BREAKING: Former Superintendent Theresa Axford Files to Challenge Incumbent Darren Horan for School Board
Former district leader enters District 1 race days after appearing at Hometown! candidate forum without having formally filed.
Former Monroe County Schools Superintendent Theresa Axford has officially filed to run for the District 1 seat on the Monroe County School Board, setting up a challenge to incumbent board member Darren Horan in the 2026 election.
Axford’s filing comes days after she appeared at the Hometown! Call for Candidates forum held Monday at Salute! On The Beach, where prospective candidates from across Monroe County discussed the upcoming election cycle. At the time of that event, Axford had not yet formally filed her paperwork to enter the race.
Axford, a longtime Florida Keys educator whose career in local education spans nearly five decades, served as superintendent of the Monroe County School District from 2020 until her retirement in July 2025. Her entry into the race places a former top administrator directly into the political arena of the school system she once led.
Her tenure as superintendent began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when school districts across Florida were navigating closures, remote instruction and state reopening mandates. In Monroe County, Axford oversaw the district’s transition to online learning and the eventual return to in-person classes while managing staffing, operational and public health challenges.
Before becoming superintendent, Axford spent decades working her way through the district’s ranks. She served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal and district administrator before becoming executive director of teaching and learning and ultimately the district’s top administrator.
Axford first came to Key West in the mid-1970s from Philadelphia, beginning her career as an English teacher at Mary Immaculate High School. She later became principal there before the school closed in 1986.
She joined the Monroe County School District as an English teacher at Key West High School the same year, beginning a 38-year career within the public school system.
During her time leading the district, Monroe County schools implemented teacher pay increases and pursued workforce housing initiatives aimed at helping educators afford to live in the Florida Keys. The district also worked to rebuild academic programs and operations following pandemic disruptions.
Axford retired as superintendent in 2025 after roughly 48 years in education.
Her entry into the race adds a high-profile candidate to the District 1 contest and could create one of the most closely watched races in Monroe County during the 2026 election cycle.
District 1 covers primarily Key West. Horan, who currently holds the seat, was first elected to the school board in 2022 and has been seen to be a champion of students, teachers, educational improvement and fiscal conservatism.