As the polls close and ballots are counted, here is everything you need to know about the results of the school board election.
With two board members running for reelection, only one has managed to defend their seat so far. Incumbent Sarah Rockwell will continue her time on the board while Hunter Miller and incumbent Janine Plavac face off in a November election. Jancie Vinson, who secured her seat in June, looks to make an impact on the board.
District 1
The District 1 seat, which encompasses Newberry, remains up for grabs in the November general election as all three candidates failed to secure more than 50% of votes.
The top two candidates, Hunter Miller (45.87% of votes) and Janine Plavac (35.50% of votes), will go head to head Nov. 4.
Miller was previously interviewed by The Alligator in June.
The 27-year-old Bishop Middle School teacher ran in hopes of improving administrative support for educators.
“Many teachers are feeling a lack of support coming from the district — and in some cases, administration,” Miller said.
His goals include making teacher training more effective and teacher disciplinary actions more reasonable. He also said he hopes to give teachers more control over instructional techniques, allowing them to choose between online and pen-and-paper teaching methods.
He also hopes to increase student support and safety, he said.
Miller teaches at a Title 1 school, which receives additional federal funding due to high concentrations of low-income students.
He wants to help find a permanent superintendent, he said, who can lessen the district’s achievement gap, manage a large budget and support teachers.
Miller will face Plavac, who holds the District 5 seat after she was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April 2025 to fill a vacancy on the board.
Plavac was previously interviewed by The Alligator in February.
Plavac, a 73-year-old teacher at Saint Francis Catholic Academy, said the application process strengthened her commitment to the board.
“To apply for that, I had to go through a pretty rigorous process,” she said. “When I did that, I was committed to making sure that all parties and all stakeholders in this community have an equal serve and a voice in what goes on.”
Plavac describes her stance as conservative but open-minded. School board positions are nonpartisan, meaning candidates run without party affiliations listed on the ballot.
Her goals include finding a permanent superintendent, improving student performance and literacy rates, and to adjust student behavior and disciplinary actions to retain teachers.
District 3
Incumbent Sarah Rockwell reclaimed her District 3 seat after facing Gregory Pelham at the polls. District 3 serves Alachua and some of northwest Gainesville.
Rockwell secured 57.3% of votes with all 63 precincts reporting.
Rockwell was interviewed by The Alligator in January.
Rockwell, a 44-year-old who studied and taught special education throughout Florida, has served on the board since 2022.
Her goals include continuing to improve school grades, improving transportation and better managing the district’s budget.
“We need people on the board who are willing to ask … ‘Where is the money for this coming from?’” she said. “I understand the desire to implement all the good ideas in the world, but we have to be able to pay for those.”
District 5
Based out of southwest Alachua County, Jancie Vinson secured the District 5 school board seat in June as the only candidate to qualify.
Vinson, a 67-year-old retired correctional probation specialist at the Florida Department of Corrections, was previously interviewed by The Alligator for an article published in July.
She ran for the position twice before — in 2010 and 2014 — and this is her first time securing the spot.
Vinson said she knows how important education is to the community.
“I understand how you have to work hard,” she said. “My parents instilled that in me. They instilled the importance of education, too.”
Vinson grew up in southwest Gainesville during the civil rights era and witnessed desegregation firsthand.
This experience, combined with her time at UF, inspired her to join lifelong organizations committed to equality.
Vinson is 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.
The newly elected board members will take their seats behind the podium following a swearing-in ceremony 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.
