Education

Most open school board seats in Lexington, Richland to be contested in Nov. election

Nearly every open school board seat in Lexington and Richland counties will be contested during the Nov. 3 general election.

Monday at noon was the deadline to file for candidacy at one of the seven school districts in the two counties, said Chris Whitmire, a spokesman for the S.C. Elections Commission.

The election comes at a time when coronavirus has upended education throughout the country and exacerbated the systemic inequalities and mental health issues students face.

Lexington County and Richland County voters can cast ballots for at-large seats. Richland 1 voters who live in district 2 (North Main St., Beltline, Forest Acres) or district 4 (Lower Richland) will also have the option to elect school board members to represent those areas.

To find out which district you live in, visit scvotes.org.

Here are the candidates running for school board seats in Lexington and Richland counties, listed in alphabetical order by last name. This list does not include Lexington 3 because the district’s race is uncontested.

Richland 1

At-large: Two seats available

  • John Adams

  • Angela Clyburn
  • Shea Harley

  • Jonathan Milling (incumbent)

  • Tamika Myers
  • Raquel Thomas

District 2 (North Main St., Beltline, Forest Acres)

  • Jamie L. Devine (incumbent)
  • Jacquelyn Hurston

District 4 (Lower Richland, Bluff Rd., Part of Downtown Columbia near the Congaree River)

  • Cheryl Hinton Harris (incumbent)
  • Shannon Edmund Williams

Richland 2

At-large: Three seats available

  • Lindsay Agostini (incumbent)
  • Monica Elkins (incumbent)

  • Deon Jacobs

  • Lashonda McFadden

  • Rhonda Meisner

  • James Mobley

  • James Jamie Shadd (incumbent)
  • Lawrence Superstar Terry
  • Dee Bell Williams

  • Maryann Wright

Lexington-Richland 5

Lexington County: Two seats available

  • April Alsup

  • Michael Cates (incumbent)
  • Rebecca Blackburn Hines

  • Catherine Huddle
  • Joseph J.J. Lindler

Richland County: One seat available

  • Robert Gantt (incumbent)
  • Matt Hogan
  • Jane Westbury

Lexington 4

At-large: Four seats available

  • Lynne B. Fallaw (incumbent)
  • Daniel Martin (incumbent)
  • Chris Pound (incumbent)
  • Quincy Cardell Sutton (incumbent)
  • Sadie Kirkland Wannamaker

Lexington 2

At-large: Four seats available

  • Beth Dickerson Branham (incumbent)

  • Abbott Bray
  • Liz Chitty Castles

  • Joseph C. Hightower

  • Cindy Kessler (incumbent)

  • Kevin Key (incumbent)
  • Robin Milton
  • Johnny Payne

  • Paige Salonich

Lexington 1

At-large: Four seats available

  • Chris Rice
  • Brent M. Powers (incumbent)
  • Kathy Henson
  • Mike Anderson (incumbent)
  • Jenn Friedah
  • Travis Price
  • Chelsea Amanda Snelgrove
  • Jason Hinton
  • Anne Marie Eckstorm Green (incumbent)
  • Carl Chase Jr.
  • Reese L. McCurdy
  • Mike Griffin
LD
Lucas Daprile
The State
Lucas Daprile has been covering the University of South Carolina and higher education since March 2018. Before working for The State, he graduated from Ohio University and worked as an investigative reporter at TCPalm in Stuart, FL. Lucas received several awards from the S.C. Press Association, including for education beat reporting, series of articles and enterprise reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription
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