Gallon’s resignation opens new spot, election for Miami-Dade school board

There’s a new vacancy on Miami-Dade County Public School’s governing board.

District 1 School Board Member Steve Gallon resigned from his seat representing much of the northernmost stretch of Miami-Dade County on Monday, setting up an election to fill his seat for the remaining two-plus years in his term.

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Gallon, 57, is now set to represent District 1 on the Miami-Dade County Commission, as he was the only candidate to file for that seat — he will fill the seat recently vacated by Oliver Gilbert, who is now running for Congress and will give up his seat representing the Miami Gardens area in January.

Prospective candidates to replace Gallon have a tight window to file for the office. According to a notice from Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, the qualifying dates to run for the office stretch from noon on June 10 to noon on June 16.

Four other school board seats are on-cycle for re-election to their four-year terms this year. The deadline to file for those seats — Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8. — ends Friday at noon.

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As of Tuesday evening, only the incumbent board members had filed for election to those district seats.

Those board members are Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, Roberto Alonso, Chair Mari Tere Rojas and Vice Chair Monica Colucci. All four members have raised significant funds towards their elections, with three having raised more than $100,000 as of March 31.

The primary election is set for Aug. 18 and the general election will be held Nov. 3. Those dates will apply to District 1 as well as the other four districts.

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Gallon was first elected to his seat in 2016.