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.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lee County public schools enter the 2026 election with two competing realities: The district recorded its highest school-grade point total in a decade and no D- or F-rated schools, while enrollment in district-run, non-charter schools fell by 1,946 students from the previous year.

That tension is at the center of the District 5 school board race, where incumbent Armor Persons argues the district should continue in its current direction and challengers Carline Saintilus and Crystal Johnson say families and educators need a stronger voice in how schools are run.

Academic Progress or a Need for Change

Persons, 73, a Lee County native and retired tennis professional, won the seat in 2022 and took office as the district dealt with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian.

Persons said the district had moved from its lowest academic achievement in a decade to its highest during the same period.

“The work’s not finished, but the momentum is definitely going in the right direction,” he said.

If reelected, Persons said his main goal would be moving the district from what he called a “high B” rating to a “high A.” He supports phonics-based reading instruction and early intervention, saying students should “learn to read by third grade” and that the district should focus on the early grades “to make sure every student can really have a great foundation of reading.”

Saintilus, 52, is a former teacher and licensed title agent who owns Title Geeks, LLC, a multistate title company. The Lehigh Acres resident said the district’s recent gains should not overshadow continued academic struggles among students in District 5.

“My district in particular is not only behind the overall county, but we’re also behind the entire state of Florida,” Saintilus said. She called for stronger literacy interventions, more tutoring and earlier identification of struggling students.

Saintilus said schools must also account for parents working multiple jobs and families facing language

barriers. “We need to be able to meet the parents where they are,” she said, including by providing information in parents’ preferred languages and offering parent-engagement workshops.

Johnson, 49, attended Lee County schools and now works as a district paraprofessional. She said that experience gives her “real classroom perspective” on overwhelmed teachers and students struggling to master reading and math.

Her first-year priorities would be discipline and academic accountability “so teachers can teach and children can learn.” Johnson also wants schools to rely less heavily on Chromebooks and return to “phonics,

comprehension, and early intervention for struggling

students.”

Competing with school choice

The candidates agree that public schools must respond to expanding vouchers and other educational options by becoming a stronger choice for families.

Persons said families deserve choices and competition can make schools stronger. His responsibility, he said, is to make Lee County public schools “the best choice available” through academics, safety, career and technical programs, arts, athletics and JROTC. 

Drawing on his background in athletics, Persons said that if someone beat him, his goal was “to become better until I could beat them.” He said he approaches school choice the same way.

Saintilus said the district must improve academics, support staff and expand innovative programs.  If enrollment losses force school closures or other difficult decisions, she said, they should be “guided by data, transparency and community input, not made behind closed doors.”

Johnson offered a similar diagnosis: “We need to improve the quality of the education that we say we’re giving and listen to the families.”

The candidates also agree that library books should be age-appropriate and that parents should have input. Persons supports the district’s policy allowing parents to decide whether their children may check out challenged books. Saintilus said the district should follow Florida’s review process consistently without politicizing classrooms, while Johnson called for balancing parental input with access to learning.

Campaign support differs

The campaigns also differ substantially in financial support. Through reports covering activity as of June 26, Persons had raised $53,359, including about $20,000 from political committees. Saintilus had raised $17,955 and reported $1,175 in in-kind contributions.

Johnson raised $2,685, most of it through loans to her own campaign, according to Lee County Supervisor of Elections campaign-finance records. 

Despite those differences, all three candidates said Lee County public schools must show families that they are the best educational choice.

Persons argues the district should continue the approach that produced this year’s gains. Saintilus and Johnson say those results should be a starting point — not a reason to overlook students who remain behind or teachers and parents who say they are not being heard.