As Jackson County voters head to the polls this August, the race for the District 5 school board seat is shaping up to be partly a referendum on how well elected officials communicate with the public.
Three registered Republicans are vying for the non-partisan seat in the Aug. 18 election: incumbent Michael “MJ” Jackson, physician assistant Danielle Walker, and longtime educator Phyllis T. Daniels. The candidates bring different professional backgrounds to the table and the central debate has quickly shifted to transparency and accessibility.
The communication friction is what drew Walker into the race in the first place. She launched her campaign after experiencing what she describes as a wall of silence from current leadership.
“If people are going through the appropriate contact means, which would be email or phone, voicemail, or text, and not getting a response, then how can this person be the contact for your issues and your representation to the district and the board?” Walker told the Rural News Service.
Jackson was elected in 2022 and has decades of experience at the Sunland Center for Persons with Disabilities. The secretary for the Jackson County Superintendent and School Board told WFSU that the best way to reach him with an issue is to mail him a physical letter. Jackson maintained in a flyer posted to his reelection campaign Facebook page that he is committed to “transparent and accountable leadership,” – an effort he highlighted with his vote to record school board meetings and have them accessible for the public as well.
“I’ve also made it a priority to be available, listen to parents, teachers, staff, and community members, and answer questions whenever I can,” Jackson said in an email to WFSU-News. “I believe people deserve a School Board member who is honest, approachable, and willing to listen.”
Jackson is a proud graduate of Grand Ridge High School and has raised his family in the area and through Jackson County schools. He says the biggest issue facing the schools today is enrollment and the only way to solve it is as a community sharing their stories.
“We have a lot to be proud of, and we need to do a better job of sharing those successes,” Jackson said in an email.
He says his top priority is to continue to strengthen student enrollment. Jackson county, like other districts, is pushing to maintain its public school enrollment amid greater competition due to the expansion of school choice programs.
“Addressing enrollment isn’t something the School Board can do alone,” Jackson said in an email. “It takes collaboration between our schools, our teachers, our administrators, our families, and the community.”
While Walker and Jackson both agree that an investment in teachers need to be made, Jackson made sure to highlight the importance for safety.
“Parents want to know their children are safe and receiving a quality education,” Jackson said in an email. “Teachers want to feel supported and have the tools they need to do their jobs well. Taxpayers want to know we’re being responsible with the resources entrusted to us.”
Walker argues that the board needs to modernize how it connects with families, advocating for transparency that stretches from the classroom to the boardroom. While the board has recently started recording and streaming its meetings online, Walker says the current structure still locks out working parents—for example: meetings that start at 5 p.m., right as working adults are leaving their places of employment.
“If you work a late shift, or if you’re a teacher and you take a secondary job coaching football or baseball, you can’t go to that meeting. You now have no vote, no say, and no understanding of what goes on during that board time.”
Beyond communication, Walker—a mother of three public school students—says her main concern is the teacher shortage, noting she worries her incoming first-grader won’t have a permanent teacher. She wants the board to take a proactive approach to understanding why parents are increasingly choosing school-choice alternatives over local public options.
“What we need to do is figure out truly why people are doing it,” Walker said. “Teaching is hard, and it’s something that not everybody can do. What can we offer you that you don’t feel like you’re getting?”
The final candidate in the race, Phyllis T. Daniels, also opted out of an in-person interview with the Rural News Service, choosing instead to communicate via email. Daniels brings 40 years of experience within the Jackson County school system, splitting her career between 24 years in the classroom and 16 years in administration as an assistant principal, principal, and district director.
A lifelong county resident whose children and grandchildren have passed through the local system, Daniels is leaning on her deep roots and internal institutional knowledge to connect with voters. In fact, the majority of her financial campaign contributions have come from former students.
“One of the greatest accelerants to learning is connecting content to experiences,” Daniels said via email. “I believe my experience in these roles within the district provides a foundation for understanding challenges, engaging in meaningful discussion, and making decisions for the benefit of students, staff, constituents, and community.”
Early voting in Jackson County begins Aug. 6 ahead of the Aug. 18 election.
*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 at floridaelections.org.
