- November 22, 2024
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Flagler County School Board member Cheryl Massaro said she never expected to run for a second term.
But when nobody filed to run in 2024 for her District 5 seat, she filed in December to run for re-election while still hoping a candidate who she thought was qualified would take her place on the ballot.
On Monday, April 8, Laura Ramirez, the owner of Salus Medical Training, filed to run for the seat, and Massaro withdrew. Massaro is now endorsing Ramirez, who is running against attorney Vincent Sullivan, who filed on Feb. 23.
“When I became a school board member (in 2020), I told everybody my plan was to stay for four years,” Massaro, 70, said. “That was the plan and I wanted to stick to it. So prior to announcing, I had been trying to recruit individuals who I thought would be good board members.”
One of those was Ramirez, who reached out to Massaro last September.
“I knew there was going to be an open seat, and it just so happened to be in my district,” Ramirez said. “I wanted to know exactly what was the life of a school board member. And Cheryl always replied to my emails, and I always appreciated that, so I reached out. And we had a wonderful conversation.”
But Ramirez, who is a wife and a mother of four children who attend Flagler Schools, besides being a business owner, decided at the time to sit this election cycle out.
“I wasn’t quite sure. It’s a big commitment,” she said. “But this year has been fantastic for me. I’ve had a profitable small business for the last year and a half. So I sat down with my family again, and I change my mind. I walked into the elections office, did the paper work, and I reached out to Cheryl immediately. She called me right away and was really excited about it.”
Ramirez is already involved with the school district in several capacities:
“I’m doing this already,” she said. “I’m in and out of all the schools, being a speaker, taking Classroom to Career tours. I feel like I know the schools so well.”
With her background in public health and training people in lifesaving skills, she said safety would be one of her priorities as a board member.
“I want to make sure everyone’s comfortable in emergency situations and the resources are available,” she said. “I also want to make sure the School Board is financially responsible. Another passion of mine is parental engagement programs like (School Advisory Councils) and the PTO. I would love to let parents and guardians know how important programs like SAC are. They make decisions that affect our kids.”
Massaro said she was impressed with Ramirez when they had their conversation six months ago.
“She's got the enthusiasm, the desire and the education background to keep this boat afloat, and that’s why I’m supporting her,” Massaro said.
Massaro said she won’t stop attending board meetings after her term expires in November.
“It gives me more freedom. But I'm not going away,” she said. “I will be there to get the people involved. I think that's probably a better way to spend my time when I'm not golfing or traveling.”
