School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) Member Kay Abbitt has resigned her seat, effective immediately.
Abbitt sent a letter of resignation to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, stating that she has stepped in as an unpaid interim director for the Boulware Springs Charter School after its previous director, Tiffany White, died unexpectedly in November, according to a press release.
Abbitt and her daughter founded the Boulware Springs Charter School in 2013, and Abbitt served as its director until she was elected to the SBAC in 2022.
“I believe serving in the capacity of interim director may represent a conflict of interest, and I am therefore offering my resignation effective immediately,” Abbitt wrote. “There are a number of issues at the School Board I would like to continue working on, but I understand this conflict. I appreciate the opportunity that I have had to serve on the School Board of Alachua County.”
During her time on the school board, Abbitt advocated for thoughtful implementation of innovative approaches such as year-round school and pushed with other board members during rezoning to solve diversity issues by making Eastside schools more desirable, instead of forcibly moving students across the district.
Notably, Abbitt also made the sudden motion to terminate Superintendent Shane Andrew in October. Though Abbitt had historically shown support for Andrew in meetings, she stated in her 2024 review of him that she had stopped meeting with him one-on-one as their relationship and ability to communicate deteriorated. The board voted 3-2 in support of Abbitt’s motion to fire Andrew.
Florida statute dictates that the governor shall fill any vacancy in state, district or county office for the remainder of a term, if there is any less than 28 months left of the term.
“I very much enjoyed working with Ms. Abbitt and certainly understand her reasons for not continuing her work as a Board member,” Superintendent Kamela Patton said in a press release. “I look forward to working with her replacement and maintaining the Board and district focus on providing a high-quality education to the students of Alachua County Public Schools.”
The new governor-appointed school board member will have until the end of Abbitt’s term in 2026. The last time DeSantis appointed a school board member in Alachua County, it was Mildred Russell, filling in for Diyonne McGraw, who DeSantis removed from her seat for living outside her district.
The turnaround between McGraw and Russell took two months, leaving the seat empty during that time.