Alachua County School Board member Kay Abbitt resigns seat on board, effective immediately

The Gainesville Sun | December 17, 2024

Alachua County School Board member Kay Abbitt has resigned her seat on the board, effective immediately, according to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon by the district.

According to the release, Abbitt cited her unpaid temporary work as interim director of the Boulware Springs Charter School as the reason for her resignation.

“I believe serving in the capacity of interim director may represent a conflict of interest,” Abbitt wrote in her letter of resignation to Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I appreciate the opportunity that I have had to serve on the School Board of Alachua County.”

Alachua County School Board member Kay Abbitt, shown during her swearing-in ceremony in 2022, resigned her seat on the board on Tuesday, effective immediately.

Under state statute, DeSantis will be tasked with filling the seat left vacant by Abbitt. Abbitt’s term runs through 2026.

“I very much enjoyed working with Ms. Abbitt and certainly understand her reasons for not continuing her work as a board member,” said interim Superintendent Kamela Patton, in the release. “I look forward to working with her replacement and maintaining the board and district focus on providing a high-quality education to the students of Alachua County Public Schools.”

Abbitt was elected to the District 5 seat in 2022. Abbitt founded Boulware Springs Charter School with her daughter, Megan Lane, in 2013 and served as its director until her election to the School Board. The school’s most recent director died unexpectedly in November, according to the release.