Field set for 3 St. Johns County School Board races

With qualifying over, the field is now known for St. Johns County’s three School Board elections on the August Primary ballot.

St. Johns County has been Florida’s fastest-growing county since 2020, and its student population has roughly doubled in the last 18 years, with over 51,000 students now enrolled in public schools. The District also consistently ranks near the top of state rankings for academic performance.

Longtime District 1 Board member and current Board Chair Beverly Slough is seeking a seventh term. She describes herself as “very conservative,” saying she first discovered her political leanings in elementary school when she had to watch the Richard Nixon–John F. Kennedy presidential debate for a school assignment.

Since first winning election in 2002, Slough has won re-election unopposed three times, but only won her most recent reelection in 2022 with 52% of the vote against another self-branded conservative candidate. She also ran for Congress in 2012, finishing third in a Republican Primary won by now-Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Her challenger this year, Kevin Allen, has touted his financial services industry experience. He argues he is the most qualified candidate to effectively manage the $33.2 million in education funding St. Johns County voters approved in 2024 through a half-cent sales tax renewal and a 1-mill property tax increase. 

Slough has raised $31,900 through the end of May according to campaign filings, while Allen has raised $15,800. 

The district includes the northwest portion of the county, including Fruit Cove. The winner will be decided in the Aug. 18 Primary because there are only two candidates.

In District 3, incumbent Jennifer Collins was re-elected unopposed. She first won election in 2022. Her district covers St. Augustine Shores and the southeastern portion of the county.

Incumbent District 4 Board member Kelly Barrera has decided not to seek a fourth term, and three candidates are vying for her Ponte Vedra-based seat. 

Businessman Leif Jonassen III and educator Tammie McClafferty are running on similar platforms prioritizing parental rights, academic achievement and fiscal responsibility. Community planner and business owner Jillian Tozer is highlighting smart growth and teacher retention as her priorities.

McClafferty has raised $15,100, including $1,000 from the well-funded Jax Good Government PAC, which has close ties to outgoing Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico. 

Jonassen has raised $5,835. Tozer reports $4,370 in contributions, including $500 from a progressive PAC called Reach Out Florida.

If no candidate receives more than 50% in the District 4 race, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff in November.

School Board members in St. Johns County are elected only by voters in their geographic districts. All School Board races in Florida are officially nonpartisan.