Unopposed, 3 school board members reelected

None of the four candidates who ran — three current members and one newcomer — faced opposition.

Board member Laura Bush said this is the first time she has run unopposed since she was first elected in 1988.

“I would think — hope — this means that the community thinks I’m doing a decent job,” she said. “I try to really understand the issues, to research what I put up for discussion very well.”

Board chairman Fred Washington Jr. agrees.

“My feelings, from my conversations with the public, is that the public sees that this board is working together and making improvements,” he said. “ ... We are by no means where we need to be or where we want to be, but we are making improvement.”

Some voters said Tuesday that they would have appreciated a choice in school board elections. Dean Roberts, 69, said he was surprised to hear that no member faced opposition.

“We need good candidates for the school system,” he said.

But continuity can be an advantage, board members say. People who have served together for a long time understand each other’s positions, Washington said.

Superintendent Valerie Truesdale agrees that the district is lucky to see consistency.

“Sustainability is critical for school district success,” she said. “The focus on academics that has been by the district established as its hallmark will no doubt be continued.”

The three members who will retain their seats are George Wilson, who represents the Okatie area; Earl Campbell, who represents the northern part of the county; and Bush, who represents Bluffton.

A newcomer to the school board, Wayne Carbiener, a former president of the Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners Association, ran unopposed for the seat vacated by Reid Eikner. That district represents the southern part of Hilton Head Island.

Now retired, Carbiener, 72, worked in nuclear energy research for 30 years. He has lived on Hilton Head for about 15 years.

“I want to increase the overall education level for students,” Carbiener said, “anything we can do to maximize their learning.”

Campbell, Wilson and Bush cited issues the board is likely to face next year, which include school funding, raising the graduation rate, improving early childhood education and closing the academic achievement gap between Beaufort County schools and other districts in the state and nation.