Lake County voters have exactly one school board race to decide this year, and it comes down to a stark contrast in resumes: a former mayor with three and a half decades in corporate finance against a classroom teacher who has spent 30 years in Lake County schools. Pat Kelley and Eric Schwalbach are competing for the District 1 seat, which covers the fast-growing western Lake County communities of Mascotte and Groveland, with early voting already underway ahead of the August 18 primary.
District 1 is the only contested seat on the 2026 Lake County School Board ballot. District 3's Marc A. Dodd and District 5's Stephanie Luke both qualified without opposition and secured four-year terms automatically after June's filing deadline, according to Ballotpedia. That leaves District 1 as the sole race drawing organized campaigns, fundraising and public attention this cycle, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. A write-in candidate, James Smith, a Groveland native and Army veteran, is also on the ballot, per the Sentinel's reporting.
The race is officially nonpartisan, meaning any of Lake County's 277,802 registered voters can cast a ballot in it regardless of party affiliation. That electorate splits into 132,994 registered Republicans, 68,395 registered Democrats and 65,889 voters with no party affiliation, according to the South Lake Chamber of Commerce. Because the primary is nonpartisan, a candidate who tops 50% next Tuesday wins outright; otherwise the top two finishers advance to a runoff on the November 3 general election ballot.
Kelley's Long Run as Minneola's Mayor Comes to a Close
Kelley served as Minneola's mayor since 2008, an 18-year run that ended this year under Florida's Resign-to-Run law. The statute requires elected municipal officers to submit an irrevocable resignation at least 10 days before qualifying for another office with an overlapping term, which forced Kelley to step down from the mayor's seat in May, as detailed by WKMG.
Kelley brings 35 years of corporate finance and accounting experience to the race, including a stint with the Walt Disney Company, per the Sentinel's account. He says he plans to use that finance background to identify budget efficiencies and will seek out opportunities to maximize the district's available resources. His campaign centers on pairing that financial expertise with his city leadership experience to optimize school budgets and manage growth responsibly.
On the district's central growth challenge, Kelley says he wants to engage private developers to fund and build school infrastructure rather than turning to new public debt or higher property taxes. He has pledged to maintain stable property taxes and protect funding for teachers, school safety, and academic programs, while also advocating for additional state funding for the district. Lake County's population has grown to an estimated 468,682 residents in 2026, a 2.77% annual growth rate that is intensifying pressure on schools in fast-growing western communities like Mascotte and Groveland, according to the South Lake Chamber.
Schwalbach Pitches Classroom Experience and a Pay-It-Forward Pledge
Schwalbach, a longtime Lake County teacher who has worked in schools across both Lake and Orange counties, is running on an educator's-eye view of the district. He points to his role in helping move Oak Park Middle School's grade from a D to a C as evidence of his classroom-level impact, per the Sentinel's report.
His campaign platform focuses on raising student proficiency through tutoring programs and on developing, recruiting and retaining high-impact teachers. Schwalbach also supports expanding career and technical opportunities for students who don't plan to attend college after graduation, aligning with the district's broader push to educate and recruit students into the trade industry. Notably, Schwalbach has committed to donating his entire school board salary toward student success, a pledge his campaign estimates would total more than $180,000 over a four-year term.
A Lopsided Money Race
The two campaigns are not competing on equal financial footing. Filings with the Lake County Supervisor of Elections show Kelley's campaign has reported $29,550 in monetary contributions against $12,498.01 in expenditures, while Schwalbach's campaign has taken in $2,900 in contributions and spent $1,431.00, according to the Lake County Supervisor of Elections.
Stakes Beyond the Ballot: A Superintendent Search Looms
Whoever wins will step into a board that oversees a roughly $1.205 billion tentative budget for fiscal year 2026-27, approved during a July 29 public hearing, according to Citizen Portal. Lake County Schools serves an estimated 42,000 to 48,000 K-12 students, making it the state's 19th largest district, per Ballotpedia.
The winner will also immediately face one of the board's biggest decisions in years: helping recruit and hire a new superintendent after Diane Kornegay announced her retirement, effective May 28, 2027. Kornegay has led the district since December 2016, and this July the district earned an “A” grade from the Florida Department of Education for the 2025-26 school year, marking Lake County's first back-to-back “A” ratings in district history, according to Lake County Schools.
