Pinellas School Board District 6 Goes to a Recount in Largo, With Bostock Ahead of Lord by a Fraction of a Point

The Pinellas County Canvassing Board started recount activities at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Election Service Center on Starkey Road in Largo, after Tuesday's primary left the open District 6 school board seat separated by a fraction of a percentage point. Unofficial returns put former board member Nancy Bostock at roughly 50.17% to political newcomer Amanda Lord's 49.83%. Until that count is finished, one of the seven votes on decisions about closing schools, consolidating campuses and renewing a local property tax is officially unsettled.

District 6 is the only single-member seat on this year's ballot, meaning only voters registered inside the district could cast a ballot in it. It covers south-central Pinellas, including Seminole, Pinellas Park and the beaches. The seat is open because one-term member Stephanie Meyer is not returning.

Under state law, a countywide or district race that finishes inside half a percentage point triggers an automatic machine recount. Tighter margins can send overvotes and undervotes to a manual review. Canvassing board meetings, including recount work, are held at 13001 Starkey Road in Largo and are open to the public.

The board handling the count is Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus, judges Edwin Jagger and Joseph Lawhorne, with George Cretekos and Lesley Demuth listed among appointed members. The same board was scheduled to canvass mail and provisional ballots Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m., with the deadline for voters to cure a mail or provisional ballot set at 5 p.m. Thursday.

What voters settled Tuesday

The rest of the local ballot was not close. Incumbent Lisa Cane won a third term in the District 2 at-large school board seat over retired Pinellas teacher Nancy Velardi, a former president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. Cane said she was honored to serve a final term and wanted to keep the district rated an A, according to local news reports.

County Commissioner Dave Eggers cruised in District 4. That contest was a universal Republican primary with no Democrat in the field, so every Pinellas voter could weigh in and the primary decided it outright.

Race	Unofficial result
School Board District 2	Cane 54.87%, Velardi 45.13%
School Board District 6	Bostock ~50.17%, Lord ~49.83% (recount)
School Board District 3	Peters 36.24%, Campogni 34.91%, Douglas 28.85%
Commission District 4	Eggers 78.54%, Ringelspaugh 21.46%

Because nobody cleared 50% in the three-way District 3 at-large race, incumbent Dawn Peters and challenger Curtis Campogni advance to a runoff on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Dawn Douglas finished third and is out.

The decisions waiting for the new board

Enrollment is the thing driving almost everything else. Pinellas lost roughly 3,800 students last year and district officials expect a similar drop this year, leaving about 45,000 empty seats across a system of more than 150 schools and about 91,000 students. Whether to close or combine more campuses is the biggest item in front of the board in the coming months.

Members also face a decision on asking voters to renew the local-option property tax that has passed every four years for two decades. That money supplements teacher and staff pay and pays for arts and reading programs. Losing it would leave a hole in a budget already squeezed by falling revenue.

One difference from the last two Pinellas school board cycles: the candidates largely argued about enrollment, pay and budgets rather than about how conservative the board should be.

Dates to watch

Unofficial returns are due to the state by 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 21, with a second set of unofficial returns due Aug. 23 if the recount requires it. Official returns must be filed with the state by Aug. 26. Whoever holds District 6 when the numbers are certified, along with Cane and the District 3 winner in November, will be sworn in Nov. 17. Results and canvassing board notices are posted by the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.

Stay with Pinellas County Community Website as the recount numbers come in, and follow us on Facebook for updates through the week. Got a take on the District 6 finish or the school closure debate ahead? Join the conversation in our Community Forum. You can also read more government and politics coverage and more education stories from around the county.

---END---