Escambia County voters returned incumbents Kevin Adams, Paul Fetsko and David Williams to their seats on the Escambia County School Board during Tuesday’s primary election.
As school board races are non-partisan and there was only two candidates in each of the races, the top vote-getters in the primary won their seats outright.
Adams wins District 1
Kevin Adams bested Erin Toler and was elected to a fourth term as the District 1 representative on the school board.
According to unofficial results with all 13 precincts reporting, Adams received 7,019 votes, or 61.18%, while Toler garnered 4,454, or 38.82%, of the votes.
“It’s an honor, privilege to serve my constituents again, and I appreciate this fourth election. I think most of them have been around 60%, 70%, so I appreciate the support of my voters,” Adams said. “It’s kind of a bittersweet type thing because I know it’s the last term, so we term out… But I enjoyed serving citizens and (these) last four years….We’re going to have some issues we’re going to handle, but I believe we’ve got a good board to handle them. I look forward to seeing what we can get done over the next four years.”
Adams, a U.S. Department of Defense retiree, has served on the board since 2016. Declining enrollment due to school choice and maintaining Escambia Schools “A” district grade in the face of growing funding shortages are the biggest challenges for the school district.
Adams said declining enrollment due to school vouchers is one of the district’s most critical issues.
To maintain enrollment and their “A” district grade in the face of growing funding shortages, Adams feels ECPS must provide more K-8 schools, magnet programs and choice opportunities to students, while maintaining strict order and discipline in classrooms.
“We already made history as the first ‘A’ school district in the history of Escambia County, and that’s a big deal,” Adams said. “But we’ve got the voucher issue with the financial problems, we’re going to have to handle that. It’s good to know we’ve got a good, experienced board to face these challenges.”
Fetsko wins District 2
Paul Fetsko defeated Gerald Washington for District 2 seat on the school board.
According to unofficial results with all 16 precincts reporting, Fetsko received 5,145 votes, or 66.01%%, while Washington garnered 2,649, or 33.99%, of the votes.
“I am honored that the voters in District 2 have voted to keep me in service for another four years,” Fetsko said. “I’m looking forward to working with the board, I think that we have a good relationship. I was glad to see that both Mr. Adams and Dr. David Williams are also going to be continuing on. We have a lot of hard work coming before us with the budget situation, and the funding, or lack of funding, from the state. There are a lot of things that we’re going to have to tackle and knowing that we have people who are not afraid of making some tough decisions and doing the hard work really makes it easier on all of us.”
Fetsko is also a three-term incumbent and was an ECPS teacher and administrator for 36 years. He also considers the lack of state funding to support traditional public school programs as a major issue for ECPS.
Despite having a lifelong career in education, Fetsko still believes there is important work ahead of him.
“Knowing what we’re facing, what’s ahead of us — I really feel like I could help contribute to what the staff and the superintendent are going to have to go through in doing the budget situation,” Fetsko said. “I enjoy the people, the dedication of the school district, employees, the teachers, non-instructional, the maintenance, all of them are hard-working people. I value their friendship. I value their service and I just want to be there to serve with them. I’ve spent, at this point, 46 years in Escambia County, and I think I have four more good years left. Then there’ll be time for somebody else to take over.”
Instead of being out celebrating, Fetsko found himself out collecting campaign signs after learning of his win.
“Every election I have done this. I get out there and I try and get every sign off the road,” he said. “I don’t want them blowing around in storms. I don’t want them littering people’s yards… I see this job as a service to the community, service to the district and the students. I’m celebrating that I am humbled that people have faith in me.”
David Williams wins District 3
David Williams was elected to a second term, beating newcomer Isaac Williams for the school board’s District 3 seat.
According to unofficial results with all 18 precincts reporting, David Williams received 4,893 votes or 59.21%, while Isaac Williams garnered 3,371, or 40.79%, of the votes.
“It is important to note that they trust me, and I think it’s a vote of trust,” Williams said. “I’m a product of this community, elementary, middle school, and high school. Thirty five years in the district and one term on the school board. I know so many people in this community and they trust me, they believe in me, and I think that’s what this vote represents. Trust in someone who’s productive, puts kids first, and (does) what they can to support teachers and administrators in our school system to understand what it takes for us to be an ‘A’ school district.”
David Williams is also an ECPS retiree who started out as a substitute teacher and retired as Pensacola High School principal after a 35-year career. He served many roles within the school district, including bus driver, dropout prevention teacher, math teacher, club sponsor, assistant football and basketball coach, head coach, accreditation chairman, dean, assistant principal and principal. Even after retirement, he felt he still had more to offer to the school district.
“I felt like I had acquired a ton of knowledge and I was able to share that. I felt like I was pretty successful in the classroom. I’m pretty successful at administrating. I wanted to take that success and see if I could spray it throughout the entire county,” Williams said. “This has been my calling in life. This is what I would do even if I didn’t get paid for it…This is my why. I still see several of my former students, they still call me ‘Coach.’ I have lifelong relationships, and it just means so much to me. This is my calling, this is my ministry. This is what I’m supposed to be doing, and I’ve been blessed to be able to do it for a long time.”
He feels the Base Student Allocation from the state Department of Education should be increased by at least 5% to counter the loss of enrollment and the decrease in state funding. He also supports measures to improve pay for experienced teachers and support staff.
An ardent supporter of Escambia County Public Schools, he believes the public needs to see the positives the district offers students.
He knows that accomplishing the district’s “A” rating was not an easy feat, and speaks to the dedications of Escambia County Public Schools’ team of educators.
“I’m looking forward to maintaining the school grade of “A” and continuing to support our teachers and our students to where they can continue to flourish despite the financial shortfalls that we’re having and the low enrollment,” Williams said. “It speaks to the paramount of what our teachers and students are doing, and administrators are doing in Escambia County.”
Mary Lett is the Youth Development Reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. She can be reached at mmabins@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: All 3 Escambia School Board incumbents keep their seats
Reporting by Mary Lett and Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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By Mary Lett and Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
