While still early, four candidates have already filed to run for seats on the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) in 2026, including one incumbent.  

Three seats are up for reelection next year, including District 1 (Tina Certain), District 3 (Sarah Rockwell) and District 5 (Janine Plavac). 

Certain, who is in her second term on the school board, will not be seeking reelection. Instead, she has filed to run for the Alachua County Commission District 2 seat.  

Certain has served on the SBAC since 2018. After being reelected to a second four-year term in 2022, she was elected chair of the SBAC’s first-ever all-female board.  

In January 2023, Certain became the fifth SBAC member to hold the presidency of the Florida School Board Association (FSBA), joining Bob Howe (1981), Charles Chesnut III (1987), Barbara Sharpe (2001) and April Griffin (2017).  

As of the publication of this article, no one has filed to run for the District 1 seat.  

Rockwell announced earlier this month that she would seek reelection for her seat. Currently in her first term, Rockwell has served on the school board since 2022.  

“Serving on the school board is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Rockwell said in a press release announcing her reelection campaign. “Over the last several years, we have strengthened early literacy, improved instructional quality, and reduced the number of low-performing schools. At the same time, we have been aligning our operations and investing more directly in students and educators. There is still important work ahead, and I am committed to providing steady, student-centered leadership that keeps our district moving forward.” 

In July, Rockwell received criticism for controversial social media comments she made about the death of Hulk Hogan, a pro wrestler and supporter of President Donald Trump.  

“Oh did Hulk die? I didn’t even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world,” Rockwell wrote in a since-deleted comment on her personal Facebook account. 

While she apologized, Rockwell’s comment ended up having a ripple effect on the SBAC, which was accused of violating state law by attempting to have a parent – Jeremy Clepper – removed from a heated July 31 meeting after he made contentious comments toward Rockwell and engaged in back-and-forth banter with the audience.  

Clepper was among more than 30 public commentators who spoke about Rockwell’s comments at the meeting, with many of those speakers voicing their support for the then-board chair.  

At an Aug. 20 meeting, the Florida State Board of Education agreed with Education Commissioner Anastasious Kamoutsas in finding probable cause that the school board violated Clepper’s First Amendment rights, as well as Florida law, at the July 31 meeting.  

As a result, SBAC members were required to undergo training on free-speech policies and follow these guidelines for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year. The state is also monitoring the school board for the rest of the academic year. 

So far, only one person has filed to challenge Rockwell for the District 3 seat. That is Pamela Marshall-Koons. 

Marshall-Koons ran as a candidate for Alachua County sheriff in the 2024 general election. The position was ultimately won by Chad Scott following a recount.  

Meanwhile, Annie Muscato and Jancie Vinson have both filed to run for the District 5 school board seat. Plavac was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April to fill the vacancy of Kay Abbitt, who resigned in December 2024.  

Plavac is serving the remainder of Abbitt’s term, which ends in 2026. She has not filed to run for the seat as of the publication of this article. 

This will be Vinson’s third time running for the school board after unsuccessful campaigns in 2010 and 2014.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.