Three of the five seats on the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) are up for election in August, and six candidates have qualified for each of the non-partisan races.
Current school board member Janine Plavac, who was appointed to the District 5 seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April 2025, will compete against Gabriel Lopez and Hunter Miller for the District 1 seat.
The current holder of the District 1 seat, Tina Certain, is vacating her seat to run for the Alachua County Commission.
DISTRICT 1
Candidate: Janine Plavac
Age: 73
Occupation: Teacher/nurse
Previous experience in elected office: SBAC member from April 2024 to present.
Public service other than elected office: Medical mission trips to Haiti (x20), served as chair of the Gainesville High School (GHS) Advisory Council for 10 years, District Advisory Council (DAC) committee member for SBAC, Sick Leave Bank Committee and eucharistic minister.
Campaign webpage: https://janineplavacforalachuacountyschoolboard.com/
What prompted you to run for election?
The SBAC needs a board member who is a teacher, has knowledge of the public/private schools, and is an advocate for teachers, staff, students and parents. Having worked at GHS for 17 years (director of the Academy of Health Professions program) and currently teaching/director of the Health Sciences Institute at Saint Francis Catholic Academy, I bring that expertise to the board. I believe that if elected to the position I currently hold (different district), I could enhance the board with my years of teaching in both settings. Also, I believe in transparency and accountability. And in the last 18 months, I have shown that holding all employees accountable for their actions, or lack thereof, by asking questions and demanding accountability, is paramount for the community to trust in the school board.
What do you hope to accomplish as part of the school board?
Accountability, unity and progress. I believe holding all appointed officials (superintendent and administrators) accountable is of utmost necessity. We are doing something wrong if programs that were put in place have not helped our lowest quartile of students. Dr. Patton is responsible for our school grades, and our third graders have suffered in our schools, particularly on the east side of Gainesville. Students can’t go forward if they can’t read, write or do math. So, one of my goals is to hire a new superintendent who can address this issue, along with unifying our district. Our school children have to be the reason we make decisions, because if they aren’t educated to the best of our ability, then we have failed. And failure is not an option when it comes to our kids.
What are your views on the recent rezoning efforts throughout the district, particularly the school closures?
I think the district moved way too fast on the rezoning, but that is because the majority of the board was worried about Schools of Hope, which allows state-approved charter schools to use ACPS facilities. In reality, the creation of the Newberry Elementary School was the only thing that had to be in place for the 2026-27 school year. I do not endorse the closing of Williams Elementary School and the consolidation of Alachua and Irby Elementary School, nor having Lincoln Middle School become a K-8. I believe the new superintendent should have been the person driving this rezoning. It was too fast. Not enough thought was put into it. The community feels disengaged, even with the community meetings. And now, in a few weeks, we will see what happens with Foster being closed and students being moved all over the district to new schools. Our teachers will make this work for our students, but that is an added burden they didn’t need to deal with this school year.
Do you believe the school district should acquire Citizens Field?
I believe that acquiring Citizens Field from the City of Gainesville is a huge financial commitment. I was not on the board when this process was started and did not vote to go forward with the purchase. However, I did ask that staff come back with all viable options so our three high schools might be able to have new or expanded stadiums (GHS does not have room). One option that I have asked to look into was using the Professional Academies Magnet (PAM) at Loften High School property to build a stadium for GHS and Eastside High School (EHS) and then expand Buchholz High School’s practice stadium into their own stadium. If Citizens Field comes up for a vote again, one real problem is the lack of parking, which is a real issue. But staff has been tasked to come back with all options, including cost.
What is your view on vouchers and school choice? How do you think it will affect the school district moving forward?
I believe that giving parents the option to educate their children in a setting that promotes optimal educational opportunities is the right of all parents. The greatest gift we give our children is their education. So, currently, due to a variety of issues in our public schools, many parents are seeking to homeschool, send their children to charter/private and parochial schools, and are using the vouchers that are available. Do I think that is wrong? No. Because again, why are the parents leaving public education? Until the school board addresses that seriously and doesn’t just blame the vouchers and school choice, parents will continue to pull their children out of public school, and school closures will continue. One of my goals, if I am elected, is to seriously address this issue. Because if not, public schools as we know them will become irrelevant. Parents, teachers and staff all have to be involved to change the course of public education in Alachua County.
Candidate: Gabriel Lopez
Age: 43
Occupation: Teacher and business owner
Previous experience in elected office: N/A
Public service other than elected office: I’ve volunteered for about 20 years with local churches and nonprofit organizations by serving food at St. Francis House, tutoring elementary-aged students in low-income neighborhoods, and helping people with disabilities find jobs and make home improvements. I’ve also taught English to international students.
Campaign webpage: Gabriel Lopez for District 1 School Board
What prompted you to run for election?
As an elementary school teacher for the last several years, I’ve experienced firsthand the many injustices our students, teachers and families face every day. As a father, I quickly realized that many of our students do not feel safe in our classrooms because of the consistently destructive behaviors of a few students that our administrators continue to tolerate and enable. As a business owner, I quickly identified the bureaucratic barriers our administrators choose to hide behind, while deflecting their own responsibilities, and those of the district, onto the teachers. Our district and board leaders do not support our teachers.
What do you hope to accomplish as part of the school board?
My goals with the board begin with teacher retention, leadership development and improving K-2 literacy rates. Students and staff need a nurturing culture of consistency. This creates positive results and supports growth. Our district has a terrible history of ignoring our K-2 students’ behaviors and literacy progress and then trying to catch up in grade 3. This is clearly documented in the 2024-25 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) data from the state. I will begin a new culture of accountability so that administrators will have the appropriate leadership skills they often lack, and teachers will get the appropriate support, as needed, with classroom disruptions. If we consistently build up our teachers and our administrators, we will see the literacy gains our students deserve. This is only possible with a board working together and putting students first. I will advocate for budget transparency, respectful communication from leaders and genuine community engagement.
What are your views on the recent rezoning efforts throughout the district, particularly the school closures?
While some of the population data supports some of the new boundaries, there is a fundamental human element the school board continues to overlook. The limited communication and lack of compassion for the families affected by the closures have once again made the school board appear disconnected from the community. Like the old Terwilliger site, the school board has again decided to close buildings without any real plan on how to proceed. I don’t understand why the school board cannot maintain a positive and influential relationship within our community, or even with our city leaders. I believe there should have been a lot more planning and communication before this rezoning. Many citizens have continued concerns over how our school bus transportation system has barely operated at a respectable level the last several years, and now there will be even longer bus routes for some families.
Do you believe the school district should acquire Citizens Field?
Yes. However, the city presented a bad deal to the school board. You can see my public comments on YouTube at the June 16 school board meeting. As a business owner, I’ve negotiated over 20 contracts during the last six years with different companies in different cities. Our school board needs someone who knows how to leverage resources and negotiate contracts. I’m thankful the board was wise enough to pause the deal, but I could not believe they immediately reverted to discussing the previously declined options. These options were agreed to simply not be fiscally responsible. Our community deserves a renovated Citizens Field. The board simply had to request an amendment or addendum to the proposed contract and then move forward with it. However, this is also something that should not be a priority when the district is struggling financially, and while our students’ literacy rates are not improving.
What is your view on vouchers and school choice? How do you think it will affect the school district moving forward?
The 2023 Florida HB1 law has devastated our schools and needs to be challenged in court. School choice should be an option, but not at the expense of our limited public-school funding. This is a time where we need to stand up to the state and fight legally. Other counties have already done this. We will continue to see parents remove children from public school because not only will they get paid to do so, but we are not even prioritizing our grade levels where the data is the most glaring. Our 2024-25 FTE data is the lowest for kindergarten students. Private, charter and scholarship enrollments are at their highest levels in kindergarten. Charter schools outperforming public schools have drastically higher FTEs in kindergarten. Parents, private schools and charter schools all know we have effectively abandoned our kindergarteners. Our literacy rates and enrollment data prove it.
Candidate: Hunter Miller
Age: 27
Occupation: Math teacher at Howard W. Bishop Middle School
Previous experience in elected office: No experience in elected office.
Public service other than elected office: I’ve volunteered on a number of political campaigns on the local, state and federal levels. I am currently a member of the Democratic Public Education Caucus of North Central Florida, where we are focused on drawing attention to many of the issues facing our public schools today – the same issues that inspired me to run for school board.
Campaign webpage: https://huntermillerforschoolboard.com/
What prompted you to run for election?
I am running because, as a teacher, I am seeing firsthand what is happening in our schools. Highly effective teachers are leaving because they do not feel supported by either the district or their school administration. Parents, students and staff are leaving our schools because they do not feel safe. We have one of the largest racial achievement gaps in Florida, and students regularly read multiple levels below grade level.
As a teacher, I’ve consistently advocated for programs to help solve these challenges. I have learned tough lessons in doing so, but I have realized the necessary change we need for our schools to flourish can only be made from the top down. I’m not running for prestige, ego, or to get back at the school district. I am running because I see the changes that need to be made, and Alachua County deserves someone who will fight for these changes.
What do you hope to accomplish as part of the school board?
My primary goal is to close our achievement gap. Too many students graduate with struggles in reading, facing lifelong challenges. I want to utilize science-backed resources with a proven track record to bring a renewed focus on reading in grades K-2.
We must rebuild public confidence in our schools. As a teacher, I’ve witnessed parents pull their students from public schools because they don’t believe our schools are safe. Students cannot learn if they don’t feel safe, so Alachua County Public Schools must provide a safe, secure and supportive environment for students, teachers and staff.
Achieving these goals requires us to properly invest in our schools in East Gainesville and our rural communities. Too often, these areas are treated as an afterthought when we allocate resources. Many recent decisions are the result of decades of disinvestment, and I promise to advocate for equitable funding for all communities.
What are your views on the recent rezoning efforts throughout the district, particularly the school closures?
The closure of schools in East Gainesville and Alachua wasn’t a decision made in the past year or two. It’s the inevitable result from decades of disinvestment in East Gainesville and our rural communities. Like many communities throughout the nation, Alachua County was facing budget issues, and declining enrollment in public schools exacerbated those issues. When it came time to close schools, the board chose schools that were not sufficiently populated nor properly maintained due to those decades of disinvestment. Williams Elementary, for example, was built on a brown field with toxins in its soil. While I empathize with many of those who are disappointed to see a hub of the community shut down, I am relieved to know that the school and its students will be relocated to a site where students can play and learn in an environment that will not be potentially hazardous to their health.
Do you believe the school district should acquire Citizens Field?
One hundred percent. It was a mistake for the board to not approve the purchase of Citizens Field earlier this summer. Citizens Field is a cornerstone of the community where, for generations, our community has met and overcome our differences. It’s also the most financially and ethically responsible decision to make. When you look at the other choices, which include destroying wetlands to build a stadium in West Gainesville, or building a stadium at each GHS, Eastside and Buchholz, the alternatives to Citizens Field are costly and impractical. Citizens Field is, by every practical measure, the correct choice. It has the space, the existing infrastructure, and access to public transit.
What is your view on vouchers and school choice? How do you think it will affect the school district moving forward?
Vouchers are funded by the public-school budget. Every voucher received represents $8,000 removed from the budget. Eighty-seven percent of voucher recipients have never attended public schools. While parents should be able to choose the best school for their children, that money should not come from public schools, whose purpose is to benefit the community as a whole.
As a school district, we cannot remain stagnant as we have in the past. We must evolve to remain competitive and retain our students as the state policies reduce funding. We must ensure we properly invest in the programs that attract and retain students and families like Santa Fe’s Academy of Agriscience, Bishop’s Academy of Technology and Advanced Studies, Terwilliger’s Dual Language Immersion Program, and electives like band, robotics, agriculture, etc. Investing in these programs and our teachers will keep Alachua County Public Schools competitive and an option that families actively choose.