LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Three candidates are vying for a seat on the Lexington-Richland District Five school board. The special election will take place Tuesday, Oct. 12 for the seat vacated by Ed White, who resigned in protest after former Superintendent Christina Melton stepped down in June.
Haley Griggs is a nurse practitioner at South Carolina Internal Medicine in Irmo with a son attending district school. Her campaign site, www.haleygriggsford5.com, lists her platform that includes:
- COVID testing within the district include setting up an ESSER-funded free testing site for exposed District 5 children, run by a District 5 nurse
- At-home rapid tests supplied by the District to families who request them; Compensate teachers for the time and energy they invest in the children of District 5
- Against teaching Critical Race Theory in schools
- For transparency and “good stewardship” when dealing with the district’s over $200 million annual budget
Jeff Herring is a financial consultant and graduate of Lex-Rich 5 school district, father of Spring Hill High senior. Past service on Chapin Middle and Chapin Intermediate school improvement councils. Herring's three main goals:
- ensure student safety
- focus on student and teacher needs
- improve fiscal oversight.
Tifani Moore is the Development Director of LRADAC (Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council). She is a mother of three children who attend Lex-Rich 5 schools, and a member of the Dutch Fork Middle School improvement council (2020-2021). On her Facebook page, Moore states: “My goal is to bring transparency and sensible decision-making to the school board with a keen focus on supporting all of our students in District Five and the outstanding professional educators and staff in Lex-Rich Five.”
Joshua Lazenby, an 18-year-old University of South Carolina student and recent graduate of Spring Hill High School in Lex-Rich 5, initially filed to run in the election but dropped out of the race in mid-September.