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.
Two Trenton natives are running for District 5 in Gilchrist County, which has just two public middle/high schools and two public elementary schools. In one of the smaller counties and newest in Florida, teachers have complained about pay, students have left public school for private school or homeschool, and voucher programs are putting financial pressure on the small county.
A key issue in Gilchrist County has been declining public school enrollment. According to data provided by Gilchrist County Schools Superintendent Gina Geiger, student enrollment has dropped 7% since August 2024.
Senator Jennifer Bradley, whose constituency includes Gilchrist County, made a Local Funding Initiative Request in Dec. 2025 that would allow district personnel to repurpose $26 million initially used for construction of a new elementary school.
“Due to declining enrollment and other circumstances out of the district’s control, they no longer have the student enrollment for a new school,” wrote Bradley in the document.
Incumbent Deen Lancaster told the Florida Trib that the state pushed them to start a new elementary school, but the district ended up declining.
A real estate broker by trade, Lancaster has served on the Gilchrist County School Board for 13 years, told The Florida Trib that the district’s annual operating budget was $29 million and said funding leaves the public school system when students transfer to homeschooling or use vouchers to move to private schools.
Lancaster gave perspective on why money for renovations is needed for the schools. “Four years ago, we redid and put in a brand new cafetorium at one of our high schools,” Lancaster said in a phone interview with The Florida Trib. “I’m 57 years old, and I went to kindergarten and had lunch in that cafeteria.”
Lancaster was referring to Trenton Middle/High, which previously was a K-12 school. According to WCJB, renovations were made by JRA Architects in 2022 at Trenton Middle/High School in the cafetorium, library, and auditorium as a result of the $16 million Trenton High School facility project.
According to Lancaster, he has heard from teachers that they don’t want to be in that county because they feel underappreciated and underpaid.
“I think every employee of the school system is underpaid,” Lancaster says. “The state is in charge of giving us the money that we use.”
Lancaster’s opponent, Charlotte Kearney, was a teacher for almost 40 years in Gilchrist County. She won Teacher of the Year twice during her career and is also a former Trenton City Commissioner. Kearney declined multiple requests for comment from The Florida Trib.
Kearney has outraised Lancaster by over $6,000 in monetary contributions, including $4,300 of her own money. By comparison, Lancaster has put just $550 into his campaign.
Kearney told the Gilchrist County Herald in early July that the most pressing issue for the district at the moment is the budget and maintaining teachers due to budget cuts and certification issues.
“I want to make sure the teachers and students have a well-rounded classroom, and it’s safe for them to be in,” she said as part of the Gilchrist County Herald Candidate Interview Series.
