TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As Gadsden County schools are struggling with declining student enrollment, budget challenges, and teacher shortages, four candidates are stepping up to turn these issues around in the race to fill the open Gadsden County School Board District 2 seat.
Jefferson Flores, Rodney Moore, Tracey Stallworth, and Donnie Washington are running to replace incumbent District 2 school board member Steve Scott. Both Moore and Stallworth are leading in campaign contributions.
Flores is no stranger when it comes to running for the District 2 school board seat. He ran in the 2022 race against Rodney Moore and Steve Scott, where Scott won in a runoff election.
Moore, a Gadsden County native, is also back to run for the seat after competing against Scott in 2022.
According to the Gadsden County Times, Moore earned his Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Tallahassee State College. His 27-year law enforcement career includes stints with the Florida Highway Patrol, the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Quincy as its Police Chief. After retiring from law enforcement, he became a substitute teacher for Gadsden County schools.
Stallworth is a Quincy pastor who grew up as a military child after being born in Germany.
He has experience in education, nonprofit leadership, and community service.
Stallworth’s family runs a farm which provides food to approximately 350 people a week in the community, and hosts distributions where they give out supplies to those in need.
Stallworth has degrees in Business Administration and Religion. His highest degree is a doctorate from Jacksonville Theological Seminary.
Washington has lived in Gadsden County for half a century. According to information on his Facebook page, he’s an Associate Minister at Mt. Pilgrim Primitive Baptist Church.
Washington graduated from James A. Shanks High School before going on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Institute of Technology.
He’s also a volunteer at Stewart Street Elementary School and a former School Advisory Council member at Gadsden Elementary Magnet School.
Multiple efforts were mae to reach Flores for an interview, including over the phone, sending a text message, and sending an email, but he was unable to be reached before our deadline to publish this story.
In a public Facebook post, Flores said he’s running for the District 2 school board seat because he believes every child should have the chance to succeed.
Moore was also not available for an interview after multiple scheduled attempts. Several of his public social media posts talk about his advocacy for students who are victims of sexual assault at Gadsden County High School.
In an interview, Stallworth explained he’s running for the District 2 seat because he thinks every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and that the district must improve student achievement while better supporting teachers.
He said one of his top priorities would be to improve the schools through addressing the district’s financial challenges by pursuing partnerships with businesses and large corporations who want to contribute to raising teacher salaries and help provide stipends for classroom resources.
Stallworth also believes recruiting teachers is essential. He said, if elected, he would plan to team up with colleges to build a pipeline of new educators while creating an environment where teachers would want to stay in Gadsden County.
While addressing enrollment, he said the district must be transparent and communicate with people to build trust. He argues families are more likely to keep their children in their school when they see positive change and are included in the process.
Stallworth said he’s committed to being a voice for a community that works together for the benefit of the district.
“We have to be a tribe to raise our community,” Stallworth said. “If we don’t have that, we’re not going to be successful.”
Washington did not respond to an interview request after multiple attempts to contact him through phone, text, and email.
However, his public social media posts state his support for vocational and adult education. He has said if elected, he would bring in strategies to raise student enrollment and maintain school funding.
According to Washington’s Facebook post, he would also plan to develop a yearly maintenance plan which would include renovating and upgrading school sites.
Campaign financial reports show Flores’s campaign has currently raised $535 in contributions, with expenditures at $190. Most of his funding has come from individual contributors. Flores serves as his own campaign treasurer.
Moore’s campaign has reported $450 in monetary contributions and $2,346 in-kind contributions, with total expenditures matching that of in-kind contributions. His campaign is partially self-funded, with the rest coming from individual donations. Moore serves as his own campaign treasurer.
Stallworth’s campaign has primarily been funded through individual donations, the largest coming from civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
His total contributions stand at $2,040 with his expenditures remaining at $276. Stallworth also serves as his own campaign treasurer.
Reports show Washington’s campaign is mostly self-funded, raising $1,090 in contributions with $1,048 in expenditures. His campaign treasurer is John Love.
As of the most up-to-date publicly available information, none of the four District 2 candidates have received any formal endorsements from elected officials, organizations, or political groups,
Stallworth said, if elected, he will approach every decision with the goal of improving student achievement.
“I believe my experience in education, business, nonprofit leadership, and community service has prepared me to lead in District 2,” he said. “I’ll be willing to ask those very tough questions. I want to be able to listen to our community, and I’ll always put our kids first.”
Primary Election Day in Gadsden County is set for Aug. 18.
Ashlyn Blalock is a student journalist representing Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication as part of the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership. You can reach her at ashlyn1.blalock@famu.edu.
This story was produced in partnership with nonpartisan news organizations and universities across the state working to provide information about the 2026 elections. Learn more about the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership at floridaelections.org.
