Richland 1 almost certain to have new face on school board

Richland 1 is all but certain to have a new face on school board.

As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, Angela Clyburn, daughter of Democratic U.S. Congressman Jim Clyburn of Columbia, led the six-person school board at-large race with 36,287 votes and 99% of precincts reporting.

In second place was challenger Tamika Myers with 22,723 votes and in third place was incumbent Jonathan Milling with 20,256 votes. Two seats are available in the at-large race.

SCVotes.org had previously listed 100% of precincts as reporting, but that was reduced Wednesday as Richland County is still counting absentee and military ballots. As of Wednesday morning, Richland County had as many as 10,000 uncounted absentee ballots and more than 400 military ballots.

In the sub-district seats, incumbents Jamie Devine and Cheryl Harris remained ahead of their competition. Devine had 9,445 votes with 97% of precincts reporting in the race for seat 2. Harris had 10,920 votes with 95% of precincts reporting for seat 4, according to elections data.

What’s at stake?

Richland 1 includes Lower Richland, Downtown Columbia, Earlewood, Cottontown, North Main, Forest Acres, Rosewood

With roughly 23,000 students, Richland 1 is the third-largest school district in Lexington and Richland Counties, according to the S.C. Department of Education. The district’s budget last fiscal year was $337 million.

Given that board members are elected to four-year terms, that means each board member will help manage more than $1 billion in public money during their term.

Key issues in the election include managing in-person and virtual classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, closing the achievement gap, transparency, expanding broadband access, retaining teachers and protecting students’ mental health, according to candidates who responded to a questionnaire from The State.

Before the pandemic eclipsed nearly everything else in public life, Richland 1’s leadership had faced allegations of misspending public money and lacking transparency.

District officials, however, have been able to boost the district’s graduation rate to an all-time high two years in a row.

Election controversies

While the Richland 1 race may not have the divisive, hot-button issues that define the chaos of 2020 national elections, the local school board election has seen its share of controversy.

In late October, a mailer was sent to Richland County voters bearing the name and mailing address of the S.C. Democratic Party endorsing three candidates for the nonpartisan school board race. Democratic party officials denied sending the mailer and said it has asked the U.S. Postal Service to investigate who sent the mailer.

One issue that raised eyebrows with candidates challenging incumbents was the school board’s unanimous decision to give a one-time bonus to all full- and part-time district employees just days before Election Day. While the challengers voiced support for the raises, several said the timing, so close to election day, was suspicious.

Jonathan Milling, who had pushed to increase the dollar amount for the one-time bonus, said last month his name was not appearing on some ballots.

Seven people in a Richland 1 Facebook Group responded to a previous article from The State saying Milling was on their ballot. None of the commenters said Milling was missing from their ballot.

Milling, the most recently elected member of the school board, won a 2019 New Year’s Eve special election to finish the term of Darrell Black, who resigned in September 2019 to take a job in Nebraska. Before running for school board, Milling’s most notable interaction with Richland 1 successfully arguing in a lawsuit that the district unlawfully conducted public business in secret.

Here are the vote totals as of Tuesday night:

Richland 1 at-large (two seats available)

John Adams: 14,257

Angela Clyburn: 36,287

Shea Harley: 7,353

Jonathan Milling (incumbent): 20,256

Tamika Myers: 22,723

Raquel Thomas: 14,669

Richland 1, District 2 (North Main Street, Beltline, Forest Acres)

Jamie L. Devine (incumbent): 9,445

Jacquelyn Hurston: 7,921

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

Cheryl Hinton Harris (incumbent): 10,920

Shannon Edmund Williams: 5,520

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 1:04 AM.