A student-first partner to public schools.

Before banking, Michael worked as an associate teacher in early childhood education at a corporate childcare center in Jacksonville. Two years in, a friend encouraged him to join a local credit union, a place where he could apply the same enthusiasm for educating others to supporting whole families through their financial circumstances. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family, Michael knows firsthand that money isn’t the most important thing, and also that financial stability touches every other area of a kid’s life.

Michael has not worked as a public-school teacher, but for his career he has been an advocate for educators and a partner to public schools, with a student-first mentality at every turn. He’s committed to representing every group with a stake in our schools: families, educators, students, business and community partners who support education, and taxpayers, with no special interest other than the success of Clay County kids.

A larger view of what public schools are.

Public school systems serve the largest segment of our citizenship, impact the most students, are typically the largest employer in their county, drive local economic growth, and shape tax revenue and quality of life for everyone who lives here. Michael’s job, upon being elected, will be to protect the quality of the education Clay County District Schools deliver: by serving families, supporting students and educators, shaping policy through collaboration with district personnel, and working with state legislators and local stakeholders on an accountable, transparent budget process.