is no campaign information online about this candidate.

• Nathalie Lynch-Walsh: She is a public accountant and has served on Broward County boards like the Facilities Task Force. She hopes to rebuild public trust in the school board.

• Jimmy Witherspoon: He currently is is an adviser for the district’s BRACE program, and has been with the Broward County Public School system for almost two decades.

District 6

• (John) Chris Canter: He is a Title I grant compliance specialist and before that he was a middle school principal.

• Brenda Fam: She is an insurance lawyer and is focused on parental rights, and family values.

• Steven R. Julian: He is a former wrestling coach and is seeking a master's degree in mental health counseling. He wants to keep public funds in public schools.

• Merick Lewin: He is currently board chair of Take Stock in Children, which pairs students with mentors and was CEO of a marketing agency. He wants to increase access to extracurricular programs and allow students to have several options after high school.

District 7

• Merceydes Morassi: She is an adjunct psychology professor at FIU, board-certified behavior analyst, and licensed mental health counselor. She wants to hire more mental health specialists and increase teacher pay.

• Nora Rupert*: The incument has been in this role since 2010. She is a former English teacher and highlights her efforts to "change the district’s anti-bullying policy to include cyberbullying, and created and helped pass the state’s first anti-cyberbullying law," according to her campaign website.

District 8

• Raymond E. Adderly III: A recent high school graduate, he is focused on student support, safety, protecting teachers, and on community schools.

• Mourice “Mo” Hylton: He is currently running a scholastic chess program for the past six years. His campaign site said he is focused on increasing academic standards, parent and student involvement.

• Donna Pilger Korn*: The incumbent was elected in 2012 and has been chair twice. She is a former Broward teacher and is focused on student safety, increasing teacher pay, and having various options for students after graduation.

• Allen Zeman: He was a senior executive at the Pentagon and spent eight years on the Department of Defense School Board. He wants to close learning gaps and provide an equal access to high-quality education.

Monroe County

District 1:

• Gabrielle Brown: She describes herself as a single-parent foster mother. She said she wants to be involved in the community and she says opposing "indoctrination of our children should be a priority."

• Darren M. Horan: He is currently a partner in the Key West law firm of Horan Law LLC. He said he ran because "my kids and my friends’ kids are all affected by what happens in the schools today.,” according to one of his interviews. He is endorsed by Florida Governor Ron Desantis.

District 5:

• Alexandria Suarez: Suarez is a former educator and currently a prosecutor in the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office. She is endorsed by Florida Governor Ron Desantis. Her focus is parental rights, and school choice.

• Sue Woltanski*: The incumbent was elected in 2018. She is a retired pediatrician and currently serves as the president-elect of the Greater Florida Consortium of School Board Members. She is focused on mental health and optimizing public school education.