Okaloosa County School Board election: Incumbents Kelley, Evanchyk, White win reelection
Three incumbents held onto their seats on the Okaloosa County School Board after Tuesday's election.
Linda Evanchyk and Diane Kelley both easily won second terms, with more than 60% of the vote in their districts. Incumbent Lamar White also defeated his opponent, earning him a third term on the School Board.
More about the race: Okaloosa County School Board incumbents keep skipping debates. Details on the contentious race
Related coverage: Okaloosa superintendent apologizes to School Board candidate for releasing student information
Live: Walton County, Okaloosa County election results 2022
While school board races in Okaloosa County have traditionally garnered few headlines, this year's race has been contentious, with shouting matches between candidates and opponents' family members rumored to have occurred during at least one forum.
Transparency on district matters was a focal point of the election, along with infrastructure upgrades and school safety.
The election also revived interest in allegations of child abuse to a non-verbal autistic student that occurred when Mary Beth Jackson served as the district's superintendent. She was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019.
District 1: Lamar White
With all 52 precincts reporting and 41,467 ballots counted, White won the race for District 1 with 52% of the votes.
White is a former teacher, coach, principal and college professor. He worked for the Okaloosa County School District for 35 years before being elected to the school board in 2014, and supported keeping schools open during COVID-19.
He also supported new curriculum standards replacing common core and made a successful motion in 2015 to video and "broadcast" school board workshops and meetings via the internet.
Read more: Okaloosa School Board District 1: White, Buckman share views on transparency, new schools, more
Following the child abuse case under Mary Beth Jackson's tenure, White made successful motions that require the school district to inform the school board of investigations involving abuse or violations of civil rights.
His platform this year included school safety, student academic achievement and the completion of the School District's half-cent sales tax-funded projects.
“We’re grateful to the voters for their endorsement and the victory tonight," White said Tuesday night. "We’re looking forward to more great things for the Okaloosa School District. I would like to thank my many supporters who helped make this possible.”
His opponent, Jerry Buckman, served in the Air Force as a defense contractor before retiring and becoming a substitute teacher.
His campaign focused on "major accountability issues" regarding the 2016 child abuse case and enforcement of school board policies. Buckman's platform also included updates to schools and critical infrastructure, which he said are outdated.
District 3: Linda Evanchyk
Election night results showed Evanchyk beat her opponent Darrell Barnhill with almost 62% of the votes, with all 52 precincts reporting and 41,467 ballots counted.
Evanchyk spent 38 years as an English and journalism teacher before retiring in 2017. She spent 33 of those years at Choctawhatchee High School, where she was also a 1974 graduate.
As a School Board member, Evanchyk has been on the Support Employee of the Year and Teacher of the Year committees.
Previous coverage: Okaloosa School Board District 3 race: Evanchyk, Barnhill address issues ahead of election
She is also on the Okaloosa County Value Adjustment Board, is a Take Stock in Children mentor and represents the school board on the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation Board.
Her platform included ongoing training for employees, a focus on offering students "the best education possible," school safety, technological advancement and community engagement.
Her opponent, Barnhill, formerly served on the Walton County School Board. According to his website, Barnhill promised to not raise taxes unless an emergency exists, and campaigned against Critical Race Theory, calling it "an insult to education."
“It was a challenging race this time. Our challengers kept us thinking about a lot of different issues, but I think we’re on the right track," Evanchyk said Tuesday night. "I’m honored to be able to serve in this district.”
She added that she was happy to see all three incumbents win reelection, and believes the continuity will help the School Board moving forward.
“I really consider it a win for our district, not just us individually," Evanchyk said. "It makes me proud that the citizens and voters in Okaloosa County gave us their confidence and believe in what we’re doing. I think our district is on the right track.”
District 5: Diane Kelley
Kelley won the race for District 5 with almost 66% of the votes, with all 52 precincts reporting and 41,467 ballots counted.
Kelley has 40 years of experience in education as a teacher, principal and district-level leader. She served more than 36 years in the Okaloosa County school system and formed her own educational consulting company just before her retirement in 2016.
"The voters have done the right thing for the students and the families of Okaloosa County," Kelley said Tuesday night. "I feel very blessed to have had the support of so many groups and so many parents and former colleagues. It's just been so much of an honor and a blessing to me."
As a late arrival to the race, Kelley told the Daily News she decided to run for a second term at the urging of former students, parents and associates. She also said there are issues she wants to continue working on.
Her platform revolved around "passion, leadership and experience." However, the timing of her announcement raised questions as it came three days after her opponent Cara Marion pre-filed to run.
More on the candida: Meet Kelley and Marion, the candidates vying for School Board District 5 seat
Niceville businessman Joe Fagundes bowed out of the race and threw his support under Kelley. Fagundes was adamant in an interview with the Daily News that there was no conspiracy behind Kelley's sudden decision to run.
"I'm very honored that so many people stood with me and said that they 'Stand with Diane'," Kelley said. "Now we get our shoulder to the workload and we just forge ahead for the continued success of the Okaloosa County School District."
Marion is a registered mental health counselor intern and retired Air Force vet.
She decided to run for the School Board after an incident at Niceville High School in which she alleged a teacher had permitted students, including her daughter, to watch the R-rated movie "Alexander" that was not on an approved list for student viewing.
Her platform focused on accountability, transparency, accessibility and increased mental health initiatives.
Marion and Kelley clashed over the district's handling of the movie incident, with Marion filing a complaint against Kelley after she briefly held an unredacted investigative report bearing the name of Marion's daughter in front of a television camera in July.
Okaloosa County Schools Superintendent Marcus Chambers issued an apology to Marion for the district allowing unredacted information about her daughter to be released into the public domain.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Three Okaloosa County School Board incumbents win reelection
