Qualifying period ends: These are the candidates for Brevard's School Board

In a year that's seen the Brevard School Board make controversial moves from banning books to allowing trained staff to carry firearms, six candidates will vie for two seats on the five-member board in the upcoming primary election.

In District 3, there are two candidates, meaning a board member will be elected during the primary.

But in District 4, incumbent Matt Susin is running against three additional candidates. Unless one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff after the primary involving the top two vote-getters, and a board member will be elected during the general election on Nov. 5.

As of June 2024, Brevard School Board members make an annual salary of $48,725, according to the district.

Here's what you need to know about the six candidates:

District 3 candidates

John Thomas and Amber Yantz qualified as candidates for the District 3 seat. There is no incumbent running. Jennifer Jenkins currently occupies this seat, but because of a redistricting measure passed in 2023, she is now zoned for District 4 and has opted not to run again.

One candidate, Bobby Robinson II, withdrew from the race in October 2023 after announcing his candidacy in June of the same year.

District 3 encompasses the southeastern area of Brevard, including Melbourne Beach, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, Grant-Valkaria and Barefoot Bay. It has only one public high school — Palm Bay Magnet High School — and includes nine elementary schools, three middle schools, five charter schools and the south area adult/community education center.

District 4 candidates

District 4 attracted the most candidates, including incumbent Matt Susin. Challengers are Max Madl, Keith Schachter and Avanese Taylor.

Crystal Kazy, who announced her candidacy in April, withdrew from the race at the beginning of June.

District 4 is located in the central Brevard area and covers the Viera, Suntree and Satellite Beach area, as well as part of Rockledge. It has three public high schools ― Viera High, Eau Gallie High, Satellite High ― in addition to its 14 elementary schools, two middle schools (with a third coming in Viera in August) and one charter school.

Susin, a former high school history teacher, was elected in 2016, then won his re-election in 2020 against retired university professor Dave Worrell. During the 2022-2023 school year, he served as the board chair.

Could election change makeup of the board?

Even if two Democrats were to win seats in Districts 3 and 4, Brevard's board would still be majority conservative, though it would be more evenly split.

School board elections are technically nonpartisan, with a candidate's political party not listed on the ballot, although they've become more and more driven by political parties in recent years.

Currently, Jenkins is the only Democrat on Brevard's school board. She's often the sole opposing voice against moves such as efforts to restrict access to books or allow district staff to carry firearms, though even that's not always the case.

Katye Campbell, who is a Republican and represents District 5, has been caught in the middle at times, as she's sought more moderate solutions. However, both she and Jenkins are typically outvoted.

What issues are important to the board?

The school board handles a variety of issues within the district, from approving finances for building repairs to working to bolster their pre-K program to making the final decision about school security.

In more recent years, they've placed a greater focus on so-called culture war issues like book bans, LGBTQ topics, the handling of COVID-19 mitigations and more. Many of these actions have been driven by the state legislature and Florida Board of Education, both of which have increasingly created more regulations regarding these topics.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at [email protected]. X: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: These are the candidates for seats on Brevard's 5-member school board