Clay County School Board Challengers Lay Out Priorities; Incumbents Skip Forum

Four challengers seeking Clay County School Board seats laid out their platforms at a League of Women Voters forum Monday night, addressing teacher compensation, administrative spending, and student priorities — while all three incumbents whose seats are on the ballot skipped the standing-room-only event.

The forum comes ahead of the August primary election, where school board races for Districts 1, 4, and 5 will appear on the ballot. Under Florida election law, these nonpartisan races could be decided in August without advancing to the November general election if a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

Who's running and who showed up

District 1 Board Chair Erin Skipper faces one challenger, former school leader and teacher Lara Libretto. District 4 Board Member Michele Hanson faces business professional and parent Michael Rathjen. District 5 Board Member Ashley Gilhousen faces three challengers, two of whom attended the forum: Veronica Powell-Faison and Gerald Beasley, who works on the operations side of the district.

The League of Women Voters said all candidates received invitations. Hanson told local media she had a scheduling conflict. Skipper and Gilhousen did not respond to requests for comment on their absence.

The challengers framed their campaigns around bringing change to a district navigating budget pressures and staffing challenges common to Florida school systems. Libretto emphasized her classroom and administrative experience. "I feel like we need to support our teachers, continue our student achievement and make sure our parents are engaged," she said. "As a former school leader and teacher, I felt like we need an experienced educator to be on the board to make these decisions that affect thousands of students every day."

Rathjen said concerns about district finances and state funding changes prompted his entry into the race. "Coming from the business world, all the budgetary shortfalls and the new change in the funding — I went, I need to put my hat in the ring and give the voters a choice," he said. His family homeschooled their three daughters at various points before enrolling them in Clay County schools.

Powell-Faison positioned herself as an advocate for students, families, and educators. "I see that there is a clear need for someone who has the children's best interests in mind — the community, the parents, and the teachers," she said. Beasley, who said he visits schools and district offices regularly in his operations role, argued for internal reform. "I talk to people and I feel there needs to be change," he said.

Competing strategies on teacher pay

Teacher compensation emerged as a central point of contrast among the candidates, reflecting statewide pressure on Florida districts to raise starting salaries and retain experienced educators amid competition from neighboring states and private-sector employers.

Libretto proposed cutting administrative overhead to free up dollars for the classroom. "We need to look at the top administrative level — we've got bloat," she said. "We need to ask ourselves with our money: is it essential? Is it tied to student success? Is it a redundant position? Because we're always asked at a school level to do more with less."

Rathjen outlined a longer-term approach using the district's education foundation, which he said is becoming the direct support organization for the district. "Once our education foundation becomes the direct support organization for our district, we start an endowment — that could help offset some of the costs in the future for teacher pay," he said. He also pledged not to accept a pay raise if elected to the school board — board members in Florida districts typically receive modest stipends set by statute or local ordinance.

Powell-Faison said she would prioritize newer teachers. "I would try to find common ground where the new teachers — anybody under, I guess, 10 years — would be able to see some type of pay increase," she said. Her focus on early-career educators aligns with state initiatives in recent years to raise minimum teacher salaries, though veteran teacher pay scales have remained a point of contention in many districts.

Beasley echoed concerns about spending equity, citing what he described as uneven distribution of raises. "I think if we can stop the waste and change some other things that are going on, I think that there could be funds for raises," he said. "They turned around and created more upper-level positions and promoted people — they got raises. I see a lot of double standards in the school district."

What this means for Clay County schools

Clay County is one of the fastest-growing school districts in Northeast Florida, adding enrollment as families move to subdivisions along the First Coast Expressway loop in Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, and Lake Asbury. Growth in enrollment typically increases demands on district budgets for new school construction, buses, and staff — pressures that shape debates over administrative spending versus classroom resources.

The district operates under Florida's school-funding formula, which ties per-pupil revenue to a combination of local property taxes and state appropriations. Changes in state funding policy — referenced by Rathjen — can shift the balance between those revenue sources, affecting how much flexibility local boards have to set compensation and spending priorities. Districts across Florida have lobbied the legislature in recent sessions over adjustments to the formula that changed how capital and operational dollars flow to growing counties.

Teacher recruitment and retention are statewide pressure points. Florida raised minimum teacher pay to $47,500 in recent years through targeted state funding, but many districts still struggle to fill vacancies in high-need subjects like math, science, and special education. Salary schedules that compress pay for veteran teachers — the issue Powell-Faison and Beasley referenced — have been a source of tension as districts balance mandates to lift starting salaries with expectations from experienced staff.

Administrative staffing levels are a recurring flashpoint in local school politics. Florida law requires districts to meet certain student-to-administrator ratios and provides some categories of funding that can only be used for specific purposes, which can limit how much a board can shift dollars from administrative accounts to teacher pay. The question of what constitutes essential administration versus bloat — raised by Libretto and Beasley — hinges on how districts define instructional support roles, compliance staff for federal programs, and central-office functions that state and federal regulations require.

What happens next

The primary election is scheduled for August 2026. In Florida nonpartisan school board races, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top two finishers advance to the November general election. If a candidate wins an outright majority in August, the race is decided and does not appear on the November ballot.

District 1 and District 4 races, with two candidates each, will be decided in August regardless of vote share. The District 5 race, with three candidates, could produce a runoff in November if the top vote-getter does not clear 50 percent.

Voters can find candidate information, polling locations, and ballot details through the Clay County Supervisor of Elections office. School board members in Florida serve four-year terms and set policy for district budgets, curriculum adoption, superintendent evaluation, and major capital projects, but do not manage day-to-day operations — that responsibility falls to the superintendent, who reports to the board.

The forum was part of a statewide partnership of 27 nonpartisan newsrooms and universities working to inform voters on 2026 school board elections, an effort coordinated as the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership.

The outcome of these races will shape Clay County's response to the overlapping pressures of enrollment growth, housing development, and state policy changes that are redefining Northeast Florida's education landscape as the region absorbs families moving from higher-cost metros in search of affordability and top-rated schools.