LR5 school board hopeful leaves race 1 month before special election
One of the candidates in the special election for the Lexington-Richland 5 school board has dropped out.
University of South Carolina student Joshua Lazenby confirmed to The State that he would be dropping out of the race for the open seat on the Lexington-Richland 5 school board.
That leaves three other candidates still running in the Oct. 12 special election: nurse practitioner Haley Griggs, financial consultant Jeff Harding, and Dutch Fork Middle School improvement council member Tifani Moore.
Lazenby told The State he would endorse Moore for the open seat. “With there being only one seat available I think it’s important that I don’t cause a split in the vote between like-minded candidates,” he said.
“Tifani Moore and I both believe in putting students and teachers first and to keep schools in person even if that means requiring masking,” Lazenby said. “Also we both believe in increasing district transparency.”
Lazenby was the youngest candidate in the race. He graduated from Spring Hill High School just last spring and is currently pursuing a history degree a few miles away in Columbia.
With the election only a month away, Lazenby said he wouldn’t be able to get his name taken off the ballot in time, so he wanted to make it known to voters he is no longer seeking the seat.
The special election comes after former Lexington-Richland 5 board member Ed White resigned earlier this year. White resigned during the June meeting when former Superintendent Christina Melton abruptly resigned, a move that drew protests from parents and teachers.
Akil Ross, who was awarded nationwide principal of the year in 2018 while at Chapin High School, was named interim superintendent.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 11:00 AM.
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