Melissa Lopez Marantes is making teacher pay, literacy and student mental wellness the center of her bid for Orange County School Board District 1. The attorney and educator is facing David Shepard in a two-candidate, nonpartisan race on Aug. 18.
In the Orlando Sentinel's voter guide, Marantes says she would support literacy, math and arts programs while making educator compensation a first-year policy priority. She also frames teacher retention and declining enrollment as connected problems, arguing that student success depends on schools meeting individual needs.
Her campaign biography describes her as an Orange County Public Schools graduate, attorney, educator, mother and adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida. It also says she has lived in District 1 for a decade and serves as executive director and co-founder of the Orlando Center for Justice.
Teacher Pay And Reading Are Her Opening Arguments
Teacher compensation is the bluntest part of Marantes' pitch. The Florida Education Association, citing National Education Association data, says Florida ranked 50th nationally in average teacher pay for the third consecutive year.
Her literacy focus arrives amid a broader debate over Florida's academic progress. A May report covered by WUSF ranked Florida last among 35 states for academic growth in reading, while state officials disputed the report's framing and pointed to stronger results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
The proposals Marantes gave the voter guide are more specific than a generic promise to improve reading. She suggested pairing older and younger students as reading buddies, asking students what would make reading more interesting, partnering with local businesses to reward reading achievements, and using an opt-out system rather than broad book removals; she also said library items should be removed only when concerns extend beyond one or two parents.
College Credit And A Coming Ballot Decision
Marantes also wants Orange County schools to work more closely with local colleges and universities. Her plan includes offering college-credit courses on high school campuses, allowing qualified high school teachers to serve as adjunct professors and potentially opening those courses to homeschool and other students.
The race appears on the Aug. 18 primary ballot, according to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. News 6 lists Marantes and Shepard as the District 1 candidates, while Marantes' campaign website says early voting begins Monday.
The seat is currently held by Angie Gallo, whose OCPS biography says she was first elected to the District 1 seat in 2018. Gallo is listed separately in the race for school board chair, leaving District 1 voters to weigh Marantes' education-focused agenda against Shepard's campaign.
For Marantes, the campaign is built around a straightforward argument: schools cannot improve outcomes without keeping teachers, and they cannot keep students engaged without making academics feel relevant. Whether that message breaks through in a low-profile school board race will be decided by District 1 voters this August.
