Cindy Spray defeats Harold Byrd Jr. in Manatee School Board District 2 runoff
Cindy Spray, a candidate endorsed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, defeated Harold Byrd Jr. for Manatee County's District 2 School Board seat in Tuesday's election.
The race for the District 2 seat, which encompasses an area roughly west of Interstate 75 and north State Road 64 ending near Palmetto, pitted Byrd and Spray in a runoff from the August primary to replace board member Charlie Kennedy.
Spray received just over 53% of the vote.
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Manatee School Board District 2 Runoff: Harold Byrd Jr. v. Cindy Spray
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Neither candidate had gained over 50% of the vote in the three-candidate August vote, as Susan Agruso gained 25.6% of the vote while Byrd and Spray saw about 36% and 39% respectively.
School Board candidates endorsed by DeSantis have seen success throughout the state this election cycle, with two other endorsed candidates — Chad Choate and Richard Tatem — winning in Manatee County in the August primary.
Though Florida school board seats are nonpartisan, debates over issues ranging from critical race theory to parental rights in education have become highly polarized.
Spray, 66, moved to Manatee County in 2008 and has a background in accounting at PepsiCo. She said she is a parental rights-focused candidate who wants to represent the taxpayers on the board.
"I held true to my belief in what we can do for Manatee County, for our students, parents, teachers and our taxpayers," Spray said following her win.
In an October interview with the Herald-Tribune, Spray said she sees the concepts from critical race theory permeating into K-12 education despite its explicit absence from the curriculum. She pointed to the Stop WOKE Act, a law signed by DeSantis that bans the teaching of critical race theory in Florida K-12 schools.
"If you're bringing in something that the governor has been banned, or does not support, you're actually injecting your own opinion into the education system," she said.
Byrd, 62, is a lifelong Manatee County native and a Bradenton city councilman from 1989-95 and 2007-21. He graduated from Manatee County schools in District 2, and his mother Ruby Byrd once served on the Manatee County School Board.
Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee County School Board District 2 election results
