District 2 board member Will Furry is seeking re-election this year. He faces one challenger, Rob Wood. As this is a non-partisan race, it will appear on the August ballot and will be open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
News4JAX sent a questionnaire to each candidate asking about their background and their views on several issues. Scroll down to read the responses of those seeking your vote in their own words.
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Note: Responses are sorted alphabetically and are presented exactly as submitted, with no editing by News4JAX staff.
| NON-PARTISAN CANDIDATES |
Will Furry
Occupation: Vice-Chair of the Flagler County Board of Education, Small Business Owner, Former Banking and Finance Executive
Age: 51
Family: I have been married to my amazing wife for 21 years and have two teenage boys who actively attend Flagler Schools.
Education: Institutional traing with the Florida School Board Association, CTE Certification for careers with children, Miami-Dade Community Collage School of Real Estate.
Political experience: Elected in 2022 to the Flagler School Board and two term Chair of The Flagler Board of Education.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
One of the top issues facing Flagler Schools is early learning. Too many students arrive unprepared for kindergarten. I support expanding pre-kindergarten access, placing certified teachers in those classrooms, and providing parents with resources to help their children enter school ready to learn and succeed. Expanding Career and Technical Education remains a top priority. This year, 65% of our graduates earned a Diploma Plus through career and technical certifications, dual enrollment, or Advanced Placement—up from 42% the previous year. That progress reflects our commitment to preparing students for college, careers, and life, and I believe we can achieve even greater results. School choice continues to grow, so our goal is to make Flagler Schools the best choice for families. I support expanding innovative learning environments, extracurricular opportunities, and flexible programs, including hybrid options that allow homeschool families to access selected classes and school services.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I am uniquely qualified to continue serving because I bring experience, institutional knowledge, and a proven record of conservative leadership. As the board’s longest-serving current member, I have invested countless hours learning the complexities of the district and have consistently focused on strong governance, fiscal responsibility, and student success.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
It has been an honor to serve our community as the District 2 School Board member since my election in 2022. I’m running on promises made, promises kept. Together, we’ve delivered top-down leadership change, cut wasteful spending, ended money-losing programs, achieved year-over-year academic gains, and, most importantly, returned Flagler Schools to an A-rated district.
Campaign website: www.willfurryforschoolboard.com
Campaign social media: Facebook
Rob Wood
Occupation: Self-employed owner of Exo-Pro Pressure and Soft Wash Solutions.
I spent the last 10-years as a senior leader in the School of Business at Wester Governors University, where I led the leaders that served more than 17,000 students.
Age: 49
Family: My beautiful wife Stacy of 26 years, son Ethan 24 and daughter Courtney 23
Education: AAS, Aircraft Systems Maintenance Technology
AAS, Instructor of Technology & Military Science
AAS, Occupational Education - Business
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education - Business
Masters of Business Administration - Finance
Post Graduate Certificate - Leadership
Political experience: This is my first time running for public office.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
First, how the board itself functions. A school board sets the budget, sets policy, hires and supports the superintendent, and models the conduct we expect in our schools. Over the last four years, that standard has not always been met. I lead with relationships first, commitment to the mission over compliance, and doing no harm. I have spent my career cultivating positive, high-functioning culture in the teams I have led, and it is the work I am uniquely qualified to bring to this board.
Second, real fiscal responsibility, which means planning ahead instead of reacting. A property tax change is coming that will squeeze the county and city we share costs with, and some of what they help fund flows straight to our schools, from roughly sixty percent of our school resource officer costs to the Carver Center our district runs. So I want a comprehensive look at every dollar that reaches our schools from another source, not just our own levy, and a clear-eyed strategy to fully fund the things that matter, our SROs, the Carver Center, and anything else exposed, before a shortfall ever reaches a classroom. That is the difference between a board that manages and a board that leads: we see it coming, we do the analysis, and we have a plan ready.
Third, enrollment and readiness, and that begins before kindergarten. Children who attend VPK arrive far better prepared, and early reading is the single strongest predictor of everything that follows. Yet many families who want VPK can’t use it, and the barrier isn’t desire, it’s resources. VPK only covers part of the day, so a working parent still needs wrap-around care they often can’t afford, and in our county, getting a four-year-old to and from class falls entirely on the family. I want us tackling those friction points head-on: partnering with our early learning coalition and local employers to help fund wrap-around care for working families, and finding creative ways to solve transportation, so that a work schedule or a missing ride is never the reason a child misses their best shot at reading on grade level. We can do this by braiding the funding that already exists rather than asking taxpayers for more, and every family we reach early is one more student ready for what comes next: college, a trade, the military, or a career right here at home.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
My career has been in education, leadership, and organizational development, the actual work of taking teams and helping them align, function, and deliver. As a senior leader in higher education, I support the leaders who serve more than seventeen thousand students. So when I look at a board that has struggled to work together, I don’t just see a problem. I see the exact work I have done throughout my career: bringing people together around a shared mission and getting results. That is a skill this seat needs right now, and it is not one every candidate brings.
I pair that with a career of fiscal accountability and a small business owner’s respect for every dollar, so I can read a budget and a contract and know where waste hides.
And none of this is abstract for me. My wife taught at Old Kings for eight years. Our kids graduated from Flagler schools. I have spent eleven years in uniform and sixteen years in this county. I am not here to start a political career. I am an educator who wants to serve the schools that shaped my own family.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
I want to be remembered as the board member who showed up.
Not just at the podium, but at school events, building real relationships with our teachers, our administrators, and every one of our support staff. But showing up isn’t just being there. It’s what you do while you’re there, and how you lift up the people around you.
It also means doing all the quieter work that makes a great board member: attending legislative days, investing in my own development through the trainings and seminars, and coming to every meeting fully prepared, in a way that honors the time, energy, and commitment our superintendent and staff pour in every day.
If people remember me as the one who showed up, all the way, for the right reasons, I will have done this job right.
Campaign website: robwoodforflagler.com
Campaign social media: Facebook