Liberal Sue Woltanski Announces Re-Election Bid for School Board Seat

Sue Woltanski has filed for re-election to the Monroe County School Board, District 5. Though school board races are technically nonpartisan, Woltanski has long aligned herself with liberal policies. Just days before announcing her campaign, she published a blog post criticizing conservative leaders and organizations like Moms for Liberty as “far right” and accused them of “taking over” education. Moms for Liberty is nationally recognized for pushing parental rights in education and demanding the removal of pornographic books from school libraries.

Woltanski says these conservative figures represent a coalition of far‑right education influencers and organizations. What she fails to mention is that groups like the 1776 Project Foundation, United States Christian Education Network, Center for Christian Virtue, Moms for Liberty and PragerU are widely respected within conservative circles. She applies the "far right" slur to them in an attempt to diminish the good work they have done for education, children, and parental rights. Applying the same logic she does, then Woltanski must fit the definition of "far left" in this educational paradigm.

In her blog post, Woltanski dismissed the fact that elections have consequences. Governor Ron DeSantis legally appointed members to the State Board of Education who reflect the will of Florida voters. These voters overwhelmingly supported conservative policies in the 2024 general election. Monroe County had the highest percentage of Republican votes for Trump in the state and leads Florida in per capita funding for Republican candidates. Ignoring this reality, while serving in a county so clearly conservative, raises questions about how well she represents her constituents. Remember, the school board seat is non-partisan. She is supposed to represent all children and families, regardless of political affiliations. At this point, her neutrality is a joke, which she mocks openly with her blog posts.

She cites in her blog a historian who describes conservatives as engaging in “a sophisticated rebranding of culture-war politics — using lofty rhetoric about virtue and excellence to conceal an authoritarian, nationalist agenda aimed at censoring diverse histories and undermining public education.” So, if you are a conservative who believes in God, has pride in your country, believes America is beautiful, even though flawed, and you want your children to be taught the good along with the bad things in history, then you are way "far right." If you are a conservative voter in Monroe County where Woltanski is running for re-election, this is exactly what she thinks of your views, and she isn't trying to hide it. The only question now, is whether or not the conservatives in Monroe County will once again elect someone who openly mocks them.

In her blog, she denounces the Florida State Board of Education and its adoption of "The Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education." This is a framework unanimously approved in November 2025, a few days after she posted her article attacking these conservatives ideas. The declaration emphasizes teaching the dangers of communism, a principle rooted in history and supported by both sides of the aisle who fought against it or lived in it.

Yet Woltanski opposes teaching the truth about this, because of the imaginary “takeover” of conservatives, who believe our system is better than the failed communist system. At the very meeting where the declaration was adopted, Woltanski sat silently during public comment, despite having just written strongly against it her article. Hopefully, the tax payers of Monroe County didn't pay for her travel expenses to this meeting for her silent protest. The recording of that meeting is online here.

During public comments, one gentleman from Vietnam where he experienced communism spoke about the danger of it spreading in America right now. He explained the tactic used by communists to divide a country along race, gender or religious lines. The communist will use anything to destabilize a society, destroy it, and then replace it with communism. His explanation is power and worth watching below. This speaker below explains very well why "The Phoenix Declaration" education principles are so needed in our schools. His position isnt "far right" as Woltanski believes. What he explains is common sense to most people, especially anybody who knows about communist history or experienced it like he did.

"The Phoenix Declaration" is a list of education principles adopted by the State Board of Education in November which Woltanski opposes in her recent blog post on her website.

Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas offered strong support for the Phoenix Declaration, calling it a “unifying foundation” for the state’s education system. Florida is the first state to formally adopt the declaration as guiding principles.

Kamoutsas has emphasized:

1. Endorsement of core values: He praised parental choice, curriculum transparency, academic excellence, and instruction rooted in “objective truth.”

2. Commitment reaffirmed: He said the declaration underscores Florida’s dedication to pursuing truth and virtue, empowering parents, and prioritizing students.

3. Defense against criticism: He rejected claims of ideological bias, describing the principles as “objective and factual” and broadly agreeable across political lines.

4. Continuity with current policy: He noted that Florida’s education system under Governor Ron DeSantis already reflects many of these principles.

5. Historic significance: Kamoutsas framed the adoption as a “tremendous opportunity” for Florida to lead the nation in defining what education should be.

The State Board of Education will meet again in Key West on February 20, 2026, at the Tennessee Williams Theatre. This will be another opportunity for Woltanski to explain her opposition to the Phoenix Declaration and clarify her stance to voters. Respect for the community demands transparency.

It’s worth remembering that Woltanski won her seat in 2022 against conservative opponent Alexandria Suarez, but that victory came in a primary with only 37% voter turnout. In a county where Republicans dominate the numbers, low turnout handed her the win. She is counting on this voter apathy again in order to keep her seat. Conservative voters in Monroe County must do better in 2026. The August primary is their chance to send a strong message that they want conservative policies guiding our schools. The overwhelming support for Republicans in the 2024 election proves Monroe County is staunchly conservative. Now it’s time to show up and vote so our schools will reflect our beliefs as well.