District 4 board member Michele Hanson is seeking re-election in this non-partisan race. She faces one challenger, Michael Rathjen. This race will appear on the August primary ballot for all voters in the county. As there are only two candidates in the race, it will be decided in the August election.
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 |
Michele Hanson
Occupation: I have dedicated myself to the field of education, serving as a teacher in Clay County Schools for 19 years and as a School Board member for the last 3.5 years.
Age: 64
Family: I have been married to my husband John, a 24-year veteran of the United States Army, for 43 years and I am the proud mother of three Ridgeview High School graduates. Additionally, my two granddaughters are currently enrolled in Clay County Schools. One of my greatest joys as a mother is seeing my daughter become a master teacher, following in my footsteps.
Education: I have dedicated myself to the field of education, serving as a teacher in Clay County Schools for 19 years and as a School Board member for the last 2.5 years. In my role as a school board member, I achieved Master Board Certification through the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) and completed the Master School Board training with my fellow board members.
Political experience: For the past three and a half years, I have proudly served our community on the Clay County School Board. In addition to my local leadership, I am an active member of the Florida School Boards Association’s State Advocacy Committee, fighting for our district’s needs at the state level.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
While Clay County celebrates high levels of student achievement and has one of the most robust Career and Technical Education programs in the state, we cannot lose sight of the foundational gaps that remain. Right now, approximately 1/3 of our students continue to struggle with essential reading and critical thinking skills, a reality that demands a renewed, urgency. To close this gap we must operate with a modern, business-minded approach. Public education can’t afford to be complacent; we must view families as our customers and continuously earn their trust. By embracing innovation, stream-lining operations, and adapting quickly to new challenges, we will ensure that Clay County District Schools remains the number one choice of parents.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I am uniquely qualified to serve the voters of Clay County because I spent19 years of my life in the trenches of a classroom serving parents, teachers, and students. I believe it is vitally important that at least one board member have experience in the classroom because the classroom has dramatically changed over the years. My background helps me understand the concerns of voters and as a school board member I listen to voters and fight for solutions that better serve the educational community. I am also solutions forward thinker willing to look outside of the box to solve today’s challenges. As a military wife for 43 years, I am keenly aware of what it means to be a team. The Clay County School Board needs to work together as nonpartisan elected officials to improve the quality of student education, write new policies and procedures, and create new solutions to challenging issues.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
I hope to leave behind a district where our teachers are no longer bogged down by administrative red tape, but are supported with competitive salaries through our 1-millage advocacy and protected by universal discipline policies. I want to be remembered for ensuring that our classrooms are safe, focused environments where the 32 percent of students struggling with reading get the urgent attention they need. Above all, I want my legacy to be that we drove innovation, respected the parent-school partnership, and cemented Clay County as a leader in state education.
Campaign website: michelehanson4ccsb.wixsite.com/mysite
Campaign social media: Facebook
Michael Rathjen
Occupation: Vice President of School Programs - VyStar Credit Union
Age: 45
Family: Married 20+ Years, three daughters ages 23, 20, 15
Education: Various trainings, courses, and certifications: Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt, Common Sense Economic Course (Florida State University), Personal Finance Certificate (Texas Tech).
Political experience: Although than advocacy over the years to our State and Federal legislators on behalf of Boards I serve on (Clay Education Foundation and Clay County Farm Bureau) and as a business partner to multiple career and technical education programs for public schools...I have no official political experience. This is the first time seeking an elected office.
What do you see as the top three issues in this race, and how do you plan to address them?
Budget. Budget. Budget. We are in the battle of the budget. Lack of proactive advocacy and management of our School District’s budget has created a deficiency in responsible leadership. All but one school board member accepted the state offered paise raise as a board member while failing to allocate sufficient fund to provide a pay raise to nearly 45% of our District’s teachers. We have a bloated vehicle fleet, and the excessive switching of technology/programs has created confusion and frustration for our educators and additional cost to our District.
School Safety - We must find an additional funding sources or reallocate funds to keep the contract between our county’s Sheriff’s Office and municipal law enforcement officers. The 1 mil tax referendum is also necessary but will be a temporary solution that must be voted on periodically to maintain. We must do whatever is necessary to protect the high safety standards our students/families deserve and our community has come to expect.
Results for students...we must keep the focus on our early literacy initiatives and intervention as well as protect our District’s robust career and technical education/trades programs.
All of the above-mentioned issues, and more, are directly impacted by the health of our budget. HB 1 from a couple years ago has fundamentally changed the financial landscape of our public school systems across Florida. I will work to protect the many programs that are driving results for students and respect for educators and parents, while using my business acumen to thoughtfully and collaboratively make improvements in areas where we can do better.
How can you help voters in a way that others running for this office cannot?
I am the only candidate with my unique professional background that is also super specific to creating/leading a complex outcome-based internship and financial education program for students and an income source for our school partners; while maintaining fiscal oversight of a multimillion-dollar budget. In summary, I have the right experience in the right time, and I am the right choice to lead our District through these unique budgetary challenges.
More Information:
As the Vice President of School Programs, I work in close partnership with nine different school districts across Northeast and Central Florida - Saint Johns, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam, Flagler, Bradford, Marion, and Brevard. Under my leadership, our VyStar Academy of Business High School Program has delivered financial education training to over 180,000 students and has provided over 2,200 paid yearlong internship opportunities through nineteen high school branch programs. We are in the process of building our 20th high school program with our newest school district partners in Brevard County, Florida. This summer/school year, we have provided a paid yearlong internship/career-readiness opportunity to 223 high school students from across these 20 high schools and nine school districts.
In February of 2020, the school program I lead was recognized as the number one program in the nation (per asset size) and awarded the prestigious Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). VyStar Credit Union recently received the 2025 Ragan Corporate Social Responsibility Award in the Education or Scholarship Program category, recognizing its innovative and impactful efforts to empower youth through financial education and scholarships through the VyStar Academy of Business High School Program, which again is led by me and my team of exceptionally talented school program advisors.
At the time of announcing my candidacy for school board, I served as Chair for the Clay Education Foundation, as the state delegate of Florida for the Credit Union Financial Education Network, as a board member for the Economic Development Corporation for Clay County, the Clay County Fair Association, Clay County Farm Bureau, CareerSource Northeast Florida, and as a business partner on multiple Career and Technical Education (CTE) Advisory Boards across Northeast Florida.
What would you hope to be remembered for accomplishing after serving in this office?
Restoring responsible leadership to our School Board by proactively advocating for our public school’s budget, creating new public/private partnership to offset cost and create opportunity for students, providing support/respect for educators, and protecting/strengthen the programs that drive results and truly benefit our students.
I am committed to protecting the high quality of education provided within Clay County District Schools by collaborating with all levels of district personnel to shape policy, working with state legislators and key stakeholders to create an accountable and transparent budget process, and strengthening our overall public school system. I understand that parents and students deserve access and options, and that public school districts require support. Public school systems serve as the largest segment of our citizenship, impact the most students, typically serve as the largest employer for most counties, are one of the top economic drivers for growth (influencing tax revenue for school districts), and contribute to the overall prosperity of a community.
Campaign website: rathjen4clayschools.com
Campaign social media: Facebook