Erin Dunne and Gene Trent to face off for School Board seat in November runoff election

A four-way race for the district 2 Brevard County School Board race has narrowed to two candidates, Democrat Erin Dunne and Republican Gene Trent.

The winner in November will replace current School Board vice chair Cheryl McDougall, a Democrat who did not seek re-election. District 2 represents central Brevard and includes Cocoa High School, Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School and Merritt Island High School.

Three Republicans and one Democrat ran for the seat. Dunne took the greatest share of the vote with 33.41%. Trent earned 29.87%, narrowly defeating two other Republicans: Courtney Lewis, who earned 26.87%. Shawn Overdorf took 9.87%.

The race goes to a runoff in November because no candidate reached over 50 percent of the vote.

Erin Dunn was at the Moose Lodge early. Candidates and their supporters were out in force at Kiwanis Island Tuesday morning. Tuesday was the Primary Election in Brevard County.

Dunne, a 13-year teacher, was endorsed by the Brevard Democrats, Families for Safe Schools and Equality Florida, an LGBTQ advocacy group. Trent, who has taught math for 20 years, won the endorsement of the Brevard County Republican Executive Committee and the Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty.

“I’m very excited. I’m grateful to the voters in district 2 and to the Supervisor of Elections Office for running a great election today,” Dunne said. “And I’m looking forward to November.“

“You can’t deny the power of parents,” Trent said. “And also concerned teachers … I really think if we all work together, we’re going to positively make changes in a public school setting, and I look forward to being part of that.”

Candidates and their supporters were out if force at Kiwanis Island Tuesday morning. Tuesday was the Primary Election in Brevard County.

The district 5 race was the subject of some controversy when  Overdorf said Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey offered him a job in the County Commission office of Tom Goodson if Goodson won and Overdorf dropped out of the School Board race. Ivey backed Lewis for the School Board seat.

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Lewis, mother of a young child with special needs and an owner of two restaurants, was the first to announce her candidacy. She raised over $43,000, dwarfing Dunne’s $27,500 and Trent’s $23,282. Lewis said she ran because her struggle to get proper accommodations for her son revealed the challenges parents face.

Lewis and Trent both stressed parental rights during their campaign, saying parents should be the first authority in decisions about their children, and promised to keep political ideologies like critical race theory out of school curriculums.

Dunne said she ran because she believed students need to feel included in Brevard schools and teachers and staff need better support from the community.

Shawn Overdorf, a retired school resource officer, campaigned largely on the promise of increasing school safety. He described BPS schools as “soft targets” for would-be school shooters or other violent threats and promised to personally visit each school to shore up security measures. Overdorf raised about $12,000, the least of all District 2 candidates.

In an interview with FLORIDA TODAY on election night, Overdorf said he endorsed Trent. District 5 Republican incumbent Katye Campbell won her reelection bid Tuesday, and fellow Republican Megan Wright unseated School Board chair Misty Belford; if Trent wins in addition to Wright and Campbell, “it’ll turn the school board completely around, which is what we need,” Overdorf said.

Lewis could not be reached to comment.

Bailey Gallion is the education reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallion at 321-242-3786 or bgallion@floridatoday.com.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Erin Dunne and Gene Trent to face off for school board in November