BEAUFORT, S.C. — Voters in Beaufort and across Beaufort County will fill seven of the seats on the county school board when they go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The board races are nonpartisan, so no party label appears next to any name. Four sitting members want another term: William Smith in District 3, Victor Ney in District 5, David Carr in District 7 and Carlton Dallas in District 8. Elizabeth Hey, also an incumbent, is one of three names in District 10, where Melvin P. Campbell and Gene Meyers are running too.
Two seats have no incumbent. In District 2, Genie R. Brainerd faces Christopher Dantzler for the post Chloe Gordon is leaving. The District 4 contest pits Dee Matthews against Angela Stephens to succeed Richard Geier, who chose not to run again.
District 3 brings back an old rivalry. Cynthia Gregory-Smalls, who held the seat after a 2017 special election she won by three votes, is challenging Smith along with Willie Turral. Smith beat her in 2018. In District 5, Ney, a former band teacher and Marine Corps veteran who joined the board in 2023, faces Gwyneth J. Saunders.
Candidates have spent the fall talking about teacher hiring and retention, school buildings and enrollment growth, the state phone ban in classrooms and challenges to library books. The district is a major employer, and its board carries real influence over the local tax levy.
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