Alachua County residents may recognize Jancie Vinson from the crowd at school board meetings or as someone who regularly signs up for public comment. Soon, her voice will be heard not from the audience but from the podium in the front of the Alachua County School Board room.
This year, Vinson set out for a school board position for a third time — and her victory came early. She was the only candidate to qualify for the board’s District 5 seat.
Vinson is no stranger to Alachua County or its public schools. She grew up in southwest Gainesville as one of 11 children on a small farm.
“I understand how you have to work hard,” Vinson said. “My parents instilled that in me. They instilled the importance of education, too.”
Growing up in the civil rights era and witnessing desegregation firsthand, Vinson graduated from Buchholz High School and set her sights on UF.
UF didn’t accept many Black students at the time, Vinson said, but she was determined that if she applied herself, she could go anywhere.
Vinson found her way, eventually graduating from UF with her bachelor’s degree in business administration. During her time at UF and the years that followed, Vinson joined several clubs integral to her goal of increasing the rights of all citizens of Alachua County.
Vinson has long been a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a Divine Nine sorority she joined during her time at UF to empower Black women. She has also been involved in the American Association of University Women and the Gainesville Woman’s Club, which seek to promote equity and support for women.
Vinson has also been a member of the Alachua County branch of the NAACP, the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the United States.
Along with her involvement in these clubs and town hall meetings, Vinson has remained committed to public education.
When asked why it matters to her, she simply replied, “Why not?”
Throughout the years, Vinson has spent time traveling the world, observing other countries’ education systems.
“I would like to see us in the same shape,” she said. “That [we] take education seriously and make opportunities [available] to everybody.”
For Vinson’s friends, it’s no surprise she ran for the school board seat.
Parmela Marshall-Koons, the 64-year-old executive director of At the WELLness Network, met Vinson at a community event after moving to Alachua County 12 years ago. In her eyes, Vinson’s experience in the community makes her a strong future school board member.
“She really is a servant leader, standing in the gap for families when they're having concerns, standing in the gap for other people in the community,” Marshall-Koons said. “Those kinds of things you don't have to do, but she's done those. She has done those without being elected.”
This “genuine concern” is apparent in other parts of her life, she added. Vinson is currently raising her 9-year-old godchild — something Marshall-Koons said she doesn’t have to do, but chooses to do.
“She is from this community but then also has a genuine concern for our children and what is happening with them,” Marshall-Koons said, “to make sure that they are … properly educated and have an opportunity to have an equal playing field.”
Vinson’s concern for children in the community is also impacted by her time working in the Florida Department of Corrections. Vinson served the department for more than 36 years, eventually retiring as a probation supervisor.
Paula Stahmer, a 77-year-old lawyer, met Vinson in the ‘90s when Vinson was working as a community control officer. She said her experience makes her a strong advocate against the “school-to-prison” pipeline.
The “school-to-prison” pipeline refers to school and community policies that push vulnerable school children out of classrooms and into criminal justice systems.
In 2025, there were 114 juveniles given a citation for first-time misdemeanor offenses in Alachua County, according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
“I think she's seen lots of instances where young people could have been diverted successfully without posing a danger to the community and could have avoided a very problematic future,” she said. “So she's very anxious to see that the schools, to the extent they're able, are sensitive to those kinds of problems.”
School board elections will take place Aug. 18. Because Vinson is the only person to qualify for the District 5 seat, community members can expect her to take office in November.
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a second-year journalism student and this summer's metro editor. She previously worked as city/county commission reporter and K-12 education reporter for The Alligator. When she's not editing stories, Grace enjoys running, weightlifting and going on random side quests. If she's not at her desk, you can find her at any place offering free food and crafts.
