Duval County School Board elects Charlotte Joyce chair, April Carney vice chair; approves meeting schedule and travel

Jacksonville — At its Nov. 19, 2024 organizational meeting, the Duval County School Board swore in new members and elected board member Charlotte Joyce as chair for the 2024–25 term and April Carney as vice chair. The meeting, held in the administration building at 1701 Prudential Drive, also approved the regular meeting schedule and conference travel for board members.

The superintendent opened the formal organization segment by citing Section 101.371 of the Florida Statutes and Robert’s Rules of Order to describe the nomination and election process. Charlotte Joyce was nominated and — with a dissent noted in the record — was elected chair; the transcript records the chair vote as 6–1. April Carney was nominated and recorded as elected vice chair by unanimous voice vote; a dissenting vote was noted elsewhere in members’ remarks.

Board action that evening included unanimous recorded approvals (7–0) of the Nov. 19 agenda as amended and administrative items such as the district’s regular meeting calendar (first Tuesday each month at 6 p.m., with exceptions noted) and travel for the FSBA/FADSS conference Dec. 2–6, 2024 in Tampa with additional members authorized to attend. The board also approved changing the Dec. 2, 2024 meeting to Dec. 9, 2024 and set a Dec. 1, 2025 meeting date; those calendar actions were recorded as 7–0.

After being sworn in by the chief judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit, Charlotte Joyce took the gavel and thanked community supporters, saying it was “an honor, for me to sit here, and preside over this board for the next year.” Board members who did not join the majority registered their positions in floor remarks later in the meeting; one member said he did not vote for the chair and vice chair and explained his intent to represent a broader set of constituents.

The superintendent noted that, following statutory requirements, the district will file notice of the chair and vice-chair elections with the Florida Department of Education and the Department of State within two weeks. The board transitioned immediately afterward to the Duval County School Board Leasing Corporation organizational meeting and elected officers for that body consistent with the school board leadership before adjourning.

Formal motions and recorded outcomes from the meeting: the agenda as amended (approved 7–0); election of Charlotte Joyce as chair (recorded in the meeting as 6–1); election of April Carney as vice chair (recorded as unanimous voice vote in the minutes); meeting schedule and travel items (approved 7–0).