Contact: Kate Wallace
Email: media@kateforkids.com
Facebook and Instagram: @kateforkidsfl

BARTOW, Fla. — Kate Wallace, a Bartow native, Polk County Public Schools graduate and local business leader, announced her candidacy for Polk County School Board, District 3. Wallace was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis. As a school board member, her top priorities include protecting parental rights, ensuring school choice for families, and addressing the lack of access students have to A-rated public schools in Polk County.

“Polk County families need a fighter dedicated to ensuring that their children have access to A+ educational options,” said Wallace. “Our parents and kids deserve accountability for the fact that there isn’t a single A-rated neighborhood public middle or high school in all of Polk County. If elected, I will be focused on broadening school choice options and cultivating a culture of academic excellence within our school system.”

A proven conservative with a track record of success, Wallace’s wins for Polk County families and communities during her career in the private sector include:

• Securing a significant grant that brought IDEA Public Schools — one of the nation’s highest-impact charter networks — to Lakeland.
• Championing the expansion of the Junior Achievement 3DE Program and the Barnett Family Discovery
• Center (slated to open in late 2026) to Polk County.
• Working with the Polk Vision Smart Communities Team, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, and numerous state and local stakeholders to attract millions in rural broadband grants to Polk, helping to connect more than 11,000 previously underserved Polk County households and students with high-speed broadband service.
• Working with Florida lawmakers to pass statewide public school choice and expanded access to education savings accounts for students with unique abilities into law.

“We knew families needed access to more options, so we brought IDEA Public Schools and Junior Achievement 3DE to Lakeland. When thousands of Polk’s children could not learn remotely during COVID, we secured access for more than 11,000 underserved Polk households. When Florida’s families wanted more public and private school choice, we fought in Tallahassee more than 10 years ago to make that a reality. Now, more families than ever choose the best education for their child. This is just the beginning of the improvements I plan to bring to our parents, teachers and students,” Wallace concluded.

About Kate Wallace, candidate for Polk County School Board, District 3

A 20-year veteran of education policy and advocacy at the local, state and national levels, Kate Wallace is a conservative education policy advocate and Polk County School Board member appointed in 2025 by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill a vacancy left by the late Rick Nolte.

Currently, Ms. Wallace supports expanding access to high-speed broadband internet for thousands of Floridians, including helping to secure connectivity for more than 11,000 previously underserved rural Polk County households, as a member of the Florida government affairs team at Charter Communications (Spectrum). Prior to joining Charter, Ms. Wallace was the director of public affairs for Florida Internet & Television (FIT), Florida’s cable industry trade association.

She championed quality education for all through previous roles with the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) by advancing student-centered statewide K-12 education reform policies in Florida and multiple southeastern states, primarily in the realms of school choice, early literacy, accelerated college readiness, and post-secondary course credit access.

As the founding executive director of Lakeland Leads (now known as ConnectED Polk), she helped Lakeland attract one of the nation’s highest-impact charter school networks, IDEA Public Schools, which serves more than 700 first-generation college-bound students. She also promoted efforts to bring the Junior Achievement 3DE Program and the Barnett Family Discovery Center to Tenoroc High.

Ms. Wallace attended Bartow public schools from K-12 and earned an IB Diploma from the International Baccalaureate School at Bartow Senior High. She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida. She holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ms. Wallace has been active in local, statewide, and national civic organizations all her adult life, including the Junior Leagues of Florida, Leadership Florida – Education Class V, the United Way of Central Florida, Polk Vision, the Gator Bowl Sports Committee, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Leadership Network, and numerous local Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Councils across Florida. She also serves on the Florida Fiduciary Board of IDEA Public Schools.

She resides in Bartow and is a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of Bartow.