Key differences split board candidates for Seminole County Public Schools

When Oviedo resident Fay Rovira came to the League of Women Voters’ Seminole County School Board candidate forum, she said she was a completely undecided voter. Rovira has a student at Oviedo High School, is a member of the PTA and is a teacher for Exceptional Student Education, or ESE, students. She’s worried about funding for Seminole County Public Schools. 

“When we lose students to vouchers, we’re also losing funds for our students,” Rovira said. “That trickles down. That affects everything.” 

Campaign season for three seats on the Seminole County School Board is in full-swing, with the non-partisan election happening Aug. 18. The seats are at-large, meaning all voters in Seminole County will get to vote for candidates for all three seats.

It comes at a time when SCPS is losing students and revenue. The district has cut more than 300 jobs  to handle a nearly $30 million deficit after losing thousands of students in the last two years. for the coming school year. 

Speaking with Oviedo Community News after the meeting, Rovira said she liked candidate Holton Mills’ performance during the forum. She said she was put off by 19-year-old candidate Antonio Pizza, who interrupted fellow candidates multiple times and was fact-checked by retired Judge Fred Schott, who moderated the event.

“I couldn’t help but think that Mr. Pizza came across a little bit too aggressive and abrasive and ‘passionate,’ right, would be the word,” Rovira said. “He’s young. I don’t think I can dismiss his intentions. They come from a good place. … But unfortunately his responses were a bit too aggressive or abrasive.”

After the event, Pizza said he didn’t like the moderator stepping in with his answers. And he said he can be passionate. 

“They can describe it as aggression,” Pizza said. “I describe it as passion. I’m not going to sugar coat what the board has done.”

See below for a look at differences between the Seminole County School Board candidates. And to reach more about each candidate in the race, see Oviedo Community News’ 2026 Voter Guide, which has responses from all six candidates on a wide range of issues that voters said matter to them

See below to watch video of the entire forum.

District 1: Kristine Kraus and Antonio Pizza

Antonio Pizza is a recent Hagerty High School graduate, and his platform focuses on student issues: cutting down on cell phone use in classes, increasing in-person education and increasing reading scores by having reading contests with students and getting students library cards. 

At times, Pizza talked over other candidates. He also brought up safety issues from an incident at Sabal Point Elementary and a previous lawsuit filed by Seminole County Public Schools suing a family with a child with special needs over an administrative law judge’s requirement for one-to-one nursing care. 

“It’s the lawsuits. That’s where we can cut things in the budget,” Pizza said. “That’s where we ought to cut in the budgets. But I’m tired of the School Board mistreating people with special needs and disabilities. And it’s something that will end once we are on the board.”

After the comment about the lawsuit, moderator Judge Fred Schott brought up a post Pizza had made, talking about the number of lawsuits SCPS is involved in.

“Did you bother to look at those cases?” Schott asked. 

“I looked at some of them,” Pizza said. “One guy I talked to personally was David White. Have you looked at that case? The thousands of dollars the School Board is wasting going after a family, who the School Board basically forced to leave the county?”

“I’m not here to argue with you,” Schott said, before breaking down how many of the cases were wage garnishments – where the district is only named as a party because it’s the employer – and injuries from car accidents. “I’m here to educate you.”

Pizza is campaigning against Kristine Kraus, who has served on the board for eight years and was the most recent chair. The race also has the largest discrepancy in campaign finance. Pizza has raised about $5,900, while Kraus has about $86,000 on hand, including a $50,000 loan from herself.

Out of about 400 candidates for school board across the state, an analysis of campaign finance data shows only eight candidates have raised more than Kraus. 

“We are a driving economic factor,” Kraus said about SCPS. “We bring businesses and families to the district because of our A-rated schools.”

Incumbent School Board Member Autumn Garick also refuted Pizza’s account of Hagerty High School students not being able to livestream football games. District officials have a contract with the National Federation of High Schools, which provides free cameras at athletic facilities so people can subscribe and pay to watch live events. 

“I would like to clarify some misinformation,” Garick said. “I had heard the claims that the district had removed livestream opportunities for students. That is not the case. I’m happy to share the email.”

Pizza jumped in: “Tell that to Hagerty High School’s livestream team that no longer exists.”

Members of the audience audibly groaned at the interruption. 

“I’m happy to send you the email,” Garick replied. “Moving forward.”

In an email to Oviedo Community News, district officials said students can still livestream sporting events. 

“Previously, only home varsity football games had been livestreamed by students (four-five games/year),” wrote Katherine Crnkovich, district spokesperson. “Using NFHS enables Hagerty High to serve all sports and all fans. Student groups can still broadcast events as part of their curriculum.  This contract in no way prohibits students from having that opportunity.”  

District 2: Holton Mills and Joshua Memminger

The District 2 seat is an open seat, as incumbent Board Member Kelley Davis did not file to run for reelection.

Holton Mills previously served as chairperson of the Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools, which raises private donations to help pay for things like scholarships. Mills doesn’t have children in the public school system. 

He said he wound up in his career after attending an accounting program at SCPS, and wants to continue to foster partnerships with the business community. During the debate, Mills was asked about possibly raising taxes to help fund schools. 

“Before we have the conversation about raising local taxes, we have to be transparent with our taxpayer money (that) we’re already spending,” Mills said, adding that he personally would support some increased funding. “We need to be good stewards of our taxpayer money.”

Joshua Memminger is a School Resource Officer, and is running a campaign focused on school safety. He echoed similar sentiments on possible tax increases. 

“I would definitely start with zero-base … budgets first,” Memminger said. “Make sure we’re being good stewards first, good stewards of the money we’re given before putting it before the voters saying do we want to raise taxes.”

Memminger said the school district has to compete with the private sector for students and funding because of the state’s school voucher program, which subsidizes private school tuition for families who don’t want to send their children to public schools. 

Memminger said vouchers aren’t going away. 

“We have to compete at the end of the day,” Memminger said. “We cannot shy away from it. It’s not going anywhere. So we have to compete with it, we have to be aggressive about going after our families. Our families are our customers. We’re a business. We have to treat them like our customers. They’re not guaranteed to us.”

Memminger has raised about $19,000, while Mills has raised about $20,000.

District 5: Autumn Garick and Brian Newsome

Brian Newsome said he’s challenging incumbent Autumn Garick because he said people have lost confidence in the School Board. 

Newsome currently works as a regional sales manager for Vantage Specialty Chemicals. Newsome has three children under five years old and two older children in Seminole County Public Schools.

One area where Newsome and Garick disagreed: Book bans. 

“Our students need more books, not fewer books,” Garick said. 

Newsome took a different approach. 

“As an ordained minister, I send my children to school to learn mathematics, to read science,” Newsome said. “There are certain texts and books that I believe society is trying to impose on our children that are not age appropriate, whether it’s sodomy textbooks and other things that are just not appropriate for children. So do I support banning those books? Yes I do. And I don’t apologize for that.”

Garick was also vocally opposed to federal legislation that increases tax credits for private schools. 

“We need accountability,” Garick said. “To have unlimited resources when our public schools are not being fully funded is abominable.” 

Newsome said he wasn’t afraid of voucher programs. 

“No, I wouldn’t,” Newsome said, when asked if he would take a stance against the vouchers. “I don’t know a whole lot about the tax credit. I’m not afraid of school choice. And Seminole County shouldn’t be afraid either.”

Voters in 2024 rejected a constitutional amendment put forward by state lawmakers to make school board races partisan. See OCN’s Voter Guide to find out more about the candidates, including endorsements and more. 

Abe Aboraya is a Report for America corps member