Voters are less than two months from deciding who will serve on the Sarasota County School Board, with three seats up for re-election to four-year terms.
As the eight candidates gear up for the Aug. 28 primary, campaign contributions are streaming in, showing voters where candidates receive the bulk of their funds. By the numbers, School Board Chairwoman Bridget Ziegler has raised the most — almost $32,000, as of late June. Her challenger, Nick Guy, has collected more than $23,000 as of late June. In District 4, incumbent Shirley Brown has raised more than $24,000, with her opponent and former head of middle schools, Karen Rose, close behind at almost $23,000.
With four candidates in the running, the District 5 seat could have a runoff to the November general election if no one candidate receives a majority of the vote. Incumbent Jane Goodwin has raised significantly more than the other three candidates at almost $17,000, while former teacher Pamela Gavette has raised almost $9,000, former Sarasota County substitute Richard Linden has contributed a total of $1,800 of his own money to his campaign, and Justin Cody Willis has raised about $2,000.