Collier teacher Victor Dotres exits School Board race, endorses Jennifer Mitchell

Estates Elementary teacher Victor Dotres said Friday he is dropping out of the School Board race. 

"Today, I am proud to endorse Jen Mitchell 4 School Board!" he wrote on Twitter. "I believe that Jen is the best choice and will do great things for our teachers & students. I am asking all my fellow educators to vote & support Jen in the Aug Primary!"

Jennifer Mitchell, a former Naples Park Elementary teacher, and repeat School Board candidate Kathy Ryan are in the running for the seat now held by Erika Donalds. 

Dotres told the Daily News he decided to drop out because his views are closely aligned with Mitchell's. Their similarities came to light during recent School Board candidate forums, he said. 

"It seemed like with every question I was just reinforcing what she was saying," Dotres said. "I don't see any point of me and her beating each other up. I think she's going to do a great job."

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Dotres, 44, a Miami native, has lived in Southwest Florida since 2001. He began his teaching career 18 years ago at Village Oaks Elementary before transferring to Golden Gate High School, followed by Immokalee Middle School.

He has held his position as a technology teacher at Estates Elementary since 2011 and coached Corkscrew Middle's girls soccer team for two years. 

Dotres said he recently accepted the position of physical education coordinator at Estates and is excited to take on his new role. 

Dotres ran for a Lee County School Board seat in 2010 and for the Florida House in 2016. He dropped out of the House race about six months into his campaign after a 2011 disciplinary incident came to light.

Dotres had communicated with a female student online and failed to report it to his superiors, according to previous Daily News reporting. The student had initiated the Facebook conversation, which was not sexual in nature. The district suspended Dotres for three days, and the Florida Department of Education placed him on probation for two years.

Dotres said he dropped out of the race also due to lack of funding and declined to speak publicly about the disciplinary incident.

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