Polls have closed in Alachua County, and voters will decide who to elect to fill a vacant seat in District 1 of the county’s school board.
On the ballot are candidates Janine Plavac and Hunter Miller, who are both running for this seat for the second time in a row, the last time being in August.
These votes will determine who will fill the seat, since a runoff was needed after neither candidate won a majority in August. Miller had 46% of the vote while Plavac had about 36%.
Miller is a math teacher at Howard Bishop Middle School, and his campaign has focused on closing an achievement gap by focusing on early grade literacy. Plavac has a long background in education and was appointed to the board last year for District 5, but her term comes to an end in 2026 and was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Both candidates have said in their campaign that they’d want to look to find a permanent superintendent and improve behavioral and literacy rates, especially since the county has had problems in recent years with a gap in literacy rates between white and Black students.
Plavac is running to remain on the school board, since she’s currently serving in District 5, and she has focused on campaigning to keep Williams Elementary and Alachua Elementary open after a decrease in enrollment and a tight school budget. She’s also criticized her opponent for being “too young,” saying he’s only been a teacher for three years.
Meanwhile, Miller said he’s worried about the school district’s finances and whether financial decisions are done in a cautious manner to prevent the state from intervening.
Polls close at 7 p.m. local time in Florida, 8 p.m. ET in the western Panhandle. See all other Florida election results here and complete Florida voting coverage here.
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