ORANGE PARK, Fla. — In Clay County, four candidates are running for the District 2 seat on the school board.
Matthew Mitchell, Sharon Flowers, James Hughes, and Robert Alvero will all face off in an election that could be historic.
If elected, Mitchell, 20, could become the youngest school board member in Florida history.
Mitchell graduated from Clay High School and has a bachelor's degree in social science from the University of North Florida.
He served as a staffer on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 re-election campaign and worked as a legislative analyst with the Florida Department of Education.
Mitchell said his three focuses are student success, teacher empowerment and parental involvement.
"Everyone else on that board is, you know, a little older or has kids or is a parent or is a former teacher, and we haven't seen a board member that is just came out of the process and has a graduate degree and has worked in policy for education," explained Mitchell.
James "Jim" Hughes is also vying for the seat. He has 36 years of experience teaching in Clay County Schools, including service on school and district-based curriculum teams.
Some of his key issues are prioritizing the best interests of students, respecting teachers and raising teacher pay.
"If there are certain books that parents do not want their children to read, you know, there should be a simple way of them requesting through the media center at each school that they not be able to check out those books," Hughes told First Coast News.
Sharon Flowers served 20 years in the Army and has a Ph.D. in psychology. Her top three issues are the mental health of teachers and students, increasing reading levels, and teacher and support staff pay.
"43% of our students are still reading below grade level. decrease that percentage, I would say to get students reading uh on grade level," Flowers said when explaining her priorities for CCSD.
Robert Alvero is an immigrant from Cuba, a firefighter and a member of the Florida State Guard.
His top issues include addressing teacher shortages, budget transparency and the safety of children.
"I'm planning and implementing in every way I can to be able to help those children that have English as a second language," Alvero added when explaining how he plans to use his background to support ESL students and their families.
Polls across Florida are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.