Melisa Giovanelli projected to maintain Lee County School Board seat

Three of the seven seats on the Lee County School Board were up for grabs Tuesday night in the election.

Incumbent Melisa Giovanelli defeated Carol Frantz in the District 2 race. Bill Ribble is leading Kaitlyn Schoffel in the District 3 race. Ribble is up 50.3% to 49.7% with all precincts reporting. The race is too close to be called and is awaiting provisional ballots.

Ribble declined an interview with WINK however Schoeffel spoke with WINK News Reporter Amy Galo.

Schoeffel said she was inspired by how tight the race is.

 “I want this to be a message for all of the people in Lee County that your vote 1,000% does matter,” said Schoeffel. “It does make a difference, because it came down to just such a few amount of votes to, you know, determine this election.”

Vanessa Melbis Chaviano, Sheridan Chester and Joshua Molandes are battling for District 7.

In order to win the race a candidate needed 50% plus one vote, that didn’t happen.

Chaviano received just over 47% of votes while Chester received just over 31% of votes.

So both Chester and Chaviano now move onto the general election in November.

Chaviano said she’s ready.

“We’ve been knocking on doors and coming out,” said Chaviano. “It’s a district-wide race. It’s a hard race, That’s a lot of doors to knock. So just getting more volunteers and more feet on the ground to help hit those doors throughout the county, you get the name out there and just continue on that strategy.”

Chester also said she’s ready.

“I’m again blessed by people who believed in me enough to put me in this position this evening. Thank you,” said Chester. “Really, that’s that’s where I feel, feel this right now. It’s just gratitude, humility, determination to do the best possible job that I can.” 

Governor Ron DeSantis has endorsed three candidates for the three open seats. Those candidates are incumbent Melisa Giovanelli, former Estero Mayor Bill Ribble, and former educator Vanessa Chaviano.

Back in 2022, DeSantis endorsed Armor Persons and Sam Fisher. Both won their respective elections. This time around, voters think it could have some weight too.

Ray Wallace is a voter and he said an endorsement from DeSantis could influence voters.

“I think it would sway voters a little bit,” said Wallace. “I think there are voters that really like Ron DeSantis, our current Governor, and I think they regard him and his opinion very highly. Everyone should come out and vote today in the primary, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat so you can only vote for your side, but at least you can pick the best version of your side.”

Several voters made their way out because they know a vote can lead to a change.

Terry Rohrman is a Fort Myers resident and she said that testing is important.

“I think there’s a lot of testing. I know that testing is important, but I also think kids should have more active learning,” said Rohrman.

While this is a non-partisan race, it’s no stranger to politics.

Nishani Karunamuni is a Fort Myers resident and she had her decision in the election affected by an endorsement.

“I did see that Carol Frantz was endorsed by the Black Caucus, and that definitely did impact my vote,” said Karunamuni.

Stay tuned to WINKNews.com, WINK News App, streaming, and on-air for any new developments on this story.