Heated Duval County School Board District race sees near-record amount of financial contributions

Duval County Public Schools headquarters in Jacksonville.

The race for the District 3 Duval County School Board seat has a lot more riding on it than just the educational post for the next four years.

It has developed into a cultural clash that pits incumbent Cindy Pearson against upstart challenger Rebecca “Becky” Nathanson, who brings a conservative background to the race, which is technically nonpartisan.

It’s only one of four School Board seats up for grabs on the Aug. 20 Primary ballot in Jacksonville, with early voting already underway. But the race has seen candidates embroiled in a scrap that is not only drawing brutal battles in rhetoric, but in fundraising as well.

The two candidates combined have raised nearly $150,000 as of the first week of August, according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office. That’s nearly the most combined campaign contributions in Duval County School Board history and has drawn the most financial contributions in any of the School Board races in Duval County this election cycle.

The 54-year-old Pearson is painting herself out to be a traditional School Board candidate who wants “local control,” “financial management” and “shared values,” among other elements of her platform.

Nathanson, 50, is a former leader of the Duval County Chapter Moms for Liberty who opposes “Critical Race Theory,” and “Critical Theory in General.” A Moms for Liberty Duval County Chapter summary said she’s opposed to the “School Board’s overreach.”

Critics of Moms for Liberty have characterized the group as seeking censorship of reading material at schools not only in Florida, but elsewhere in the U.S. Still, Nathanson encourages Moms for Liberty members “to act as ‘joyful warriors’ for children, while driving school district transparency and focusing on positive advocacy of parental rights.”

In addition to having about a $13,000 campaign fundraising advantage over Pearson, Nathanson has the endorsement of Gov. Ron DeSantis and campaign contributions from such political committees as Citizens For Building Florida’s Future, which says its purpose is to “promote and support principled conservative causes and candidates in the State of Florida.”

Pearson has seen contributions largely from individuals, but she’s also garnered financial support from labor unions and some businesses, including Gate Petroleum Co., a major corporation in North Florida and owned by the family of John Peyton, former Republican Mayor of Jacksonville from 2003 to 2011. Peyton himself is President of Gate Petroleum.

The DeSantis decision to formally come out and endorse Nathanson is yet another extension of the DeSantis plan to load local School Boards throughout the state with his hand-picked conservative candidates reflecting his more right-leaning philosophies and approaches to education.

While the District 3 School Board seat in Duval County geographically represents some historic urban neighborhoods south of the St. Johns River which runs through the city, it also stretches further south into the more suburban areas of San Jose and Mandarin.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story have reported the District 3 School Board race drew the most financial contributions in history. it should have said the most contributions this election cycle and it has been corrected.