PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — As voters head to the polls Tuesday, there will be a big shakeup in Palm Beach County education.
Three school board seats are up for grabs on the seven-member board, with no incumbents running for reelection.
WPTV education reporter Stephanie Susskind examined the changing dynamics of school board races and what it means for your child's education.
Nearly half of the Palm Beach County School Board seats will change hands this election season. It's the biggest shakeup in almost 15 years when three new members were all elected during the 2010 election cycle.
A lot has changed since then, not only in education, but with people's perspective on school boards.
Palm Beach County mom Taylor Christian spends a lot of time at the park with 2-year-old Aryia. While Aryia is not old enough for grade school yet, Christian knows what topics matter most to her.
"Definitely safety is a huge issue. Making sure the kids are safe. And structure, too. Structure is really important," Christian said.
Safety was a top issue for many of you on our WPTV Facebook page, along with bullying, as we get ready for new faces on the Palm Beach County School Board. Some long-held seats will turn over.
The candidates for District 1 — a seat covering the northern part of the county held by Barbara McQuinn since 2016 — include Matthew Jay Lane, Page Lewis, and Francesca Wernisch.
Virginia Savietto is running unopposed for the District 2 seat held by Alexandria Ayala since 2020. This seat covers the Greenacres and Palms Springs area.
In District 5, Frank Barbieri has represented the southern part of the county since 2008. The candidates are Gloria Branch, Mindy Koch, Mike Letsky, Suzanne Page, and Charman Postel.
A candidate must win more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday. Otherwise, the race will go to a runoff in November.
The attention on school boards has changed drastically over the years, especially during COVID-19 when mask and social distancing debates filled the chambers.
"It's about being able to handle some of the negative consequences of being on the opposite side of certain parents and political groups. Not interest groups. Political groups," said Jonathan Collins, an assistant professor of political science and education at Teachers College at Columbia University.
Collins has been studying the changes in school boards. He founded a new research lab to examine these issues. The School Board and Youth Engagement Lab analyzes national data, looking at how boards are elected and how they work with the public.
Collins said three new members in Palm Beach County could shake things up.
"You won't see seismic change. But what you could see is a significantly greater amount of disagreement among the board. Just friction that would make it more difficult to achieve things," Collins said.
Collins added that what school boards focused on has changed as well in recent years.
"It was more about bringing a bunch of groups together that maybe have some overlapping interests and maybe some competing interests, and how do we get everyone to the table to split the pie and be happy about it?" Collins said. "Now you have to be more of a partisan politician. Now it's about signaling where you stand ideologically. It's about connecting to a partisan group."
Christian said she'll be watching.
"Making sure the curriculum they are providing for these kids at school is structured. They're learning, incorporating more real-life education," Christian said.
