JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For a non-partisan race, the party lines have been clearly drawn in the Duval County School Board election in District 2.
In Duval County, the school board oversees more than 120,000 students. You won’t see a D or R next to either candidate on the ballot or on their signs, but Republicans and Democrats have ignored the fact that the school board is a non-partisan race clearly picking a side.
Republicans Governor Ron DeSantis and Congressman John Rutherford, among others, are endorsing April Carney who is campaigning as a conservative mom.
The local teachers union Duval Teachers United as well as Duval County Democratic Party, among others, are endorsing Elizabeth Anderson who is the incumbent.
According to both of their campaign websites, they both support school safety, parental rights, and a great education.
However, Andersen says she is not for the party politics.
“I definitely am an advocate for making sure that these school board seats and anything that really has to do with our kids is not partisan," Andersen said. "My background as a licensed mental health counselor and former educator puts me in a position where I have some experience and expertise just looking at what is good for kids and what is good for making sure they get the education they deserve.”
First Coast News has reached out to Carney and her campaign for an interview. They did not accept our interview request.
Chair of the Republican Party of Duval County Dean Black, who is also running for office, says they support Carney because they are against what he describes as a “woke” agenda.
“It’s this caste of left-wing ideology that makes it permissible to teach transgender ideology in first and second grade, even kindergarten," Black said. "That’s an example, but it also involves teaching critical race theory.”
In 2022, Governor DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education law that bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3. This led to the district scrapping its stand alone LGBTQ plus support guide, putting some of that information instead in a comprehensive support manual.
Andersen is on the board that took those actions to abide by the new law.
Andersen has been on the school board since 2018, even serving as chair in 2021.
If Carney is elected, this will be her first time on the school board. She is also a businesswoman.
This is the District 2 race and this school board seat covers 19 schools at the Beaches and Intracoastal West area.
The race has gotten controversial on both sides.
A political ad made by the Duval County Democratic Party and posted on Twitter takes aim at Duval County School Board candidate April Carney, claiming to show a Facebook post in which she says she was "there" at the 2021 capitol insurrection.
Carney's campaign accuses democrats of "lying" and "smearing," calling the picture 'fake.' Carney though has not commented directly.
On the other side, Conservative blogs are attacking Andersen for using the term "token" to describe a Black conservative woman who has a disabled son. They call it a slur.
Andersen has addressed the incident in a statement saying that in the meeting she was discussing the “movement to take over our school boards and inject political partisan into our school board decisions has a long history of exploiting kids with special needs for a political agenda”.
She says she never mentioned skin color or race of anyone.
“This is a last minute smear campaign," Andersen said. "I think that anyone who knows me knows very well that I am an advocate for all children. And I am unequivocally opposed to folks using children and their mental health or disability or diagnosis to push a political agenda.“
For a look at your sample ballot, head to duvalelections.com.