One Orange County School Board seat is still open, and only voters who live inside District 3 get a say on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Two official lookups tell you whether this race is on your ballot.
Voters in Orange County School Board District 3 choose between Diana Moore and Susanne Peña on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The two advanced to a runoff because no candidate won more than half the vote in the August 18, 2026, primary, and the Orange County Supervisor of Elections candidate system lists both with runoff status, checked October 29, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Who is running for OCPS School Board District 3?
Diana Moore and Susanne Peña are the two candidates on the November 3, 2026, ballot for District 3. A third primary candidate, Ilia Adorno, is listed as defeated in the same Supervisor of Elections candidate system. In the August 18, 2026, primary, Peña received 10,898 votes, or 46.67 percent, Moore 6,876, or 29.45 percent, and Adorno 5,578, or 23.89 percent, according to the Supervisor of Elections official results.
Moore is an OCPS elementary teacher who started with the district in 1986 and led the local teachers union until 2015, Florida Politics reported. On July 29, 2015, the American Federation of Teachers placed the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association under administratorship and relieved Moore, the other officers and the board of their duties, with AFT President Randi Weingarten saying Moore had refused to comply with the union's governing documents and that members' rights had been denied, News 6 reported at the time. Moore said then that she had been denied due process and called the move "politics at its worst," Orlando Weekly reported. Peña is an assistant professor of teaching at Florida International University and has served as president of the Florida Association for Bilingual Education. She joined OCPS in 2016 at Colonial High School and later worked as an instructional coach at Phillis Wheatley Elementary, her campaign told Florida Politics.
Both answered the News 6 and News Collaborative of Central Florida candidate questionnaire published in the ClickOrlando voter guide on October 16, 2026. Moore listed parental choice, teacher pay and discipline as her top three issues and wrote that she had not sought endorsements. Peña listed academic excellence, recruiting and keeping teachers, and protecting public schools, and listed endorsements that include the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association.
School board races in Florida are nonpartisan, so no party label appears next to either name. OCPS Insider does not endorse candidates.
Why is District 3 open?
The current District 3 member, Alicia Farrant, did not seek reelection and ran for countywide board chair instead, Florida Politics reported. Farrant is still listed as the District 3 member on the OCPS School Board Services page, checked October 29, 2026.
The winner joins a board that will also see new faces from the August 18, 2026, primary. Angie Gallo won the chair race, Melissa Lopez Marantes won District 1 and Gloria Reina O'Neal won District 2, Central Florida Public Media reported.
What does the OCPS School Board do?
The board sets district policy within the rules the Florida Legislature and the State Board of Education set, and it appoints the superintendent, who runs the schools day to day, according to the OCPS School Board Services page checked October 30, 2026. Board members have authority only when the board meets in an official session with a quorum physically present, the page says.
The next board will have a major hire to make. Superintendent Maria Vazquez, who has led OCPS since 2022, announced July 27, 2026, that she will retire at the end of the 2026 to 2027 school year, according to an OCPS statement that says the School Board will share transition details later. The new District 3 member will help choose a replacement, Florida Politics reported. The new member also joins a shrinking district: the board approved closing seven schools, including Meadow Woods Elementary, on March 10, 2026, according to the OCPS School Rezoning page, and Florida Politics reported that enrollment is still dropping and the district could lay off nearly 100 employees.
The same OCPS page explains why three district seats and the chair were on 2026 ballots. Four members are elected in presidential election years, and the other four, including the chair, are elected in governor's race years. 2026 is a governor's race year.
Board meetings are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine Law, with exceptions for union bargaining, pending litigation and safety or cybersecurity plans. OCPS livestreams board meetings on YouTube and Orange TV and posts agendas and presentations in BoardDocs. The district address on that page is 445 W. Amelia St., Orlando, and the phone number listed is 407 317 3200.
Which parts of Orange County are in District 3?
District 3 covers much of south central Orange County, including Hunter's Creek, Meadow Woods, Conway and Belle Isle, according to the ClickOrlando voter guide. Florida Politics describes it as the area served by Boone, Cypress Creek, Freedom and Lake Buena Vista high schools.
Those descriptions are shortcuts, not boundaries. School board districts do not follow school attendance zones, so your child's school does not tell you your board district. OCPS said as much when it redrew the lines in 2021: the board map "will NOT impact where your child attends school."
How do I find my OCPS School Board district?
Use one of two official tools.
The Supervisor of Elections What's on My Ballot tool builds a personal sample ballot from your address, precinct and districts. Type your house number, start typing your street, and pick it from the list. If the School Board District 3 contest appears, you vote in it.
The Supervisor's Check Your Voter Information tool shows your registration, assigned polling place and sample ballot.
For a map, OCPS posts a countywide PDF of board member districts, updated July 20, 2026, in its District Map Library.
The OCPS School Board has eight members. Seven are elected from the district where they must live, and the chair is elected countywide, according to the School Board Services page. Members serve four year terms.
How and when can District 3 voters still vote?
Early voting in Orange County ends Sunday, November 1, 2026, according to the Supervisor of Elections.
On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, you must vote at your assigned polling place and bring a current photo ID with a signature, according to the Supervisor's Election Day Voting page checked October 30, 2026. A Florida driver license, Florida ID card or United States passport works, and a voter without acceptable ID can cast a provisional ballot. Florida law sets poll hours at 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line at 7 p.m. may still vote. Check the Find Your Polling Place page before you leave, because the Supervisor lists 2026 general election location changes for precincts 109, 726 and 729.
Mail ballots must reach the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on November 3, 2026, to count under section 101.67, Florida Statutes. A postmark is not enough.
After polls close, check the Supervisor's Election Results page, which already lists a 2026 General Election entry. Questions about your registration or ballot go to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections at 407 836 2070. Students still have class that day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is a regular OCPS school day on the 2026 to 2027 calendar.