This story is part of a statewide partnership of 27 nonpartisan newsrooms and universities working to help Florida voters make informed decisions in the 2026 school board elections. Learn more about the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County School Board District 4 seat is up for grabs this election season, with three candidates appearing on the August primary ballot and one write-in candidate who would compete in a November runoff if one is needed.
The seat is currently held by Darryl Willie, who previously served as board chair. Willie is in his second term and has reached his term limit, making the seat an open race.
Rhodesia Butler, Alfreda Denson Butler, and Coach James Jacobs will appear on the August primary ballot. Dr. Gracie Bell Kearse-McCastler is running as a write-in candidate, meaning her name will not appear on the primary ballot, but voters can write her in if the race goes to a November runoff.
News4JAX spoke with all four candidates about how they would address some of the district’s biggest challenges, including school closures and consolidations.
Alfreda Denson Butler
Alfreda Denson Butler, a Varying Exceptionalities Lead Teacher at Mattie V. Rutherford Alternative Education Center with more than 30 years of experience, said her candidacy is rooted in advocacy.
“I am running to continue advocating for our students and their families and the community,” she said. “I feel that the students need a person of leadership that is going to listen and collaborate with them.”
Butler said her top priorities would be student achievement, teacher recruitment and retention, and school safety.
She said evidence-based programs and data-driven instruction are key to improving reading and math scores.
“Data drives instruction,” she said. “So making sure we ask those questions — what systems are in place and making sure they are being implemented.”
On school closures, Butler said families in District 4 deserve to be informed early.
“As a school board member, it’s my job to advocate and make sure that the people in the community know,” she said. “Having town hall meetings, meeting the families where they are.”
Rhodesia Butler
Rhodesia Butler, a retired DCPS educator and 35-year Jacksonville business owner, said her 21 years in the district — from classroom teacher to principal — and her current work with the Boys and Girls Club have prepared her to serve.
She said her priorities include school safety, teacher retention, expanding career and workforce tracks for students, and improving school climate and culture.
On student achievement, Rhodesia Butler said the environment inside schools matters just as much as the resources available.
“Every building should have a positive climate and culture and one that’s conducive to teachers wanting to be there, students wanting to be there,” she said. “Then teaching and learning can continue to take place.”
On school closures, she acknowledged the fiscal reality while calling for greater transparency.
“From a fiscal stewardship side of it, you have to place teachers and principals where they need to be, but if you only have a certain amount of students, it just makes sense,” she said. “However, we do want to consider the neighborhoods and the communities being told about it — transparent communication — and I think that’s the bigger issue.”
Coach James Jacobs
Coach James Jacobs, a current dean of students at Duval County Charter School at Westside, said his motivation for running is personal.
“I have 13 reasons — 13 former softball students right here at Northwestern,” he said. “I made a promise to get involved in our school system to make a change.”
Jacobs said his background spans multiple roles in education — from paraprofessional and truancy officer to ESE assistant and physical education teacher — across private and charter schools.
He said his top goals if elected would be teacher retention, student retention, and increasing pay for teachers, faculty, staff, and coaches.
On school closures, Jacobs said the priority should be investment before closure.
“The school closures — what we want to do is try to rebuild our schools, upgrade our schools before we close them, especially in District 4,” he said. “Our schools are the heart of District 4 and our community.”
Dr. Gracie Bell Kearse-McCastler
Dr. Gracie Bell Kearse-McCastler won’t be on the August primary ballot, but she’s still in the race. As a write-in candidate, she goes straight to the November general election — where voters who want to support her will need to write her name in themselves.
The 33-year Duval County educator, who served as both a teacher and assistant principal, said teamwork is central to her campaign.
“The school board, the administrators, the teachers, the community collaborating together can save Duval County Public Schools,” she said. “It’s going to take teamwork to get this done.”
Kearse-McCastler said her key concerns include the school-to-prison pipeline, teen takeovers, and what she described as a high rate of disciplinary referrals among minority students. On school closures, she said visibility is key to keeping enrollment up.
“I would make sure they would showcase what’s happening in schools so that the community can be well informed as to what’s going on, and hopefully that would help us to maintain the student enrollment that we have,” she said.
She also expressed full support for the one-mill renewal.
“Teachers are overworked and underpaid,” she said. “I would support that bill 100% and encourage others to do so as well.”
For video interviews of the candidates, go to News4Jax.
