Kate Wallace, appointed by DeSantis, participates in first Polk School Board meeting

Lakeland Ledger | By Gary White | November 20, 2025

Kate Wallace officially took her position on the Polk County School Board at the Nov. 18 meeting in Bartow.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Wallace on Nov. 7 to fill a vacancy created by the death in August of board member Rick Nolte in District 3.

Jim Hatch, the retired pastor of Bartow’s First Presbyterian Church, administered the oath of office to Wallace near the start of the meeting in Bartow.

Wallace, 40, is a Bartow native and a 2003 graduate of the International Baccalaureate School at Bartow High School. She is director of state government affairs for Charter Communications.

After being sworn in, Wallace delivered a 12-minute address. She hails from a family of educators, she said, noting that her great-grandfather was a school board member in North Carolina and her grandmother is a retired English teacher.

“I love Polk County because Polk County has loved me,” Wallace said. “I want to give back and leave our schools stronger than I found them, always putting students first, serving with humility and learning from each of you.”

From 2012 to 2017, Wallace held roles with the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the 1990s that promotes school choice. She has served as executive director of Lakeland Leads (now known as ConnectEd Polk), a nonprofit that promotes schools through engagement with the business community.