Former county school superintendents Jackie Pons and Al Cooksey will face off for the Jefferson County school superintendent seat in the November general election after winning their primary elections Tuesday night.
Pons, the former superintendent of Leon County Schools and former principal of Jefferson County K-12 School, won the Democratic primary with 65.6% of the vote against LaClarence Mays, the current chief financial officer of Gadsden County Schools.
Pons entered the race after the Jefferson County school, the district’s only traditional public school, received a C from the state for its 2023 grade, removing it from Bureau of School Improvements oversight. And the school moved up to a B for its 2024 grade.
“Coming to the county and getting the school back on track was very important to the community. It sent the message that they really believe in Jefferson and that they want to continue to see this type of improvement,” Pons said.
Cooksey served as the Jefferson County Schools superintendent from 2012 to 2016, when the school was placed under state control due to financial failures and poor academic performance. He defeated current superintendent Eydie Tricquet with 60.1% of the vote in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
There are 9,838 registered voters in Jefferson County. Of these, about 4,800 people participated in the primary election, which corresponds to a voter turnout of about 49%.
Pons’ contract at the school was not renewed in June, meaning he will not return to the school as headteacher.
However, Cooksey warned voters not to be skeptical of the successes reported at the school: “Don’t fall for the so-called ‘about-face’ that politicians boast about,” Cooksey wrote in a Facebook post for his campaign.
In an accompanying animated video, the “wise old owl” suggested that the district was “fudge[ing]the books” by sending low-performing students to the district’s alternative school, Turning Point.
Alaijah Brown covers children and families for the Tallahassee Democrat. You can reach her at [email protected]Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
