Primary election day is drawing near, and there are four candidates currently in the running for a seat on the Alachua County School Board.
Because the race is nonpartisan, the seats will be decided during the Aug. 20 primary election. There are two candidates up for reelection, and two qualified challengers.
Read a breakdown of all the School Board of Alachua County candidates with The Gainesville Sun’s 2024 voter guide.
More: 2024 Voter Guide: Alachua County Commission. See how the candidates stack up
More: 2024 Voter Guide: Gainesville City Commission. See how the candidates stack up
Alachua County School Board District 2
Diyonne McGraw is the current chair of the school board and is running for reelection to her District 2 seat. McGraw will face opponent Thomas Vu in the August primary election.
McGraw was reelected to the school board in 2022, a seat she previously lost 8 months into her 2020-term after being removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis after the board redrew district lines and she fell outside of her old district.
McGraw’s priorities include improving reading skills in the district, preparing children for the workforce and increasing transparency and financial accountability, according to her website .
Prior to being elected, McGraw said one of her priorities was creating an alternative disciplinary school. The school doesn’t have any attendees, but has been listed as an active school since Superintendent Shane Andrew submitted an application for the school to the state without board approval and despite pushback from some other board members.
McGraw has raised $9,095 for her run, according to campaign finance data .
Notable contributions include $300 from county commission candidate Dejeon Cain, $50 from current County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler and $100 from current School Board Member Leanetta McNealy.
McGraw’s opponent, Vu, is a former math teacher and district staff member. His priorities include taking a logical and transparent approach to the use of tax dollars, the implementation of policies that protect children, and direct communication, according to his campaign website .
Vu has raised $14,538 for his run, according to campaign finance data .
Notable contributions to his campaign include $1,000 from current School Board Member Sarah Rockwell, $50 from Wheeler, who donated the same amount to McGraw’s campaign, $25 from Gainesville City Commissioner Casey Willits and $50 from Adrian Hayes-Santos, a former Gainesville commissioner.
Alachua County School Board District 4
Running for reelection is District 4 Board Member Leanetta McNealy, who faces Lew Welge, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator and a retired Florida Public School Guidance Counselor, according to his campaign website.
McNealy has been a board member since 2012 and was an educator for 38 years. She has told The Gainesville Sun her priorities include closing the achievement gap between Black and white students, increasing teacher pay and rezoning the district.
McNealy has raised $3,745 for her run, according to campaign finance data . Notable contributions include $300 from Cain, $50 from Wheeler, $150 from McGraw, $25 from Evelyn Foxx, president of the Alachua County branch NAACP and $50 from Gainesville City Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut.
McNealy’s opponent, Welge, is self-employed and said at a recent forum he would prioritize bringing his knowledge of counseling to the school district to create a better environment. When asked at the forum what his plans were to improve literacy in the district, he suggested his approach would be to make learning fun and then proceeded to sing the ABCs to the room.
Welge has raised $1,900 for his run, according to campaign finance data , though the contributions all come from the candidate to himself.
Voters can find their precinct ahead of the August election by visiting the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections’ website .
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 2024 Voter Guide: School Board of Alachua County. See how the candidates stack up
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