Bitter Tallahassee School Board race could become norm in Florida if Amendment 1 passes

Want to know what partisan school board races could look like if Florida voters approve Amendment 1 in November?

Look no further than the Leon County School Board District 4 race pitting incumbent and retired veteran educator Laurie Lawson Cox against firefighter, father and preschool owner Jeremy Rogers.

District 4 in northwest Tallahassee encompasses the poorest ZIP code in the state as well as one of the most affluent ZIP codes in the county, and the race has drawn attention – and cash – from partisan warriors.

Cox is the only Republican on the School Board and local Democrats are battling to flip the seat with Rogers, a newcomer to the political scene, in what has become one of the most bitter races this election cycle.

The School Board race, intended to be a nonpartisan affair, has been anything but, even drawing personal intervention from the leaders of both state political parties.

Recently, state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried joined door knockers for the Rogers campaign. Meanwhile, state Republican Party Chair Evan Power has been targeting the campaign on social media and pouring state party money into mailers painting Rogers as a “radical."

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The local Democratic Party is also on the front lines of the fight and has attempted to label Cox as a "right-wing extremist."

The party warfare has gotten so ugly that Cox says she wouldn't even consider running on a partisan ballot.

"To be honest, I am never doing this again, because I hate what this has become and it's not who I am," Cox told the Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday afternoon.

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After Florida citizens voted to enshrine non-partisan School Board races into the Constitution in 1998, this year's Amendment 1, if approved, would mark a reversal and make district school board elections partisan starting with the 2026 general election.

Proponents of the amendment argue that it will enhance transparency at the polling station. However, critics are concerned it will intensify the politicization of school board elections.

According to Susan MacManus, a noted political analyst and retired political science professor from the University of South Florida, school board races are already partisan playgrounds, and if the amendment passes it won't change much.

"It's not just Florida, school board races across the country have become very partisan because people have different philosophies about schools and most of this stems from the COVID crisis," MacManus told the Tallahassee Democrat, citing how disparaging views on masks and curriculum standards turned school board meetings into political battlegrounds.

"There's a lot more partisan ideology coming into school board races, rather than ideally voting for the person with the best qualifications or someone who shares your philosophy for schools."

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But local political analyst and former campaign strategist Gary Yordon disagrees.

"If it were partisan, it would look worse," Yordon told the Tallahassee Democrat. "Partisanship expands the need to invest by both parties."

Yordon said campaign cash from parties and dark money political committees would flow far more easily, leading to even more negative attacks.

The winner of the District 4 Leon County School Board race will be decided on Aug. 20. While voters will have the final say on the amendment in November, here are just some of the ways party politics have eclipsed the issues in this School Board contest and provided voters with a textbook example of what could be the future in Florida.

Endorsements lead to partisan punches

Despite insisting they want to keep School Board races free of party influence, Cox and Rogers have effectively merged their campaign efforts with local party operatives.

In 2022, while crowing about successes in flipping local school board races, Gov. Ron DeSantis' said he supported Cox's campaign from behind the scenes, adding his public support wouldn't have been helpful in the mostly Democratic district.

This year, DeSantis is more at the forefront. While he left Cox off his public list of endorsements released in July, she later forwarded what the governor's office called a "holdover endorsement" to her Republican supporters.

Democrats pounced at the opportunity to tie Cox to a governor who has become a lighting rod in his bid to overhaul K through college education in Florida.

"We'll vote out his right win extremist ally," the Democratic Party wrote on X.

Republicans launched their own endorsement attack after Rogers was backed by Equality Florida, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. The group has blasted DeSantis initiatives like the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" by opponents, and the Stop WOKE Act.

After the local Democratic Party posted a photo of Equality Florida members joining Rogers and his daughter to canvass neighborhoods last month, Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power posted on X that Equality Florida wants to "sexually indoctrinate" kindergartners and "Jeremy Rogers does not share our North Florida values."

Rogers called it a “very wild, bigoted insult” and told the Tallahassee Democrat “my daughter and I were just exploited for political gain."

Moms for Liberty and a blurred photo makes the rounds

Rogers and the Democratic party have struggled to identify "extremist" policies Cox has pursued on the School Board, which often votes unanimously on issues. Instead, they have focused on working to connect her to DeSantis and Moms for Liberty, the conservative parental rights advocacy group.

"Republican political action campaigns, and groups like the Moms for Liberty chapter leaders have supported my opponent's campaign vigorously, as have big-time state government lobbyists. That's troubling," Rogers previously told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Earlier this month, the Leon County Democratic Party linked Cox to Moms for Liberty by posting on social media a photo that appeared on the group's Instagram account from an organizational event in 2022. The parents group intentionally blurred out a figure in the background of the photo that resembled Cox, leading the Democratic party to demand answers in repeated posts.

Cox confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat that it was her in the photo. She said she was at the Moms for Liberty event to hear keynote speaker Preston Scott, a local radio talk show host who is far right on the political spectrum. The event was free and open to the public.

Brandi Andrews, vice chair of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, recently addressed Cox's relationship with the organization.

"I’m in charge of membership for our local Moms for Liberty chapter in Leon County. I can attest that Laurie Cox has NEVER been a member of our chapter nor has she given money to our chapter," Andrews wrote in a social media post.

Andrews, who was once a student of Cox's, donated $100 to her campaign in June.

"I have friends who are in that group (Moms for Liberty), and I have friends who are against that group. It's just so frustrating," Cox told the Democrat. "I do not like being put in a box."

Mailboxes become a partisan war zone

Beyond social media, mailboxes have also become one of the key battlegrounds of the School District 4 race. The two-sided advertisements that landed in mailboxes mainly emphasize political positions and seek to brand the opposition as "extremist."

A Republican Party funded mailer graded the "backers of Jeremy Rogers" an F on a true or false pop quiz that suggests the campaign supports critical race theory, which has become a frequent target of Republicans and DeSantis. On the other side of the mailer, the party pleaded "don't let them take over our classrooms," with pictures of sad students.

The Leon County Democratic Party responded with its own scathing mailer.

"Ron DeSantis and Republican extremists are backing Laurie Cox," is what the says with cutout images of Cox and DeSantis side by side and a Moms for Liberty label in the bottom corner. The other side of the mailer says, "Democrats are supporting Jeremy Rogers for School Board" next to a photo of Rogers, his wife and his daughter.

Dark money groups have even gotten into the action. After news spread that Rogers, then an arson inspector, sued the city for harassment in 2021 as he struggled with mental health issues, a political committee fired out texts to voters that said Rogers is "full of drama" and "we don't need this kind of disruption in our schools."

Supporters rallied around Rogers and condemned the attack.

"I’ve lived through real challenges, and it’s given me the strength and perspective to truly help others," Rogers wrote on Facebook. "I want to take that experience and use it to serve our community, to be there for every child and every family, and to stand up for those who need someone in their corner.

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Superintendent and School Board fault lines

The election has also created fault lines on the School Board. While some members have quietly supported their Republican colleague, most of the board has been cautious in sharing their leanings publicly.

School Board member Marcus Nicolas was elected in 2022 at the same time as Cox. He said he isn't offering any endorsements out of respect for the nonpartisan principles in the race.

School Board member Darryl Jones, who was first elected in 2018, said he supports candidates whose views align with his own. He is not endorsing Cox or Rogers, but has endorsed board chair Rosanne Wood and Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

"Traditionally school board members do not endorse either school board candidates or the superintendent. However, I offer my support to those who share my same values regarding funding public education, Title I schools, early learning and career and technical education," Jones said.

Cox has publicly expressed her support for the expansion of the state's universal voucher program, which allows students to attend private school with publicly funded scholarships drawing students and dollars away from public schools. For her, the vouchers represent the parents right to choose.

For Jones, that's a problem.

"I can't support anyone who believes in the expansion of the voucher program at the bankrupting of public education," Jones said.

Wood, who is being challenged by Republican newcomer Daniel Zeruto, said she is remaining impartial and has not offered either candidate a commitment of support.

Attempts to reach School Board member Alva Swafford Smith for this report were unsuccessful.

Cox's campaign has drawn a boost of bipartisan support with the endorsement of Superintendent Rocky Hanna, a Democrat, who is also seeking reelection.

Cox offered Hanna high praise at a Tallahassee Democrat forum and said she "loved working with him" and was assisting him in building better relationships with DeSantis and the Republican-dominated legislature. Hanna, meanwhile, dismissed the Democratic Party's attempt to label Cox as an "extremist," calling her "a wonderful School Board member and I'll continue to support her."

Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Amendment 1: Here's what partisan School Board races look like