District 7 Duval County School Board member Jason Fischer has resigned.
Fischer is running for a Florida House seat, representing an area including Mandarin, the Southside and much of San Marco. But in order to qualify to be on the ballot, Florida law requires him to resign from the school board.
“It just seemed like the natural time right here in the summer to go ahead and shift my focus now to the state house run,” he said.
Fischer has now qualified to be on the ballot. The deadline is Friday at noon.
In a letter to the Duval Elections Supervisor Mike Hogan, Fischer said it’s been a privilege to serve his community on the board.
“I have seen increases in graduation rates and the gains that led to an 'A' average for the schools inside District 7,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
He said as a local board member, he’s witnessed too much state control.
“I know what it means to have the state force you to do things or the state tell you, you’ve got to do this or that or the other things — and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work,” Fischer said. “What works in Miami-Dade might not work in Jacksonville. That’s one of the best things I’ll be able to bring to the Legislature.”
Fischer is running in the August 30 Republican primary against Dick Kravitz, a former Florida state representative and Jacksonville City Councilman. A write-in candidate, George Doran, is also running for the seat.
Seven candidates have filed to run for Fischer’s seat on the School Board.
