Daytona Beach, FL – An Ormond Beach conservative activist throws his name into the ring for a spot on the Volusia County School Board.
55-year-old Ray Sanchez has filed to run for the District 4 seat currently occupied by Linda Costello.
Costello decided not to run for re-election after her husband – current District 25 State Representative Fred Costello (R-Ormond Beach) – announced that he would run for the United States House District 6 seat being vacated by fellow Republican Ron DeSantis.
Sanchez – who works in sales for Metra Electronics in Holly Hill – is the founder of Volusia 912 Patriots, a group that pushes for limited government involvement while emphasizing freedom and personal responsibility.
He’ll be going up against Carl Persis, a former Volusia County Council member who lost to current VCC Chairman Jason Davis in the 2012 election.
Persis – who has nearly 30 years of experience in Volusia County Schools, including as a principal – has already raised over $83,000 since announcing his run, according to the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections website. Sanchez has yet to declare any funds raised to Ann McFall’s office.
In a Wednesday in-studio interview on WNDB’s Marc Bernier Show, Sanchez said he decided to run because he wants to address a variety of issues, including less testing for students and more input from parents and teachers.
He admitted to being “encouraged” to run for the VCSB, especially since a lot of his family members are former educators and a lot of his work at Volusia 912 Patriots involves education.
Sanchez also weighed in on a comment reportedly made by current VCSB member Dr. John Hill to another media outlet that called members of the Volusia Teachers Organizations “a hateful group of individuals who make this county look bad”, according to a VTO press release sent on Wednesday.
“We see that both sides are at each other’s throat,” Sanchez added. “It’s a tit-for-tat and it’s unfortunate.”
VTO President Andrew Spar said in the release that Hill’s quote shows the level of disrespect his union members have received from VCSB and district leaders alike since contract negotiations between both sides started last October. The school district declared impasse in its negotiations with VTO earlier this week.
Sanchez – who also hosts a weekly radio show on another local station – is married and has 5 children.
Ray Sanchez (photo courtesy of Volusia County Supervisor of Elections)
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.