Florida › Manatee County › Manatee County School Board District 2
2 candidates are tracked for Manatee County School Board District 2, headed to a November 3, 2026 runoff: Sharon Jefferson and Cindy Spray. Candidate information follows official Manatee County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
August 18 result: incumbent Cindy Spray (34.2 percent) and Sharon Jefferson (26.8 percent) advance to a November 3 runoff, per the Supervisor of Elections' unofficial results and WUSF.
Sharon Jefferson
Nonpartisan
Jefferson has been an educator in Manatee County for more than 26 years and currently teaches social studies at Sugg Middle School, per Suncoast Searchlight, which also reports she serves as education chair for the Manatee County NAACP.
2026 priorities
- Support Title I schools and economically disadvantaged students, per Suncoast Searchlight
- Improve teacher retention, per Suncoast Searchlight
- Address students' mental and emotional needs and eliminate educational gaps, per Suncoast Searchlight
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-19.
Reported fundraising: $3,221 (county campaign-finance filings).
Campaign site →
Cindy Spray
Nonpartisan · Incumbent
Spray is the sitting School Board of Manatee County District 2 member, in office since November 22, 2022, per Ballotpedia; neither Ballotpedia nor Suncoast Searchlight details her professional occupation outside the board.
2026 priorities
- 'Putting students first' through increased classroom resources and teacher support, per Suncoast Searchlight
- Transportation improvements and school security, per Suncoast Searchlight
- School choice, including extending millage funding to charter schools, per Suncoast Searchlight
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-08-19.
Reported fundraising: $26,426 (county campaign-finance filings).
Campaign site →
