There’s something different about the first two candidates to file the paperwork required to run for School Board seats in next year’s elections.

Newcomers to local politics, both have children who attend the county’s public schools.

Ryan Matthews, 39, a former Marine Corps major, federal law enforcement officer and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officer who is running for the District 1 seat currently occupied by Gene Posca, has three sons in elementary school.

Tom Lange, 43, a former Sebastian River High School teacher and rowing coach who is vying to replace two-term District 2 incumbent Jackie Rosario, has two children in public schools here.

As the week began, neither Posca nor Rosario had filed to seek re-election. Both have chosen to home-school their children, rather than send them to public schools in the district they serve.

“It’s good to have representation from parents who actually have kids in the local public schools,” Matthews said. “I also have a brother who teaches in the school district, and I have friends who teach.

“So, obviously, the district has a big impact on my life.”

The same goes for Lange, who taught English at Sebastian River from 2006 to 2018 – he also served as department head for several years – and was a district Career and Technical Education specialist from 2018 to 2023.

His wife teaches at Storm Grove Middle School.

Served as founder and director of rowing for Sebastian River Rowing from 2006 to present.

“I want to make sure our kids – not just mine, but all the kids who go to our public schools – are in good hands,” Lange said “I’ve seen and learned a lot during my years in the classroom and as a department head, and it’s time for me to try to help lead the district in the right direction.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to continue the successes we’ve achieved in our district,” he added. “I think, with my experience, I can make a positive contribution that has an impact on all kids.

“The kids are what matter most.”

Matthews agreed, saying he wants to ensure the county’s public schools continue the momentum created by the 2019 arrival of Superintendent David Moore, whose leadership put the district in the top five in Florida and earned an “A” rating from the state’s education department each of the past three years.

“It has been impressive to see what he has been able to accomplish here,” Matthews said. “Being in the military, you understand the importance of leadership. And as much as I’m impressed by Dr. Moore, I’m equally impressed by his staff – the effort they put in, the amount of work they do, the improvement they’ve helped produced.

“The district, as a whole, is doing great things,” he added. “We need to continue that trend, despite the attacks we’ve seen on public education. A School Board seat is supposed to be an apolitical position, but we’re seeing too much culture-war stuff and too much political grandstanding.

“That’s part of what drew me into this.”

Lange, too, is troubled by the politicization of public education – and especially seeing teachers being put on the defensive by the state’s increasing intrusion into local schooling.

“We need to take a step back from that,” he said. “There’s too much of it. I’m not a politician. That’s not why I’m doing this. That’s not why anyone should do it. This is supposed to be about the best interests of the kids.”

Lange said he was only 22 when he began teaching at Sebastian River. Although he wasn’t an education major in college, he was hired to teach English and coach rowing.

In fact, Lange founded the Sebastian River Rowing – a nonprofit organization that has grown into one of Florida’s most successful high school rowing programs.

Still serving as rowing director, the club has won 27 state championships and provided opportunities for student-athletes who’ve earned more than $2 million in college scholarships.

“I learned a lot from coaching, too,” he said.

When he first stepped into a classroom, however, Lange didn’t know if he could be a successful teacher – or what it took to be one – so he began observing his peers.

“I learned a lot from the people I worked with,” he said. “What I discovered was that the really great teachers made it look easy. They connected with their students. I tried to do the same.

“I made myself a good teacher, decided to get my master’s degree, and it became a career.”

Matthews, who graduated from Sebastian River High School in 2004, has had multiple career changes since getting his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of North Florida in 2008.

He served in the Marine Corps for 14 years, most of them in the reserves, and rose to the rank of major. He was also a federal police officer, working for the Defense Department, in Washington, D.C.

Matthews returned to Florida and in 2015 became a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officer, enforcing state laws governing hunting, fishing and boating.

He’s currently a full-time student at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, where he’s studying aerospace engineering and expects to graduate in May.

“For right now, anyway, that’s my job,” he said.

When he’s not immersed in schoolwork, he coaches in the Sebastian River Area Little League and sits on the advisory council at Liberty Magnet School.

“This is all new to me, but it’s something I feel I need to do,” Matthews said of his first venture into local politics. “It’s hard for me to sit back and not get involved when I believe I have something to contribute, especially with public education under attack.

“I’m not opposed to school choice,” he added, “but I want to make sure our public schools are the No. 1 choice in our county.”

Both Matthews and Lange said they’re prepared to confront the hardball politics that have defined recent School Board elections.

“I was a teacher,” Lange said. “I have thick skin.”