Smith won over Tommy Buzan, who was appointed to the board earlier this year, for the Place 1 seat.
When told about the close margin, Smith replied “Oh my gosh, you have to be kidding me!”
“I was just amazed at how hard my opponent, Mr. Buzan, worked, and his supporters,” said Smith. “It was very tough. I was ahead almost 100 votes [in the previous election before the run-off] but I knew he was tenacious and I knew he had some very fierce supporters. It is hard to believe we pulled it off.”
Smith credited his victory to his hard-working supporters and his family.
“I would like to give credit to my wife, who’s been though two campaigns…it feels like three,” said Smith.
Last week, Jacksonville’s BOE appointed Jon Paul Campbell as the new superintendent. Smith said now is the time to come together to support the new administration and put together the best education system for the kids of Jacksonville.
“It is time for us all to work together, no partisanship,” he said. “We got budget issues to deal with, so that makes it hard. We all need to work together with a common focus and get behind our new superintendent.”
