ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A longtime St. Johns County School Board member is facing questions about whether parents’ contact information was shared with a political action committee (PAC) during a 2024 campaign for a school tax referendum.
District 1 incumbent Beverly Slough made the comments while answering a parent’s question at a recent candidate forum. In a video of the exchange circulating on social media, Slough says a PAC that supported the 2024 millage referendum had access to parents’ email addresses.
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A parent, Ami Demii, said she has wanted answers since receiving an email during the 2024 campaign that included voter registration information and the referendum’s ballot language. The email did not explicitly tell recipients how to vote, but Demii said she questioned how her email address was obtained and why she felt it was a one-sided political message.
In the forum exchange, Slough told the parent, “There was a PAC that ran that campaign, that’s how those emails were sent,” prompting questions from some parents about whether private information was provided to an outside political group.
Slough responded to News4JAX by email, saying she misspoke.
“I misspoke at the event. We do not sell the contact information of our parents. I apologize for my misstatement,” Slough wrote.
The St. Johns County School District also issued a statement denying that parent information was provided to a PAC.
“We emphatically deny parents’ information was provided to a Political Action Committee,” the district said.
A district spokesperson told News4JAX that public records searches confirm parental information was never shared.
Some parents said they were unconvinced by Slough’s explanation, including Rachel Hand, who questioned how a board member with decades of experience could be mistaken about a matter involving parent privacy.
Slough’s opponent, Kevin Allen, also weighed in in the final days of the campaign. In a news release, Allen criticized the possibility of PAC involvement in school communications and Slough’s initial statement, saying he would protect parents’ privacy.
The email obtained from 2024 did not explicitly instruct parents how to vote, and it remains unclear who sent it.
Slough and Allen face voters in the District 1 School Board primary next Tuesday.