Wright wins election; Key heads back to work

By Sarah Vaccaro | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Carla Wright, District 5 School Board member will continue to hold her spot now that she won the election over Flagler College Academic Advisor Skeeter Key.

“This is not the right time to change school board members,” Wright, member of the school board for seven years, said.

Wright thinks that Key is a charming guy, nevertheless.

“There was probably one thing on the ballot that we disagreed on this would have been it,” Key said.

“We are going to have serious budget cuts and it is going to get worse and worse and someone who knows the ropes of the school board is much better to handle decisions than a new person,” Wright said.

Three days after the election, 146 provisional ballots still needed to be counted.
Wright was only ahead of Key by three votes at that point.

The votes concluded Wright won on Nov. 7.

“It was a pretty remarkable election after all those votes, it was almost a tie,” Superintendent Joe Joyner said.

Key, who is a former school principal, received his bachelor’s degree at Flagler College and his master’s degree at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

His long list of awards received includes St. Johns County School District Principal of the Year, Catholic Charities Good Samaritan Award, Epic Life Time Community Service Award and Flagler College Alumni Community Service Awards.

Wright, on the other hand, hails from California and grew up in South America. She attended Ketterlinus High School when she needed a half credit to attend Florida State University. She is a former ballerina and graphic designer.

“There are so many things I do to serve the community and I will keep doing that and working at Flagler College. I will be sorry I didn’t get on the board but I kind of feel like if I don’t, I’m a better person for going through this even though there has been some tough times. This has been a challenging learning experience,” Key said.

As expected, Key’s widely publicized affair had a large impact on the election results.

“I made a mistake far before the newspaper ever knew about it. I’d gotten that part of my life behind me. Everybody involved got past it,” Key said.

“Wright is a very dedicated person and Key has been admired for going out of his way to help the underdog. I think he is only doing this out of the kindness of his heart,” R.B. Hunt Elementary School counselor Kathy Luoma said.

Budget cuts will be more prominent over the next six months because Florida Power Light is threatening to raise electric rates in January among other expected problems. Wright said the School Board is planning for the worst possible scenario.

Key will continue to work at Flagler College and serve the community. He will keep helping everyone who comes down his path.