Florida School Board seats are nonpartisan positions—at least for now. A proposed state constitutional amendment coming up on the ballot in November would require future candidates to declare a party.
Some worry that would inject politics into school board races. But that has already happened here in Leon County.
Leon School Board District 4 incumbent Laurie Lawson Cox, a registered Republican and challenger Jeremy Rogers, a Democrat, have both said partisanship has no role in public education.
“Because we are dealing with children, with minors, and to me politics should have, really not be a factor,” Cox said during a candidate forum hosted by WFSU.
“I just don’t think politics has any place in our schools,” Rogers said during the same forum.
Despite their statements, both candidates have the backing from their political party and partisan rhetoric has become part of the communication from their campaigns and their supporters.
Rogers has portrayed Cox as a political extremist.
“My opponent's campaign just hired a very heavy hitter in the in the Republican Party, and raised, and is there to raise a bunch of money, you know, from those donors,” he said
He points to the fact that she’s received campaign donations from Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as members of the group Moms for Liberty and from other Republican-aligned organizations.
Cox claims Rogers is the one who has injected politics into the race and that she has done nothing extreme while in office.
“I would say, look at my record and show me anything that I have voted on, or anything that I've done that would be the aligned anyway would be an extreme view on anything,” she said.
Cox's campaign has produced material leaning on her party affiliation, including a graphic send over text sharing her endorsement from DeSantis and calling her a "Republican School Board member."
The rhetoric came to a boil when Evan Power, chair of Florida’s Republican Party, responded to one of Roger’s campaign posts on social media. It shows Rogers and his child canvassing with volunteers from the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida. Power’s comment repeated a Republican talking point. He wrote that Equality Florida wants to, quote “sexually indoctrinate your kindergartener.”
Jon Harris Mauer, Equality Florida’s Public Policy director who was in the photo with his daughter, called the statement incorrect and offensive.
“Just like all of her classmates, my child deserves to have her family acknowledged and respected, including her two dads. The Republican Party Chair opposes that, but I expect better from our school board,” he said.
Rogers called it “shocking.”
“This is the reason why I'm running, is to get this type of extremism, this partisanship, out of our schools,” he said.
Power didn’t respond to a request for comment but has continued making similar posts. Cox wouldn’t comment directly about Power’s post, but here’s what she said about Equality Florida.
“People can make their own decisions on Equality Florida, and they do come and speak at our school board meetings, and I know we have teachers that support that group and are part of that group,” she said.
This November voters will decide whether all school board races going forward should be partisan when they weigh in on proposed constitutional Amendment 1. But political columnist and long-time local reporter Bill Cotterell said the idea isn’t exactly new. He pointed to efforts from conservatives to bring partisanship to local politics have been around since the tea party movement in the 2010’s.
“I think theoretically, could help both parties build a bench and have candidates for the future to run for the legislature and Congress and statewide office. But more immediately, I think it would benefit the Republicans,” he said.
And Mary Ann Lindley, a former County Commissioner and former reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, said no matter what happens with the amendment, she thinks partisan school board races are here for the long-term.
“I think the train has left the station in terms of civility, you know, unless individuals decide they want to, you know, start, you know, speaking with the calm, rational voice that you would expect them to. I think it will continue,” she said.
Cox and Rogers will be on the ballot during the August 20th primaries.