Okaloosa County School Board Chairman Linda Evanchyk held off challenger Mitch Reed in the District 3 race Tuesday night, collecting 15,228 votes, or 51.48%, to Reed’s 14,354. The margin of 874 votes came from 29,582 ballots cast in the contest.
Evanchyk, a retired English and journalism teacher who spent 38 years in the classroom, was first elected to the board in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. She has served as the board’s chairman.
In District 5, Brett Hinely defeated Cynthia West with 59.46% of the vote, receiving 17,517 votes to West’s 11,944 out of 29,461 ballots cast. The result gives Hinely a full four-year term.
Hinely, a Niceville businessman and Air Force veteran, was appointed to the seat by Governor Ron DeSantis in August 2024 after Dr. Diane Kelley left the board to become principal of Destin High School. He has served as the board’s construction representative, helping oversee projects including the new Pineview K-8 school in Crestview and the Destin Elementary expansion.
Both races were nonpartisan.
