School Board member Kristi Burns, Ph.D., is resigning from her elected position, effective May 1, she announced at the board meeting Monday night.
“When I started on this board in 2016, it was really important to me that our board work very nonpartisan and that we work really well together as a board, and I think we have,” she said during the meeting. “However, I have decided that the general political discourse and the divisiveness is just too much for me to continue in my seat at this point. … It would be best if I put my seat back to the people. To do that, I’m going to resign, effective May 1.”
Florida Statute 100.111 states that if a vacancy occurs in an office and the remainder of the term is 28 months or longer, “then at the next general election a person shall be elected to fill the unexpired portion of such term.”
Dr. Burns would have been up for re-election in November 2024. With her resignation, voters will choose her successor on Nov. 8, 2022.
“I’m trying to do this in the most respectful way possible for the district,” she said. “At this point, I’m going to step back from all of this divisiveness and really be able to focus on my family.”
Dr. Burns, a 1995 graduate of Eustis High School, holds a doctorate degree in chemistry/biochemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She worked at the Dupont Corp. in business, research and development, where she was a scientist who communicated closely with sales, marketing and the U.S. military.
After returning to Lake County, Dr. Burns, a mother of four, learned that many children were not getting recess in Lake County elementary schools. She helped lead a group of parents, educators, and concerned citizens to advocate for a change, emphasizing that recess helps children learn cooperation, creativity, negotiation, sharing and many other soft skills that are necessary to their development into adulthood.
Dr. Burns represents District 2, which includes Beverly Shores Elementary, Carver Middle, Fruitland Park Elementary, Leesburg Elementary, Leesburg High, Oak Park Middle, Rimes Early Learning Center, Villages Elementary and Treadway Elementary.
