Westrich seeks Duval school board District 2 seat Nov. 3

Donna Westrich, a marine science teacher at Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, is running for Duval County Public School Board District 2 in the Nov. 3 general election. She faces Donovan Bradley.

The seat opened after board Vice Chair April Carney announced in April 2026 that she would not seek a second term, according to the Florida Tribune. Westrich received 39% of the vote (9,211 votes) in the Aug. 18 primary, advancing to the runoff against Bradley, who received 49%, the Florida Tribune reported.

Asked in our candidate questionnaire why she is running, Westrich said: "I have spent the past 20 years working to make education better for students from inside the classroom. Now, I am ready to bring my experience in education and my commitment to students and families to the District level, where I can help create meaningful change."

Candidate information

Residence: Westrich said she has lived in Jacksonville Beach for 15 years, according to Florida Politics. She is a mother of twins who attend public school in Duval County, according to her campaign website.

Party affiliation: Westrich said in our questionnaire: "The School Board election is a nonpartisan race. I have worked very hard to run a clean, nonpartisan, grassroots campaign … I have reached out to the Young Democrats, the Young Republicans, the Beaches Republicans, and the Beaches Democrats to invite them to my meet and greets and to ask to speak at their meetings." She added: "However, I am personally a registered Democrat."

Education: Westrich said in our questionnaire: "In 1995, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resources and a Certificate (equivalent to a Minor) in Environmental Studies." She also said: "In May of 2001, I graduated from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. I completed an intensive program that combined 36 credits of advanced-level Education Classes with an entire year internship as an 8th grade science teacher."

Family: Westrich said in our questionnaire that her husband is "a Professor at UNF for the past 15 years." She said: "One of our boys attends Wolfson in the International Baccalaureate program and our other son attends Douglas Anderson in the Performance Theater Program."

First-time candidate: Westrich said in our questionnaire: "This is the first time I have run for any elected office."

Experience and public service

Westrich said in our questionnaire that she has held teaching positions including marine science teacher at Fletcher High School (2023–2026), fourth- through eighth-grade teacher at Seaside Community Charter School (2017–2022) and eighth-grade science teacher at schools in Utah and New Mexico. Before teaching, she worked as a hydrogeologist for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (1995–1997).

Westrich said she volunteered as a running coach at Seaside Community Charter School, coaching 40 students in the Junior River Run, according to Florida Politics. She also said she volunteers with Beaches Go Green and sponsors a student club at Fletcher High School.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Westrich's responses to a Florida Politics questionnaire.

Screen time: Westrich said Duval County Public Schools "should ban technology for students in Kindergarten through second grade. It is not developmentally appropriate for young students to use technology for learning."

School choice: Westrich said: "Florida's school choice program continues to divert funding away from DCPS schools. The state should fully fund school choice … and require every school that receives taxpayer dollars to meet the same accountability and transparency standards expected of public schools."

Student mental health: Westrich said: "Every school should have a dedicated mental health school counselor. Too often, counselors are used for scheduling and testing."

School closures: Westrich said: "Every school consolidation or closure needs to be independently evaluated using a cost-benefit analysis of operational costs versus enrollment."

AI in education: Westrich said: "Students need to be taught how to use AI. It should be a dedicated part of the technology curriculum and incorporated into core class curriculum."