Candidate: Janice Kerekes

Campaign Website: www.JaniceKerekes.com

Hello and thank you for taking an interest in your School Board candidates. I’m Janice Kerekes and I am currently your District 1 School Board Member.

My husband Mike and I have been married for 37 years and are so proud of our three boys: Michael is an attorney; David who is completing his residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Florida; and Jamel, who just completed his 5 year commitment with the Army.

I can honestly say that the last several years serving on our School Board have been some of the most rewarding years of my life. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know many wonderful people throughout this county. From parents and students, teachers, administrators, and support staff, I am constantly reminded why I ran in the first place: to make a positive impact on our community and to always put our Children First.

Children First has been a motto of mine since my very first campaign and it has been at the front of my mind every day since. With the challenges presented by covid-19 over these past two years, we have been through one of the most challenging periods in recent times. Now, more than ever, it is vital to the integrity of the School Board that we have members who are willing to ask the tough questions and stand up for our public schools. As always, I will continue to devote the time and effort our School Board deserves, and that is nothing less than a full-time commitment. I believe Clay County families deserve this commitment from all School Board members.

Prior to joining our School Board, I was a volunteer in our schools, serving as room mom, PTA officer (back when we still called it the PTA), and on various school accreditation and district-level advisory committees. I attended School Board meetings as a private citizen for more than 5 years before I was elected to the School Board.

I didn’t just stand before you and recite colorful catch phrases and tell you how much I care about our children, I demonstrated my commitment by putting words into action. I am a proud member of the Rotary Club of Orange Park and a member of the Republican Executive Committee. I am former Vice-President of the Clay County Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors and previously served on the Leadership Council for Take Stock in Children.

In addition to my local community service, I have also been appointed to serve on the Florida Education Investment Trust Fund as a Trustee and current Vice-Chairman. The trust fund currently manages more than $5 billion in funds. I am a Certified School Board Member and serve on the Board of Directors for the Florida School Boards Association.

I am proud of my record as a public servant. Our School Board has continually made student achievement our top priority and our district is consistently ranked as one of the best in the state. Clay County is once again an A-rated School district and ranks in the Top 10 School Districts in Florida. Thanks to the fiscally conservative leadership of our School Board, our overall reserve fund balance is now over 5%, the highest it has been in many years.

I have made it my mission to ensure that every dollar we spend will benefit our children in the classroom. I have called out wasteful spending when I have seen it and I have worked hard to keep dedicated teachers in their classrooms. I want to see our children succeed and am proud of the fact that every one of our elementary schools now has Media, Art, Music, and Physical Education classes for all students.

It has been a genuine privilege to serve on the School Board and I look forward to continuing to serve our community. I am asking for your vote when you head to the polls on August 23rd. I hope you will join me as we continue to work to better our schools and put Children First!

For more information about Janice Kerekes please visit her website at www.JaniceKerekes.com