Two of Three Pasco School Board Seats Head to November Runoffs After Primary

WESLEY CHAPEL / PASCO COUNTY, FL — Pasco County voters settled one competitive County Commission race on Tuesday, but left most of the school board's future undecided — two of three contested seats are now headed to November runoffs.

Countywide turnout came in at 21.8%, a step down from the 24.8% who cast ballots in the last midterm primary back in August 2022.

County Commission District 4

Incumbent Lisa Yeager fended off a challenge from Jonathan Deckard, a Marine Corps veteran who ran on curbing overdevelopment and expanding public parks. Yeager won 62.4% to Deckard's 37.6%.

School Board: Only One Race Settled

Three Pasco County School Board seats were on the ballot, and only one was decided outright:

District 1: Kimberly Coward and Gino Collura advance to a November runoff after neither cleared the 50% threshold needed to win outright.

District 3: Matt Geiger and Mollyana Ward advance to a November runoff.

District 5: Incumbent Megan Harding won her race outright, taking about 72% of the vote against challenger Michelle Mandarin — no runoff needed.

Why It Matters for Wesley Chapel

With two of three school board seats still undecided, issues like school crowding, phone policy and teacher pay will stay in the spotlight through the fall runoff campaigns — all matters that touch Wesley Chapel's fast-growing schools directly.

Registered voters across the county, not just within each district, get a say in every school board race, so the runoffs are worth watching regardless of which zone you live in.