DeSantis appoints Osceola school board candidate weeks before election

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed one of the four candidates vying for an open seat on the Osceola County School Board to the position they all hope to occupy this fall.

William “Scott” Ramsey will serve at just two school board meetings this summer before the Aug. 20 election that could determine if he retains the seat.

“I was excited,” he said of his appointment. “To have the trust of the governor to serve on the school board is an honor.”

The seat has been open for more than six months since former board member Erika Booth resigned to run for a spot in the Florida House.

Brian Bennett, another candidate for the District 5 seat, said he was disappointed by Ramsey’s appointment.

“It seems like this is a political move by some folks that influenced part of the governor’s campaign as well,” he said.

Still, Bennett doesn’t believe Ramsey’s appointment will influence the race. “The people who are involved in the needs of the school district will make up their own minds whether the governor has appointed him or not,” he added.

The other two candidates seeking the school board seat are Paula Bronson and Dylan Reinsel.

Ramsey said a member of DeSantis’ press office recommended he apply for the open seat, but he did not know he would be appointed before the Friday afternoon announcement via press release.

Ramsey said he met DeSantis on a number of occasions. Last year, Ramsey attended the Silver Spurs Rodeo with the governor and his family. The owner of cattle and feed companies, the Kenansville resident is also chair of Silver Spurs’ rodeo committee, according to the governor’s office.

“Governor DeSantis, he’s just a typical father,” Ramsey said. “He kind of stood back out of limelight” and let his children enjoy the rodeo.

Booth last attended a school board meeting on Dec. 12, 2023, according to school board documents. After that, the District 5 seat was listed as vacant.

Booth did not win the special election earlier this year, but she is running for the same House seat again now.

Terry Castillo, the District 1 board member, said she doesn’t know Ramsey but she wishes the seat had been filled earlier.

“If he wins, he will keep the seat,” she said. “But if he doesn’t, then we’ll have another school board member that needs to be onboarded. So, it would have been a kinder thing for the District 5 constituency to have somebody in the seat before then.”

The election could be decided in August if one of the four candidates wins more than 50% of the vote. Otherwise, the top two voter getters will be in a runoff in November.