Reminder: Four vie for school board vacancy in today’s special election

Voters on Lady’s Island, St. Helena Island and in part of Beaufort will choose a new Beaufort County School Board member Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant last December by Michael Rivers, the District 3 board member who was a frequent critic of superintendent Jeff Moss.

The candidates to replace Rivers, who was elected to the S.C. House of Representatives in November, are former Beaufort County school board chairman Fred Washington Jr.; retired educator Cynthia Gregory-Smalls; St. Helena Island businessman William Smith; and mortician Buryl Garnett Sumpter.

The leading vote-getter does not have to reach the 50 percent threshold to be declared the winner.

The Board of Education seat will be the fourth to turn over in a little more than a year, after David Striebinger won a special District 2 election and Patricia Felton-Montgomery — now the board’s chair — and Christina Gwozdz were elected in November.

Though Tuesday’s result won’t tip the balance of power that has split the board between solid supporters of Moss and his critics, it could create a scenario in which one swing vote could affect a particular vote.

Rivers, who stepped down after winning his Assembly seat, was among the top critics as Moss faced ethics violations that allowed his wife to be briefly employed in a high-paying district job.

Washington, who spent 27 years as director of Beaufort County’s Department of Social Services, was board chairman for all six years he served on the governing body. He lost his seat in 2012 when new district lines put both him and Rivers in the same district.

“I believe in public education and its power to make us a total quality community/society,” Washington said in response to a candidate questionnaire. “I know I can make a positive difference.”

While praising the district for meeting the needs of 75 percent of its students, he added it “consistently falls short in addressing those student needs in the lower achieving 25 percent — especially if you are poor, come from a more rural environment and/or come from a background with other socio-economic challenges.”

Gregory-Smalls spent 32 1/2 years as a Beaufort County teacher and administrator, including 10 years as assistant principal at St. Helena Elementary. It was during that stretch in the 1990s, she said, that the school went from being one of the district’s lowest performers to one of its best.

“I am running for this office because things must change for the betterment of our schools and our community,” she responded, also singling out the achievement gap in the county’s poorest areas.

Both candidates also stressed the need for better working relationships both with the public and within their own inner dealings. Neither was ready to throw support behind the framework of a proposed five-year, $120 million bond referendum to address building needs.

“Before giving my support, I want to assure the public that our request is absolutely necessary and it will meet identified/justified needs,” Washington said.

Gregory-Smalls responded: “There are needs in all areas of Beaufort County, not just in one area. Will this referendum be able to accommodate the needs in all areas?”

Sumpter, who has managed funeral homes in metro Atlanta and Greensboro, N.C., grew up in the Frogmore area and returned to his hometown two years ago to care for a family member. He also works as a substitute teacher in the district.

“I know what’s going on from the inside out,” said Sumpter, who discussed his qualifications via phone earlier this month but did not respond to a questionnaire. “I’m the type of person that when I see something needs to be done, I go in and do it. I’m about the constituents and not about politics.”

Sumpter, Washington and Gregory-Smalls all said they would hold regular meetings with consistuents to hear concerns and answer questions.

Smith, who owns Smith Security LLC and works for the Dore Law Firm, ran unsuccessfully for the Beaufort County Council last year in District 3. He did not respond to multiple requests for his questionnaire.

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Reminder: Four vie for school board vacancy in today’s special election."