School Board Service Capped at 8 Years

Lengthy terms by local school board members like Steve Gallon III and Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall will be a thing of the past, after the passage of a bill headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis for signature that imposes eight-year term limits on school board members.

Those terms were capped at 12 years by the Florida Legislature last year, but new bills that just passed reduce the cap to eight.

Bendross-Mindingall has represented District 2 since 2010. Reelected last year unopposed, her current term ends Nov. 17, 2026. Gallon has represented District 1 since 2016. Last reelected in 2020, his term would be up in November 2024.

The bill will take effect in just two months on July 1, immediately impacting school board members serving after November 2022. According to the bill, those elected in 2022, for example, could serve another eight years before reaching the term limit.

A requested legal opinion from M-DCPS regarding how the new law governs Gallon's and Bendross-Mindingall's remaining time in office has not been received, but Gallon told us he believes the current revision makes him eligible to run for two more terms and serve until 2033, if reelected. Nonetheless, Gallon remains critical of the change.

"This revision reflects yet another effort of the legislature into impacting public education," he said.

During discussion Monday, Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, questioned why lawmakers were coming back with eight-year term limits this year.

“Why are we back here so fast on this?” Pizzo asked.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the bill’s sponsor, suggested that eight years was always the target of lawmakers.

“I think that eight years was the preferred landing spot. We didn’t get that last year. We’re doing it this year,” he said.

The Senate voted 30-7 to pass the bill (HB 477), with five Democrats joining Republicans in backing the measure. The House voted 79-29 in March to pass it.

The five Democrats who supported the bill Monday were Pizzo; Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie; Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens; Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale; and Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando.

Almost 77% of voters approved eight-year term limits on the Legislature in 1992. Term limits imposed on Miami-Dade County commissioners in 2012 have resulted in a massive turnover of forced-out veteran commissioners.

Monday’s approval came during a legislative session that has included lawmakers pursuing various other changes dealing with school boards.

Last month, the Legislature approved a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to shift to holding partisan school board elections. Lawmakers’ approval put the measure on the 2024 ballot. If approved by voters, the amendment would do away with a requirement that school board candidates run without party labels. Partisan elections could begin in 2026.

Supporters of moving to partisan school board races argue that partisan politics already are inherent in campaigns. During last year’s elections, DeSantis took the rare step of endorsing dozens of conservative candidates – many of whom went on to win their races. One such candidate deposed longtime Republican school board member Marta Perez, who had served since 1998.

Another measure (HB 411) seeks to change a requirement that school board candidates reside in the districts they are seeking to represent at the time they qualify to run. The proposal, which would require candidates to live in the districts at the time they assume office, needs House approval before it can go to DeSantis.

Editor's Note: This story was updated on 5/3/2023 to reflect a response from Steve Gallon III.