Five Broward School Board members are facing challenges this year in a pivotal election that could help determine whether some schools stay open or closed and whether the board’s political makeup shifts left or right.

The Aug. 20 election is on paper non-partisan, but political affiliation has become a major factor since 2022, when Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced four Democratic School Board members with four Republicans, giving Republicans a brief 5-4 majority.

Right now, there is a 6-3 Democrat majority, and two DeSantis appointees, Torey Alton and Daniel Foganholi, are running against well-funded Democrats. Two Democrat board members, Sarah Leonardi and Debbi Hixon, have Republican challengers, while Democrat Jeff Holness is being challenged by a more conservative Democrat.

Topics such as sex education, LGBTQ inclusion, book challenges and teacher raises have divided board members in the past two years, with the progressive majority usually winning out. That could change depending on who is elected.

A contentious but less partisan issue facing the district is whether to close schools with low enrollment. The incumbents and challengers have different views on how to proceed but all agreed the efforts so far have been flawed.