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Striplin and James Win Leon County School Board Races

Alva Striplin and Darryl James
WFSU

The Leon County School Board will keep a familiar face but also add a new face following the election.

Early voting and mail-in ballots gave Alva Striplin a slight lead, putting her ahead with about 55 percent of votes and leaving her opponent Ricky Bell with 44 percent. Striplin says she’ll spend her next four years in office fighting for funding for teacher salaries.

“Our teachers deserve more, they deserve better, and I want to be continue to be that advocate for our teacher’s salaries. We will not move the needle in education until we are able to attract great people into our industry.”

Meanwhile, Darryl Jones bested his opponent Maggie Lewis-Butler with 58 percent of the votes. Lewis-Butler was one of the longest serving members on the Leon County School Board.

Jade Jacobs is a fourth year broadcast journalism student at Florida A&M University. Before interning at WFSU, Jade worked at Antioch Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church as a media intern in Dallas, Texas. She has also served as a live shot reporter on FAMU TV News 20, a writer for the FAMUAN and Journey Magazine and a radio personality on WANM 90.5 The Flava Station's Saturday Morning Show. After graduation, she plans to continue to work in the journalism field as a news reporter. She enjoys shopping, inspirational quotes and traveling.