Duval County's School Board will keep its 5-2 conservative majority after all three open seats were decided on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Voters also renewed the 1-mill property tax for education by a wide margin, with about 75% voting in favor, according to Jacksonville Today. The levy generates about $125 million a year that the district uses to pay teachers more competitive salaries and support arts and athletics programs. It costs the average Jacksonville homeowner $300 per year, Jacksonville Today reported.

The board governs Duval County Public Schools, including Mandarin-area campuses. The new members will navigate ongoing budget and enrollment challenges, school closure decisions and a headquarters move, according to First Coast News.

In the District 4 race, Rhodesia Butler won with 50.6% of the vote, defeating James Jacobs and write-in candidate Gracie Bell Kearse-McCastler, according to Jacksonville Today and The Florida Trib. Butler, a former educator and area director for the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida, will replace term-limited board member Darryl Willie. The district represents many of Jacksonville's historically Black neighborhoods across the Northside.

Butler raised more than $35,000 in campaign contributions and picked up endorsements from Duval Teachers United, the district's teachers union, the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters and At-Large City Council member Moné Holder, according to the Florida Trib. The District 4 contest was the lowest-spending of the three school board races, Florida Politics reported.

Butler said she plans to focus on teacher retention and attracting more families to District 4 schools, the Florida Trib reported. Former board member Willie has said that preventing further closures of Northside and Eastside public schools will be Butler's primary obstacle, according to the Florida Trib.

Butler says she taught at several Duval County public schools, including Jean Ribault High School and Highlands Middle School, and held leadership roles as assistant principal and dean, according to First Coast News. Jacobs campaigned as a career educator and worked as a dean of students.

Butler, a registered Democrat, will continue the District 4 seat's long-held progressive legacy, the Florida Trib reported. In District 2, Donovan Bradley won with about 53% of the vote. In District 6, Lindsey Denmark also won with about 53%, according to Jacksonville Today.

Each newly elected member was endorsed by their district's outgoing representative, so the board's political balance is unlikely to shift, Jacksonville Today reported.