The State endorsement: Our four choices for Lexington 1 school board

One of South Carolina’s largest school districts in one of the fastest-growing parts of the state, Lexington County School District One has more than 26,000 students and more than 2,000 teachers, librarians and counselors across 32 elementary, middle and high schools.

Voters living in the central district that straddles Interstate 20 between routes 178 and 378 will fill four at-large school board seats in the Nov. 5 election. In 2022, more than 101,000 voters cast ballots to send three new members onto the board. At least two new members will join them this year because incumbents Brent Powers and Chair Anne Marie Green did not seek re-election.

In all, seven school board members oversee a nearly $393 million annual budget that has been growing with teacher salaries in recent years. Starting teacher pay five years ago was $35,991 a year. It’s now $49,000 a year. How much higher it could and should go — and how to negotiate a 1,000-student decline in enrollment over the past year — will be big issues for the school board.

After interviewing eight of nine candidates, The State Editorial Board endorses incumbent Kathy Henson, Mariel Taylor, David P. Terry and Shelton Yonce. Incumbent Mike Anderson knew of our six-question survey but did not reply to it despite repeated emails and voicemails. A 10th candidate’s name, Adriannah Greyson, will appear on the ballot, but she withdrew from the race.

In her Q&A, Henson said she has worked hard over the last four years but knows there is still work to be done. The former high school math teacher who now works with pre-service and in-service teachers at the University of South Carolina said she intentionally visited all of the district’s schools. She wants to hold more “community conversations” about district finances, says the way to recruit and retain teachers is not just with money but respect, and supports “full transparency.” She has built good relationships with the local delegation, which can be helpful in systems so reliant on state aid. She described herself as “a mom, a passionate advocate for public education, a hard worker and an involved community member with great integrity who will continue to work hard to help my hometown.” We encourage voters to let her do just that.

Taylor is a former first-grade teacher in the district who said she resigned in 2022 due to “the district’s lack of understanding of the daily challenges faced by teachers” and now wants to be on the board to make things better. In an answer about how much latitude teachers should have over their curriculum, she mastered the issue’s complexity with wisdom, deftness and balance. She also showed a holistic approach in saying how she would try to boost student learning and test assessments, through high-quality educators, an engaged community and student nutrition. Taylor said she would improve taxpayers’ trust, fiscal transparency and accountability with a full forensic audit of district funds. Her approach and background helped her stand out in this field.

Terry is another former teacher — middle school English Language Arts — with a shrewd list of priorities, and he gave one of the best responses for why voters should choose him over his opponents, saying he was a student in the district and then a teacher in the district and is now a parent of a student in the district. He said he is running to represent everyone, create a fiscally responsible district, ensure teachers are treated as professionals and support parents and students, especially those in special education, English Language Learning and low-income areas. He demonstrated a deep thoughtfulness discussing teacher turnover, listing five ways to help: pay, fair and equal student discipline, smaller class sizes, school safety resources and self-directed unencumbered time.

Yonce displayed an invigorating approach to education. He lists academic excellence, community engagement and fiscal transparency as his top priorities, and as a young and unique board member, he would be a good role model and advocate for all students like him who don’t get a college degree. He graduated from Pelion High School in 2013, then considered learning to be a funeral home director, joining the Air Force and getting a degree in business before eventually becoming a real estate agent. He was elected to the Pelion Town Council in 2015 at age 21 and has served on the Pelion High School Improvement Council and the Lexington County Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, showing a long and varied pursuit of public service. Plus Yonce and his wife had a son Oct. 2, and he looks forward to the boy becoming a Lexington 1 student. In many ways, Yonce would represent the youngest people in the district.

This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 6:00 AM.