Two Leon County School Board races are heading to the general election ballot while one incumbent has managed to squeak out a win.
Voters will decide between incumbent Alva Striplin and Ricky Bell in the 1st district, and fellow board member Maggie Lewis Butler Darryl Jones in the 3rd district come November. In an unusual tactic, Jones and Marcus Nicolas ran a joint campaign ad highlighting academic inequities in Leon County Schools.
“How can we take pride, when we’re really a tale of two cities? The best of times for some, the worst of times for others, specifically when we talk about education which is the gateway to prosperity for all people," Jones said in the ad.
But that ad wasn’t enough to help Nicolas win his challenge against 5th district incumbent Joy Bowen. Voters decided to return Bowen to the school board. But Striplin and Lewis-Butler will have to fight to retain their seats.
The Leon County Classroom Teachers Association endorsed Striplin, Jones and Nicolas.
