When Alachua County School Board member Kay Abbitt resigned in December, she left more than just an empty seat. She left a heavier workload for her colleagues and lingering uncertainty over when Gov. Ron DeSantis will name her replacement.
Abbitt stepped down due to a conflict of interest after becoming interim director at Boulware Springs Charter School following the previous director's unexpected passing.
State law allows the governor to appoint someone to fill a vacant state or county seat if there are less than 28 months left in the term for that office.
As the four-person board navigates the leadership change, the delay in appointing a new board member reflects a broader trend in Florida, in which DeSantis has leveraged school board vacancies to shape the state’s education system in alignment with his policies.
Board member perspectives
Board Chair Sarah Rockwell said she took on two additional committees when Abbitt left, including a seat on the Education Foundation of Alachua County board, a nonprofit working alongside ACPS to invest in students and teachers. While she enjoys being on it, she said it’s a “high workload committee.”
ACPS board members represent seats on multiple different economic boards and committees across the county for education and beyond.
The biggest impact left by Abbitt’s resignation was on the School Improvement schools Abbitt was overseeing, she said.
Each board member is responsible for overseeing SI schools, which gained the status after earning a grade of "D" or "F." Grades are formulated based on student performance on statewide standardized assessments.
Board members’ SI visits are usually three to four hours long multiple times a year, Rockwell said.
“You get to know the teachers, the administrators and really kind of know the school, because you’re not just popping in once in a while,” she said.
There are six SI schools in Alachua County, and Rockwell oversees one, Terwilliger Elementary. The SI schools are randomly divided among board members, with each member responsible for one to two schools each.
Abbitt’s SI schools, Metcalf Elementary and Rawlings Elementary, were also the only two in the county with turnaround plans.
The turnaround model is a more intensive intervention reserved for schools that consistently fail to meet a “C” grade. School board members, in collaboration with Florida’s Bureau of School Improvement, oversee and implement improvement strategies to ensure schools meet state educational standards.
As board chair, Rockwell said Superintendent Kamala Patton — who took on the role in November after the former superintendent was unexpectedly fired — has been helpful and supportive throughout the transition following Abbitt’s resignation. Each board member meets with Patton once a week, she said.
“I don’t feel the need to ask tons of questions [during the meetings], because I’ve gotten all my answers in advance,” she said. “The quality of our backup material is better. We’re receiving it earlier.”
Board Vice-Chair Tina Certain, who took over Abbitt’s SI schools, believes the board hasn’t faced a single challenge since Abbitt’s departure, she said.
While the extension of Superintendent Patton’s contract was a recent change the four-person board passed, extending Patton’s contract wasn’t a result of the missing seat, she said.
Although ACPS board members must live in their running district for their term, members are elected at-large, meaning all members of the county can vote for all board members.
Due to this distinction, Certain said it was important for the public to know the board’s duty is to the entire county.
“We’re missing a board member, but the board collectively has been working together to do what’s best,” she said.
According to board policy, a tie vote on any motion means the motion fails to pass.
District 2 board member Thomas Vu said Abbitt’s departure made his workload heavier “in a way.”
Many times, their duties are “ceremonial,” where board members are invited to events to lend their support. One less person means it’s tougher to get someone there to represent them, and Vu said members have each had to attend more events to fill the gap.
The hardest part of adjusting to Abbitt’s absence was that she had an “important voice,” which he picked up on despite only being on the board for just over a month, he said.
“I was only with her for a few board meetings, but I miss that voice,” he said. “I felt like she was also somebody who was not afraid to give an opinion, which I really value.”
The biggest lesson he feels the board learned is to be prepared for unexpected situations, he said.
A look into Florida’s school district appointments
Several Florida district school board members have resigned over the past two years, prompting DeSantis to appoint replacements. The date for ACPS’ appointment remains unclear, as his previous appointment history suggests no clear timeline.
In Alachua County, board member Diyonne McGraw was removed from the board by DeSantis in June 2021 because she was found living in a different district.
DeSantis appointed Mildred Russell, a former chair of the Alachua Republican Party, to the seat approximately two months afterward. The current vacancy – which is now over 75 days – exceeds this timeline.
In Flagler County, board member Sally Hunt resigned for personal reasons in September 2024. DeSantis appointed Derek Barrs, a former candidate who lost his election bid for the school board earlier that year. Barrs is also a retired chief of the Florida Highway Patrol. The time to fill the vacancy was approximately 42 days.
In Manatee County, board member Richard Tatem officially resigned to run for a state legislative seat in November. DeSantis reappointed him 13 days later to his own vacated seat after losing his legislative bid.
Critics argued the maneuver circumvented the intent of the "resign-to-run" law, which aims to prevent elected officials from holding one office while seeking another. Despite these criticisms, the appointment was legally upheld, and Tatem remained in his position on the Manatee County School Board.
In Osceola County, board member Erika Booth resigned to run for the Florida House of Representatives in early December 2023. DeSantis appointed Scott Ramsey to the seat just weeks before the 2024 election, while he and three others were vying for the seat.
The time to fill the vacancy was approximately seven months. Ramsey didn’t keep the seat after losing the 2024 election.
DeSantis has also actively sought to influence the composition of Florida's school boards to align with his educational agenda.
Florida school board races are traditionally nonpartisan positions. Amendment 1, which would have made Florida school board elections partisan, did not pass in the 2024 election. All DeSantis’ appointments over the last two years were registered Republicans, according to voter registration records.
In the 2022 midterm elections, DeSantis endorsed 30 candidates, with only five losses. His endorsements helped flip at least three Florida school boards from a liberal majority to a conservative majority.
The determination of whether a school board is "liberal" or "conservative" isn’t based solely on board members’ voter registration, but rather on a mix of endorsements, policy stances, political affiliations and the decisions they make while in office.
School boards that vote in favor of policies such as banning books with LGBTQ+ content or restricting discussions of race in schools, which DeSantis has publicly supported, are often categorized as "conservative," while those opposing such policies might be labeled "liberal."
DeSantis' political campaign also launched the DeSantis Education Agenda survey in 2022, which was designed to assess school board candidates' stances on key issues – such as critical race theory, parental rights and curriculum content. Candidates were encouraged to sign a certificate pledging their support for the governor's agenda to ensure alignment with his educational vision.
In the 2024 elections, he endorsed 23 candidates, including Derek Barrs. Six won outright, six advanced to runoffs and 11 lost their races. DeSantis primarily endorsed candidates in left-leaning areas such as Duval County, which went blue in 2020. Both DeSantis-backed school board candidates won in Duval County in 2024.
"There were A LOT of uphill battles in historically blue districts today, but you don’t shift the culture by only supporting winnable races," Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis' press secretary, posted to X after the 2024 race. "Flipping the Duval County School Board is a win for students and parents in a historically blue county."
The governor’s press office and appointment office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
While the timeline for Abbitt’s seat remains unclear, the ACPS community is left waiting to see whether the governor will prioritize a swift appointment.
Contact Sara-James Ranta at sranta@alligator.org. Follow her on X @sarajamesranta.
Sara-James Ranta is a third-year journalism major, minoring in sociology of social justice and policy. Previously, she served as a general assignment reporter for The Alligator's university desk.
