Patty Hightower currently serves as Chair of the Escambia County School Board.  She was elected to the school board by the voters of District 4 in 2004, defeating the incumbent and two challengers without a runoff.  She is one of 97 current school board members who has completed the training to be certified by the Florida School Board Association.

Patty is married to Jim Hightower, an attorney and professor at PJC, and has two sons. Both sons, Andy, who lives in Kentucky, and Patrick, a student at the FSU College of Law, are graduates of the International Baccalaureate Program at Pensacola High School.

Prior to her election, she served as Program Coordinator of the Take Stock in Children Scholarship Program. She continues to mentor a student in the program each week. She currently serves on the Escambia County Value Adjustment Board as vice chair, the Escambia County Planning Board, Escambia County Early Learning Coalition, and Pensacola First Books Committee.

As a member of The Florida School Board Association, she is Vice Chair of the Legislative Committee.She serves on the Advocacy Committee, the Federal Relations Network and the Florida Learning First Alliance.

She is a member of the national 100 District Leaders for Civic Learning Commission as one of two Florida representatives.

Patty also serves as the Legislative chair for the Escambia County Council of PTAs/PTSAs and is a member of several local PTAs. She served as President of the Florida PTA from 2000 - 2002.

She teaches Senior High Sunday School and is in the choir and the hand bell choir at Trinity Presbyterian where she is an active member.

She also is a member of the League of Women Voters, Five Flags Rotary, and is a tintinnabulator in Pensacola's community bell choir, BellFest.