Drew Dixon
A veteran government official and Republican political operative will be the latest member of the Gilchrist County School Board.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this month that David Biddle will be joining the panel overseeing the school district for the county in the Nature Coast area.
DeSantis had to make the appointment after previous School Board member Christie McElroy stepped down from the panel. McElroy resigned for somewhat of a promotion or at the very least a lateral move, though she’s no longer an elected representative.
McElroy quit the District 1 School Board post to become Assistant Superintendent of the school system, which is headquartered in Trenton. McElroy was the former Chair of the School Board as recently as 2024.
Dean Lancaster, the District 5 School Board member, is the panel’s current Chair.
Biddle is well-versed in government and politics in the Gilchrist County area. He was the Chair of the Gilchrist County Republican Party.
Biddle describes himself as a “traditional conservative” on his X social media account. He expressed gratitude for the appointment to the School Board by DeSantis.
“Thank you, Gov. @RonDeSantis, for the opportunity and the trust you have placed in me. I won’t let the students, faculty, and most importantly the taxpayers of Gilchrist County down,” Biddle said in an X post Friday.
Biddle has a notable dossier of government service in the Nature Coast area. He had also held an appointed position as a member of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.
That panel oversees the Nature Coast, Big Bend, and Central Florida area’s public projects, such as transportation upgrades and plans. The planning council serves a dozen counties in the North Central Florida area, including Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union counties.
Biddle was also a member of the Gilchrist County Economic Development Committee.
