SC schools chief race heads to Republican runoff; Lisa Ellis holds slim lead in Dem race
The race to replace outgoing state schools chief Molly Spearman narrowed Tuesday, but is far from decided after none of the Republican candidates locked up a majority of the votes in their primary and the Democratic race remained too close to call.
Republican Kathy Maness and Democrat Lisa Ellis, who both lead prominent teachers advocacy groups, were the top vote-getters in their respective primaries, but neither has definitively overcome the 50% threshold to win the nomination outright.
As a result, Maness and Ellen Weaver, president and CEO of the Palmetto Promise Institute, are set to square off in a Republican runoff two weeks from Tuesday. Ellis, the founder of grassroots teachers organization SC for Ed, could still win the Democratic nomination outright — she’s at 50.03%, according to unofficial Associated Press results — but the wire service has said the race is too close to call.
State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said late Wednesday that Ellis held a slight majority in the Democratic primary, according to unofficial results. The commission will certify all election results at 3 p.m. Friday, and order any necessary runoffs or recounts in state-level races at that time, he said.
The Democratic primary for state education superintendent does not meet the criteria for a recount, so if Ellis’ current vote tally is certified she will be the party’s nominee.
If Ellis is forced into a runoff, however, she’d face former Anderson 4 superintendent Gary Burgess, who finished second in the Democratic primary with about 31% of the vote.
A runoff in one or both primaries will be held June 28, and will be preceded by three days of early voting from June 22-24.
Republican runoff
The Republican runoff winner is likely to be the front runner in November, as no Democrat has won a statewide election in South Carolina since 2006.
Maness and Weaver both are focused on cutting red tape for teachers, empowering parents and offering children education options beyond their traditional public schools.
Each has weighed into the national conservative debates over school choice and so-called critical race theory — a catch-all phrase that has broadly come to mean any classroom instruction, generally dealing with race, class, gender or sexuality, that one might find inappropriate — with Weaver staking out a position to the right of Maness.
Weaver, a longtime aide to former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint who leads the conservative advocacy group he launched in 2013, supports school voucher programs that redirect public money to private and religious schools and has vowed to protect children from “woke” ideologies like critical race theory that seek to “indoctrinate students in a biased version of reality.”
Maness, a former teacher who for many years has led South Carolina’s largest teachers association, supports school choice for all within the public school system and has voiced general opposition to critical race theory, but hasn’t stressed either issue on the campaign trail.
When asked about her top priorities, Maness has cited recruiting and retaining more teachers, enhancing school safety and reducing paperwork for teachers and testing requirements for students.
In recent weeks, the Republican front runners have squabbled over their policy differences, with Weaver highlighting what she called Maness’ “liberal record” and Maness calling out Weaver’s “well established history of being anti-public education.”
Maness also has called attention to Weaver’s lack of an advanced degree — a statutory requirement for the job — which could keep her from taking office should she win in November without having earned the necessary credentials.
Weaver, who recently enrolled in a master’s program at Bob Jones University in Greenville, said she expects to complete the program in advance of the general election.
Ellis clings to narrow majority
Ellis, a teacher and student activities director at Blythewood High School in Richland 2, appears to have eked out a majority of the vote in the three-way Democratic primary.
Over the past 21 years, the first-time political candidate has worked as a classroom teacher, student activities director and instructional facilitator at multiple public schools in Richland and Fairfield counties.
She is best known for founding SC for Ed, a progressive teachers group that in 2019 marched on the State House to demand better pay and working conditions for South Carolina educators.
The group, which boasts more than 30,000 members on Facebook, also advocated for school mask requirements and extended virtual learning options due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ellis wants to fund schools more equitably, enhance school mental health resources and increase pay for teachers and staff while cutting down on paperwork for educators and standardized testing for students.
She opposes the redistribution of public money to private schools in the form of school vouchers or educational savings accounts, and believes teachers should be free to teach to state standards without fear of punishment or censorship.
In the event Ellis does not win her party’s nomination outright and the Democratic primary goes to a runoff, she will face another career educator in Burgess.
Burgess is a member of the Anderson County Board of Education and the former superintendent of Anderson County School District 4. He also serves as spokesman for Florence County School District 4, has run his own consulting company and taught classes at Converse College and South Carolina’s military college The Citadel, according to his campaign website bio.
He supports pay increases and more professional development opportunities for teachers and wants to keep taxpayer dollars in public schools rather than diverting them via vouchers to private or religious schools.