The packed five-way race to win the District 6 seat on the Broward County School Board will head to a run-off in November after none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the votes.
Incumbent Adam Cervera and Roberto Fernandez III will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. Cervera received 38.32% of votes and Fernandez III received 26.31%, according to the latest results.
Cervera, a lawyer and registered Republican, was appointed to the board by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis following conservative Brenda Fam's resignation.
Cervera is known to swim against the current during board, like when he was staunchly opposed the organizational chart that cut 1,000 roles districtwide, including student-facing roles.
The Broward Teachers’ Union endorsed Cervera, the first Republican the group endorsed in a decade. The South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial board also endorsed him.
READ MORE: First day of school in Broward sees enrollment drop by 11,000 students
"Earning nearly 40% of the vote in a five-person race is an incredible show of support, and I’m truly thankful to everyone who placed their trust in me," Cervera said in a statement to WLRN. "This campaign has always been about putting our students first, supporting our teachers, working with parents, and continuing to make a positive difference in Broward’s schools."
Fernandez III , an Army veteran, spent a two-decade career as a Broward teacher.
A former social studies teacher, he now works at the district’s Department of School Culture and Student Support, and is a history adjunct lecturer at Florida International University.
"I'm super thankful to the voters and my volunteers who helped me get to the run-off in November," Fernandez III told WLRN. "I think my qualifications and my roots here in Broward County have prepared me for this race and I think I will come out victorious in November."
Fernandez III is the recipient of many teaching awards. In 2013, he was awarded Florida Social Studies Teacher of the Year and won the Governor’s Black History Month Excellence in Education Award in 2020.
He’s endorsed by state Rep. Robin Bartleman and Broward School Board chair Sarah Leonardi.
Whoever wins the seat in November will be taking on a fair share of challenges.
Broward County Public Schools, with about 180,000 students, is the second biggest school district in Florida. It has lost some 40,000 students in the last five years. Fewer students means less state funding. This school year opened with 11,000 fewer students compared to last year, equating to about $100 million.
Last school year, the district was already in the hole for $100 million.
In the last year, a combination of botched construction contracts, erroneous bonuses to some staff and a state investigation have troubled community members over the district’s ability to do business and protect public money.
Still, BCPS earned its third consecutive A grade from the state this year and had no schools rated D or F.
School Board races are nonpartisan. Five of the nine School Board seats were up on the Aug. 18 ballot.
Highly-watched District 4 race
Nicole Morst, a long-time education advocate who regularly attends the School Board meetings, won the District 4 seat with nearly 60% of votes.
She presses the board on economic disadvantages some students face, facility upkeep and school closures and consolidations.
Based in Coral Springs, Morst has been an advocate for schools and students all over the county. She served on the District Advisory Council and the North Area Advisory Council.
“After years of serving in our schools and on district advisories, I've seen the gaps, inequities, and disparities impacting our students and schools,” Morst wrote in her campaign website. “I've seen where the system works, and where it doesn't.”
Morst is endorsed by board chair Sarah Leonardi, vice chair Jeff Holness and member Debbie Hixon, as well at the Broward Teachers Union and the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board.
Outgoing school board member Lori Alhadeff was first elected to the Board in 2018 after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Her daughter, Alyssa, was among the 17 victims.
Alhadeff said she chose not to run for re-election because she wants to focus on her nonprofit, Make Our Schools Safe.
A centerpiece of her commitment to school safety is legislation passed in 10 states, including Florida, requiring school staff to wear panic buttons that alert emergency responders when pressed. The law is known as “Alyssa’s Law,” after her daughter.
Incumbents win
Incumbent Allen Zeman was re-elected with 55% of votes. Seat 8, for which Zeman was elected to a four-year term, represents the whole county.
Zeman, CEO of the Center for Human Capital Innovation comes to the board with a business-minded approach. He often requests detailed data of district officials when discussing how to tighten the belt as the district confronts a budget crisis. He’s been a proponent of more school closures and consolidations, and selling the district office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
He was endorsed by the Broward Teachers Union and the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Maura McCarthy Bulman of District 1 won with a supermajority of 71%. She was first elected to the Board in Novemeber 2024.
McCarthy Bulman has pushed for renovations to old school buildings and concerns herself with the district's offerings of arts programs.
District 7
In District 7, Cynthia Dominique won with nearly 60% of votes. She's an army veteran, adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University and Nurse Practitioner.
Dominique's mother, a Haitian immigrant, could not read or write, according to the campaign website. So she pushed the importance of education at home.
"I listen, I collaborate, and I focus on practical solutions that improve outcomes for students, families and teachers," she said on her campaign website. "I will bring that same solution-focused leadership to the Broward County School Board."
