Palm Beach County School Board races in District 1 and 5 will head to November runoffs

The winners of the Palm Beach County School Board races are still undetermined after Tuesday night’s election, with no automatic winners in either race as no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

As of Tuesday night, there was a slim margin between candidates Gloria Branch and Mindy Koch in the District 5 race. State law requires a recount when the margin is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total votes. The results of a recount could likely occur in the coming days, unless the candidate with the lesser votes requests for the recount not to happen.

But a recount would likely not change the outcome of Branch and Koch being the top two vote-getters, meaning they will compete in the Nov. 5. general election, as neither received more than 50% of the vote.

Branch, 56, is a more than 40-year Boca Raton resident and current substitute teacher with a desire to “shed the remnants of equity and woke ideology,” according to her Sun Sentinel questionnaire, and invest resources in teacher pay and the classroom.

“I am looking forward to the November runoff,” Branch said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday night. “I have a ton of support from Republicans, Democrats and Independents. I feel very confident.”

Koch, 71, has spent more than 40 years either in teaching, administration or as a special education coordinator. According to her Sun Sentinel questionnaire, she wants the district to hone in on reading and math for pre-K through third-grade students.

“I think it’s great, I’m very excited,” Koch said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday night. “I am looking forward to the second half of the race.”

Similarly, in the District 1 race, none of the candidate received more than 50% of the vote as of Tuesday night, with 150 out of 174 precincts reporting. Candidates Matthew Jay Lane and Page Lewis received the two highest number of votes out of the three candidates, and will likely compete for the school board spot.

Lane, 69, is a former Palm Beach Gardens city councilmember with a law firm specializing in family and divorce law. According to his Sun Sentinel questionnaire, his priorities are ensuring teachers get paid enough and that students learn “the fundamentals.”

“This is an incredibly important job; it’s something I believe I can really make a difference in the lives of a generation of children,” Lane said in an interview on Tuesday night. “I really hope I have this opportunity. I may not have won yet but I am going to win.”

Lewis, 57, is a former real estate broker who also used to work with people recovering from addiction. She is currently the director of literacy at Urban Youth Impact and believes the district’s success relies on students having a firm grasp on the essentials of reading, writing and arithmetic, according to her questionnaire.

Lewis could not be immediately reached on Tuesday night.

District 1 represents the northern part of the county, with cities including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Tequesta, and is currently represented by Barbara McQuinn. District 5 includes all the schools in Boca Raton and West Boca and is currently represented by Frank Barbieri Jr.

Because the School Board elections are nonpartisan, registered voters in said districts can voted for one of the candidates, regardless of political party affiliation. The same rule will apply during the November election for the races.

The two new board members will serve four-year terms and receive a salary of $53,407.

Issues that bubbled to the surface during campaigning include school safety measures, such metal detectors, teacher pay, the state’s new law mandating later start times and how to maintain an A-rating.