Volusia County School Board, District 1
School board members set the district budget and school-tax rate, hire the superintendent (where appointed), approve school boundaries, curriculum policy and construction, and set district policies. Nonpartisan. Term: 4 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Candidate list taken from the Florida Division of Elections, 2026 general election candidate list on 2026-09-18 ; both candidates are marked Qualified, which for a nonpartisan seat means the August vote did not produce a majority winner (or the seat is decided only in November). Check the county Supervisor of Elections sample ballot.
Candidates
Report an error ↗Brenda Beery
Beery spent 22 years in Volusia County Schools as a teacher and assistant principal and is now co-owner of a local roofing and redesign business. She led the August 2026 District 1 primary with about 50 percent of the vote and advanced to the Nov. 3 general election against the incumbent.
Jamie Haynes
Haynes began with Volusia County Schools more than 38 years ago as a teacher at Enterprise Elementary and most recently worked as a district administrator in Federal Programs and Grants/Title I, serving as coordinator for instructional technology. She is the incumbent District 1 board member and finished second in the…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Brenda Beery Nonpartisan | Jamie Haynes Nonpartisan |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Beery names a lack of financial responsibility as one of the district's three most pressing problems and would require monthly public reports on budget-to-actual spending, revenues and staffing, and tie spending to measurable outcomes. She frames this as spending oversight rather than lowering taxes. | No public position found |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Library and classroom materialsParents' objections should be enough to pull a book or lesson from a school, even when other families want it kept. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Asked about book challenges, Beery said all books should be age-appropriate and that decisions should rest on age appropriateness, educational value and the law rather than politics. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Asked about book challenges, Haynes said the district should follow the transparent review process established by Florida law, with parents, educators and community members taking part, and decide on the basis of that process, applicable law, age appropriateness and educational value. |
| Teacher and staff payRaising teacher and staff pay should be the district's top budget priority, even if other spending has to be cut. | Leans agree· stated position Beery names the teacher shortage as the district's most pressing problem and calls for competitive pay, safer classrooms, consistent discipline and a real voice for teachers. She proposes eliminating duplicate district office positions and redeploying the savings to hire qualified teachers. | Leans agree· stated position Haynes names recruiting and retaining employees as the district's most pressing problem and says she would advocate for increased education funding and support competitive compensation, along with professional development and recognition. She did not name spending she would cut. |
| School safety approachCampus safety depends more on police officers and firm discipline than on counselors and mental-health staff. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Beery's safety answer combines clear expectations and consistent consequences with early intervention and protecting the classroom environment for learning. She did not choose between officers and discipline on one side and counseling on the other. | Leans agree· stated position Haynes' campaign website, quoted on Ballotpedia, says safe and strong schools start with a strong partnership with law enforcement, administrators and educators. It does not mention counselors or mental-health staffing. |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Brenda Beery | not enough data | not enough data |
| Jamie Haynes | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Brenda Beery
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.
Jamie Haynes
- Career and technical education — Haynes lists post-graduation pathways as a top concern and says she would keep expanding career and technical education, industry certifications, apprenticeships, dual enrollment and partnerships with local businesses.
- School safety approach — On school safety Haynes said her focus is not changing what works but continually evaluating and strengthening current practices as new challenges and technologies emerge.
- Career and technical education — Haynes lists post-graduation pathways as a top concern and says she would keep expanding career and technical education, industry certifications, apprenticeships, dual enrollment and partnerships with local businesses.
- School safety approach — On school safety Haynes said her focus is not changing what works but continually evaluating and strengthening current practices as new challenges and technologies emerge.
- Career and technical education — Haynes' website says she strongly supports career and technical education programs preparing students for college, skilled trades, military service and the workforce.
- Local decision-making and budget oversight — Haynes' website says that as chair of the district's internal audit committee she prioritizes transparency and responsible budgeting, and that she supports local decision-making rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.