‘Come election time... crickets.’ Where are the challengers for three school board incumbents?

Nearly nine months after the public unleashed a sustained wave of anger and criticism upon Superintendent Jeff Moss and the Beaufort County school board over the hiring of Moss’ wife and its aftermath, it appears that outrage may have all but faded.

It certainly hasn’t translated into action yet. Now less than two months from the August 15 filing deadline, no challengers have stepped forward to oppose three incumbent board members for the November election.

This despite the fact it is easier than ever to run for school board in Beaufort County after signature petitions became a thing of the past. If opponents don’t emerge, southern Hilton Head Island’s District 11 representative JoAnn Orischak, Gray’s Hill’s Earl Campbell and Okatie’s Paul Roth will run unopposed.

Orischak, for one, thinks that is disappointing.

“There are so many complaints about performance of the school board, so it’s frustrating at election time when you don’t see those voices translated into those interested in making a difference and committing to running,” Orischak said.

She summed it up more strongly on Facebook, commenting Thursday on her public call for candidates.

“We’re arguably the most maligned public body locally,” she wrote, “but come election time... crickets.”

Kimberly Morgan, who filed one of two ethics complaints against Moss, said many people are quick to forget their anger.

“You’ll get fired up about an issue and then they settle back into apathy pretty quickly,” she said.

Others think they don’t have time to run for school board or don’t have the qualifications. Morgan herself can’t run — she lives in Beaufort, not in the districts up for election — and she expects to move when her husband, a Marine, returns from Iraq.

“I’m not sure even I would want to take it on because it’s so unorganized and unethical that it’s a lot of stomach,” she said.

Meanwhile, three people have filed to replace the fourth board member whose term ends this year. Laura Bush has opted to vacate her Bluffton District 9 seat after 25 years of board service since 1988.

The candidates are Christopher Epps, Bill Fletcher and Bridgette Frazier.

“That’s really as it should be,” Orischak said Friday. “It should be two or three or more. I don’t know why things get quiet around elections.”

Campbell, of District 1, said he can’t say why nobody has yet filed to run against him, though it’s not unusual. The 25-year board veteran says he has not had a challenger since 1995.

“Maybe people just don’t want to get involved. Maybe they’re too busy,” he said Friday. “If the board has worked for (them) and you’re doing the job they asked you to do, then I guess they don’t have a problem.”

Campbell, a stronger supporter of Moss, added that he doesn’t think his constituents in Gray’s Hill, Seabrook and Lobeco are upset with him over the handling of September’s nepotism scandal.

Though it resulted in the resignations of Darlene Moss as director of innovation and Bill Evans as board chairman and the calling of a state ethics hearing for Jeff Moss, Campbell says residents don’t seem angry. They would make it known if they were, he said.

“Not only are they going to call you, but they see you in church, they see you in the store, they see you wherever you are. I’ve even had people come to my home,” Campbell said. “And if they’re not happy, they’re going to tell you about it.”

Roth, of District 6, said he wasn’t surprised at the lack of challengers, as he thinks he, Campbell and Orischak are well-liked and well-respected board members.

Terry Colleran, a 56-year-old Beaufort native, thinks a more likely explanation is apathy.

“I don’t know if it’s a helpless or a hapless situation,” he said.

Colleran is one of dozens of people who spoke out in September against Moss’ actions, including changing the district’s nepotism rule on the hiring of superintendents’ relatives. But Friday, he said many residents might feel, like him, that the district has seen one “rotten apple” superintendent after another, and running for school board wouldn’t change that.

“Some of them are just like anyone else,” Colleran added. “When they get on a computer they get braver, but when it comes time to do something …”

This story was originally published June 17, 2016 at 8:13 PM with the headline "‘Come election time... crickets.’ Where are the challengers for three school board incumbents?."