WGCU, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Lee County and the News-Press, held a forum of Lee County School District candidates, July 9 in the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Four seats on the board are up for election in 2026 for four-year terms including district one, district four, district five, and the at-large district six.
The Lee County School Board governs Florida’s eighth largest school district and the 27th largest in the country, with more than 100,000 K -12 students, and more than 12,000 full and part-time employees.
The board’s decisions affect not only public schools, but also property taxes, school construction, and educational priorities throughout the county.
In Florida, a nonpartisan school board candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary election wins the seat, so even in districts with more than two candidates running, it is possible the elections could be decided in the Aug. 18th primary.
All 11 qualified candidates were invited to participate in the forum. Six candidates actually did including Jenn McDaigle, who is seeking the district one seat; Carl Baxter and incumbent Debbie Jordan in the district four race; Crystal Johnson and Carline Saintilus in the district five election, and India Palencia in the district six contest.
The other five candidates all declined to participate or were otherwise unable to attend.
The roughly 90-minute forum took place in the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University and was co-moderated by WGCU host and reporter John Davis and News-Press senior reporter Amy Bennett Williams.
For today’s special hour-long episode of Gulf Coast Life, we are presenting a condensed version of the forum. Watch the forum in its entirety here.
