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Leon Teachers Throw Support To Striplin, Jones and Nicolas In School Board Races

Darryl Jones in July 2018 following an appearance on WFSU's Political "Perspectives" show. He is challenging incumbent Maggie Lewis Butler to represent the 3rd district on Leon County's School Board.
Lydell Rawls
/
WFSU News

The Leon County Classroom Teachers Association is backing three people for school board races including two newcombers.

The local teacher’s union is supporting Darryl Jones and Marcus Nicolas for school board. Jones is running to replace Maggie Lewis Butler in the 3rd district and Nicolas wants to replace Joy Bowen in the 5th district. Bowen and Butler are the two longest-serving members of the school board. Nicolas previously taught at Godby High School and Jones is a community activist.

The classroom teachers are also backing the re-election bid of Alva Striplin in the 1st district over Ricky Bell, a school district administrator. Union President Scott Mazur says the decisions were, "not personal" and made by committees and approved by the association’s board.

He says all the candidates are public school supporters but local union members wanted board members who would be visible in schools and engaged with instructional staff. He also noted Alva Striplin’s early opposition to two charter schools and arming teachers.

The candidates and teachers were notified of the LCTA's decisions Friday.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University and Florida State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master's in Professional Communication. Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.
She serves on the board of RTDNA and the United Way of the Big Bend, with previous service on the board of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida.

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