COLUMBIA, S.C. — In addition to selecting the next president of the United States, the 2020 election also features contests at a much more local level -- area school boards. Seats are being contested on the boards of Richland County School District 1 and District 2, Richland/Lexington Counties School District Five, and Sumter County School District Seat 6.
We asked each candidate the same four questions:
- what is their background,
- why are they running,
- do they have children attending schools in the district, and
- what do they think is the main problem facing their district today and how would they go about finding a solution.
We are running the candidate's responses -- unedited -- in this order of race:
- Richland County School District 1, Seat 2
- Richland County School District 1, Seat 4, Lower Richland
- Richland County School District 1, At large
- Richland County School District 2, At large
- Lexington/Richland School District 5, At large
- Sumter County School District, Seat 6
You can scroll below to find the race you're interested in. For candidates who did not respond to our questions, we have included basic biographic information. Responses will be added as they are received.
Where is who is running (*denotes incumbent):
RICHLAND COUNTY
Richland County School District 1 – Seat 2
Jamie Devine*-- Jamie Devine is a Not For Profit Executive working in the Housing Profession. I currently serve as Board Chairman for Richland One School District Board of Commissioners. I have been a member of the Board for the last 12 years. I serve on several community boards as a volunteer.
Jamie Devine is running to continue efforts to offer and expand high-quality early childhood education programs, which have been shown to improve students' long-term outcomes. Also, I would like to ensure that all of our students graduate from high school, college and career ready, providing them with a solid foundation for success in their future endeavors. Lastly, I would like to support programming that provides unique learning opportunities and experience for students throughout the district and offers them multiple pathways to success ( IB Diploma, Health and Leadership Magnets, Cybersecurtiy and dual enrollment with a college degree).
Jamie Devine has 2 children who attend Richland One Schools, a 15 year old sophomore and 10 year old 5th grader.
One of the many issues facing the district today is the lack of funding for programs and closing the achievement gap. Richland One continues to provide options and opportunities for all students to achieve. Students come to the District(Kindergarten) not ready according to SC standards. If elected again, I would make sure funding is in place to support early childhood education to ensure students get a head start with learning and life. In addition, I would encourage local daycare providers to attend Professional Development offered by the District to make certain our students are ready upon attending Richland One schools. I would continue to support After school programming for students to receive additional support needed to close the achievement gap. In closing, through the budget process, I would reduce classroom size to help with closing the achievement gap.
Jacquelyn (Jacque) Hurston – A retired teacher at Heyward Gibbes Middle School in RCSD1, and is currently the senior pastor Piney Grove AME Church. Hurston has a BA in English/Education from Florida Memorial College, certification in Gifted Education from Georgia State University, and MACE/M Divinity of Christian Education/Old Testament and a Doctor of Ministry (Pastoral Grief) from Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
Richland County School District 1 – Seat 4, Lower Richland
Cheryl Hinton Harris*-- Harris was first elected to represent Lower Richland on the school board in 2012. She is married with four children, is a graduate of Lower Richland High School, and holds a MBA from South University. Harris spend over 22 years in human resources and special projects as Human Resource Generalist Specialist.
Shannon Edmund Williams – My background is in law enforcement. I am a retired Police Sergeant with 25 years of service with the Columbia Police Department. I was assigned to various community based programs within the department, to include supervising the School Resource Officer Unit for many of Richland District One Schools. I have served on numerous School Improvement Councils, I was the 2019/2020 SIC Chair. I organized and hosted community awareness discussions and Chat & Chew Forums. I have also organized and facilitated Summer Camps for youth 6-12 years of age and I am the current NAACP Youth Committee Chair as well as a committed community and school volunteer.
I am running for Richland One seat 4 to restore educational excellence back into our district. Every student should have the opportunity to achieve academic success. This district has an abundance of greatness. We have great teachers, great students and supportive parents, yet most of the schools in Richland One, Seat 4 are rated “Below Average", which I find unacceptable. This district and our community is better than that. It's time to focus on education and remove politics from the classroom. It’s time for change.
Yes, we currently have a 6th grade student enrolled in the district. Our older children also attended Richland One Schools.
I think the main problems our school district is currently facing is poor student achievement and a lack of transparency.
To address these concerns teamwork is required; as a School Board Commissioner, I will work with our District team and ensure we collaborate with our community to determine and implement effective solutions. I know how to effectively and collaboratively work within a team. My experience in leadership will facilitate an environment where everyone will have a voice and every voice will matter. Relying on our educator’s expertise and experience to help guide our efforts is crucial. We have to openly communicate our concerns and our struggles, the pathway to excellence is honestly assessing our deficiencies and working, together, to make it better.
Richland County School District 1 – At Large, nonpartisan seat
John Adams – Adams is a political newcomer
Angela Clyburn Hannibal – Hannibal is the youngest daughter of US Rep Jim Clyburn and works as a director for the South Carolina Democratic Party. Hannibal has two children in Richland One schools and she graduated from WJ Kennan High School and has a degree in elementary education from Benedict College.
Shea Harley – Harley is single father of twin boys and has been a community advocate and supporter of public education for many years.
Jonathan Milling* -- won special election in 2019 to replace Darel Black. Milling is married with four children. He is the owner Milling Law Firm, volunteers as a youth Sunday School teacher and serves on the Vestry for Trinity at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
Tamika Myers – Myers has been an activity director and program coordinator for Richland County Parks and Recreation
Raquel Thomas – Thomas was a student athlete, lettering in four sports as a graduate of Dreher High School. She holds degrees from Virginia State University (BA Business Marketing) and University of Maryland University College (MBA). Thomas is a former regional sales manager Toyota (Baltimore Metro), owner of Children of Tomorrow Learning Center & Child Care (Baltimore), DMR Fashion (Baltimore), The Museum Shop clothing store (Washington DC), and Dream Catchers Foundation (Baltimore). She returned to Columbia in 2017 and has served as a director at Emerge SC, a mentor at Department of Juvenile Justice, currently she is the owner of Gold Den restaurant and author of six books.
Richland County School District 2 – At Large, nonpartisan seat
Lindsay Agostini* -- Agostini was first elected to the school board in 2012 and has three children who have graduated from District 2 schools. She holds a degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and competed at the national level in swimming and triathlon. Agostini is an active member of Spring Valley Education Foundation and member of the Spring Valley Rotary where she serves as Community Service Director, Women’s Leadership Circle, and is on the Advisory Board of Conservatives for Clean Energy - South Carolina.
Dee Bell Williams -- My name is Dee Bell-Williams and I am an 18-year veteran educator, college professor, global educational consultant, school and community relations expert and bestselling author. Over my 18 years of experience in education, I have had the privilege to teach 3rd grade, 6-8 grade English Language Arts and High School English Literature. During the past 6 years, I have had the awesome privilege of teaching on the college level as a professor at Benedict College.
I am originally from a small Northwestern Orangeburg County town, Norway, SC. I moved to the Richland Two School District 11 years ago where I began teaching in the district at the W.R. Rogers Adult Education and Technology Center as a part-time GED teacher. After a few years, I started working in Richland School District One for the remainder of my work as a teacher in the K-12 classroom, before moving on to teach on the college level.
While working as a professor at Benedict College, I wrote my very first book, Culture-Focused Teaching, which is a body of work written with research-proven strategies to assist teachers with classroom management, building a cooperative learning culture and more importantly; keeping educators in the classroom. Within one week, my book became an Amazon Bestseller in 6 different educational categories. Since the launch of my book in March, I have one an award from the African-American History and Genealogy International Book Awards Ceremony during their 2020 Virtual Conference based out of Richmond, Virginia.
During the global pandemic, many school districts and colleges had to work remotely; therefore I have spent the last 6 months serving as a speaker, presenter, and conference breakout session facilitator while working my small home-based educational consulting business, Dr. Dee Unlimited Educational Consulting & Co.
I am running for school board because I have the educational experience that you can count on. COVID19 has affected how we live and learn. Education has been affected in a myriad of ways. Where education in South Carolina would have taken 5-10 years to transform into the next dimension of teaching and learning; it is actually happening as we speak. We need individuals, like myself, who are progressive thinkers, transformative leaders and those who can cooperate with colleagues and the community to move our school district forward into a sustainable future. As a global educational consultant, I understand the trajectory of where education is going. Richland Two prides itself in being “premier”, and in order to remain premier, we need “premier” leadership. Those who will stand up for educators and advocate for the resources that they need to include higher teacher pay and equitable funding within each school. We need leadership who can speak the language of educators, empathize with parents who need resources and information, as well as work collaboratively with community businesses and government leaders to create equitable opportunities for the children in our district. As a classroom teacher, college professor, educational consultant and award winning author, I want to utilize my skills to ensure that our school not only remains premier, but supersedes academic, extracurricular and community expectations by getting ahead of the curve and standing out as one of South Carolina’s BEST school districts.
My husband and I do not have children. However, we have dedicated our entire career to the care and concern of the children that we serve. My husband, Douglas is a behavior counselor in Lexington School District 2; he has also served as a Program Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club at Windsor Elementary School in Richland School District 2. Combined, we have over 30 years of educational experience working with children in P-20. We have both served as educators and mentors to youth and young adult children in both Richland & Lexington Counties.
Richland School District Two has amazing schools, educators and community members. However, COVID 19 has changed the way in which we educate our children. One of the major problems that our district is facing is evaluating student achievement as a result of COVID19 set-backs. One of the most important elements of improving student achievement is improving the quality of the educators in the classroom. Achievement is directly related to one’s belief in the ability to achieve and have the appropriate support system that supports this belief. Teachers are directly tied to this support system. We must ensure that our educators are not only highly qualified, but are also highly trained in cultural sensitivity and diversity development within their classrooms. Statistically, Black and Brown children score lower on test and classroom assignments than their white counterparts. Yet, the majority of our K-8 educators identify as White or Non-Black. In addition, Black and Brown students are disciplined with harsher punishment (suspension/expulsion) and at higher rates than their peers. Not being in school affects a student's ability to learn and achieve.
Moreover, the South Carolina Department of Education has provided a vision for the expectations of our teachers, students, administrators, and parents as it relates to the Profile of the High School Graduate. This model reveals the necessary steps that we must take to ensure that our students are both college and career ready. As a global educational trainer and bestselling educational author, I understand that it is important that we create and revisit policies that support the vision of our state and ensure that our own district’s vision lines up with those expectations.
Further, it is important that our children are not only prepared to be effective citizens beyond high school, but they must be prepared to compete in a global society. Over the last 10 years, I have traveled in and out of this country working with educators across the globe, and I know what our U.S. students are up against regarding employability, college acceptance and career opportunities. COVID19 has accelerated the changes that were scheduled to happen a few years from now. I am privy to educational research and national educational policy that will be rolled out (especially after the results of the November election). As a board member, I will bring this knowledge to help our district adopt/create policies that will assist our children in being successful and marketable in a post-COVID society.
Monica Elkins Johnson* -- Elkins Johnson was first elected to the school board in 2012. She graduated from Columbia High School and has been in education for over 30 years -- first as a teacher of kindergarten, first and fourth grade, and later as an administrator in elementary through high school grade levels. In 2019, Elkins Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly shoving the sister of SC Sen. Mia McLeod.
Deon Jacobs --
Lashonda McFadden -- Since joining the Richland County School District 2 community, the McFadden's have been active participants in the events and activities this area has to offer. Knowing the importance of citizen participation at the local level, Lashonda was appointed to the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council by Richland County Council in November 2017. She is currently the Secretary for the Board of Directors and Chair of the Annual Business Luncheon and Awards Ceremony.
Rhonda Meisner -- majored in Economics and Political Science at Emory University and consider myself a lifelong learner. I have worked for several large medical companies and currently represent start up medical device companies in South Carolina. Of course, COVID has hampered this as the medical device representatives have had limited access unless they were supporting products already in the hospital. I also have a real estate company and rental houses.
I have been involved with the School District for many years advocating for my 4 highly gifted boys. This advocacy role included petitioning the board for school choice for gifted and/or special needs children. As such, I began to look at the way the District was managed and realized that the very large budget was not getting to the students and the teachers. During the bond campaign, I thought critical information was not available and /or was withheld such as the fact the previous bonds were not paid off yet. Then this summer when the Board approved the policy that restricted individual Board members from requesting and receiving district information without Board approval, I thought I cannot criticize without stepping up. My campaign slogan is Students #1 Teachers # 2 Fiscal Responsibility # 302,000,000 Accountability 4 all.
Yes, I have twin boys that are 16 soon to be 17. One twin scored a perfect score on his PSAT and the other scored in the top 90% without a calculator. He recently took the PSAT again and felt good about his efforts (calculator in hand). I also have a 12-year-old that is in the District and is also quite bright.
Before campaigning, I would have answered this question differently. Now, I would say we have a significant Board crisis, teacher crisis, and bus driver crisis- all related to leadership policies that I do not believe the . I learned the teachers think they have no voice and some that have been very big advocates of the district are now not supportive of certain policies. Tonight, at the virtual online Board meeting during the public session, several teachers explained plans that place the children and employees at risk such as the lunch room arrangements, failure to practice CDC guidelines, and failure to provide adequate time for the teachers to teach virtually and in person. Most disturbing is the For example, I have spoken with at least 5 bus drivers that said the District has restricted discipline on the buses and as drivers, the administration is supporting the unruly children placing the other children at risk. The drivers said they feel very uncomfortable about the safety of the children in their care because of the unruly
James Mobley --
James “Jamie” Shadd* -- James Shadd III was elected to the board in November 2016. He is a graduate of Eau Claire High School and received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Winthrop University and then attended the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a practicing attorney for the Shadd Law Firm, LLC. Shadd serves on the Board of Directors for South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Richland Library, and the YMCA of Columbia. He is vice-chair of Lake Carolina Elementary School Improvement Council (Lower Campus), and a member of the Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council and School Improvement Council at Kelly Mill Middle School. He is a weekly contributor to the P.A. Bennett Radio Talk Show that airs on WGCV - 620 AM. Shadd attends Bethel AME Church where he is the vice-chair of the Steward Board and chair of the Men’s Ministry. He is married to Dr. Tammy Shadd. The couple has four children; Morgan Taylor, Mary Katherine, Camryn Ashleigh and Jamie Kennedy, all attending Richland Two Schools.
Lawrence “Superstar” Terry -- A previous student of Richland Two, I am a current parent of Richland Two, and a previous employee of 18 years having been a coach and worked in administration. I had the opportunity to work at Muller Road Middle, Dent Middle, Westwood High, and Richland Northeast High School.
I am running to because students, teachers, staff, and parents are not being heard. I have been listening and when voted on to the school board I will continue to listen. I will also bring more awareness to special education rights that are available to students and parents.
Yes, Forest Lake Elementary and Richland Northeast High School.
Communication is key and right now their is a lack of it. I will bring more transparency for the public regarding current and future projects within the district’s plans.
Maryann Wright -- Maryann Wright a degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina, and a Master’s in Education from The Citadel. She was a teacher for 29 years, winning ‘Teacher of the Year’ award in 1998. Wright serves as the Social Justice Committee Chair and serves on the Stewardess Board of Adams Northeast AME Church, is a member of the AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.), a former Financial Secretary of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in the Columbia chapter, and a founding member and Financial Secretary of the National Society of Distinguished Women, Columbia Chapter.
LEXINGTON COUNTY
Lexington-Richland Counties School District 5 – At Large, nonpartisan seat
Robert Gantt* -- Gantt has been involved with the district for over 38 years, 20 as school board member. He is married with 3 children and grandchildren; Gantt holds a degree in BS Business Administration Marketing at USC, and is a retired US Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, retired real estate appraiser, retired from State of South Carolina, and a partner in Wythe Consulting LLC
Matt Hogan – is married, a father of 3
Jane Westbury – A native of the St. Andrews area of Columbia, I graduated from Columbia High School and Clemson University and then obtained my M.Ed. from UofSC. I retired in 2017 after a thirty-nine year career in education. For two years I was a regular education teacher and then a special education teacher for eight years. For the remaining twenty-nine years of my career, I was a school counselor, the last twenty of which were in District Five. For District Five, I served as a school counselor at the Academy for Success, CrossRoads Middle School, and Irmo High School. In August of 2019, I moved back into the District Five zone specifically so that I could run for school board.
I chose to run for the Richland County position of the District Five school board because I want to support teachers and staff and because I want to give back to the district which gave so much to me. I raised my children as a single parent and am now a retired person on a fixed income. My experiences have given me a unique set of qualifications that will be an asset to the board and to the district.
My children are adults now but they did graduate from District Five schools, specifically Dutch Fork High and Irmo High.
Currently, there are many complicated issues facing the district including re-entry, rezoning, teacher retention, equity, and social change. I believe the solution for these is for the board to work together, rebuild trust with all of the residents of the district, listen and communicate with all of the stakeholders, and continue to provide excellent educational opportunities. We are among the best school districts in the state and we need to continue our proud heritage of providing a world class education to each and every one of our students.
SUMTER COUNTY
Sumter School District – Area 6
William Byrd -- was appointed to a seat on the school board in 2017. Byrd is a certified public accountant and owns and operates William Levan Byrd CPA Professional Corp in Sumter.
Bonnie Disney -- Married; Five Children---all public-school graduates; grandchildren; BA (Baylor University), M.Ed. (Wayne State University); Masters Plus 30 (USC, Middlebury College, Berkeley); Juris Doctorate (Capital University); member of SC Bar; Sumter District 17 Teacher of the Year; Recipient of Star Teacher Award; National Board Certification; Published in a national Journal; Fellowship recipient to post-graduate school; Former consultant for the Writing Improvement Network; Presenter for benchmark testing; co-presenter for the National Writing Project; 2020-Commissioner Housing Authority-City of Sumter, 2019-2020-Current co-chair Census 2020 Committee-Sumter, 2017-18-Served on the Board of Sumter School District, 2006-18-English Language Arts Consultant, 2008-12-Served on SC State Board of Education (Third Judicial Circuit), 2001-05—Teacher Specialist-on-Site for the State Department of Education—served in Clarendon and Lee Counties, 1980-2001-Teacher in public schools in Texas, Arizona, Ohio, SC, and California---with 13 years at Sumter High School, 1970-80—Teacher, Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Japan and Turkey
I believe I am the most qualified candidate to replace the outgoing Area 6 board member. I also believe that public education offers children from all walks of life and from even the poorest segment of our society an equal chance at securing a bright and prosperous future.
Sumter School District with its 16,000 plus students was consolidated in 2011 and is a complex educational organization with both rural and urban students. As a board member, I will work to make Sumter School District a top performer in SC and work to build strong schools where families want their students to attend.
My strengths are in my personal experiences as a teacher as well as in my experiences at the SC State Department of Education and the State Board of Education levels. Having extensive experience in classrooms and having acquired understanding of state and federal testing, SC standards, benchmark testing, data analysis and best practices, I have the background knowledge that is not common for most local board members. Additionally, I have the legal training to be able to analyze and consider situations from an objective viewpoint. I will not require time to learn the ropes nor will I be a newcomer to educational issues.
Several of my grandchildren are students in Sumter School District.
Schools across the nation are facing the same challenge: teacher retention and recruitment. Many teachers will be retiring in the next 10 years. Already, some teachers have become discouraged with teaching conditions and are looking for another career field. Additionally, the lack of education majors in the pipeline at colleges means that current graduates are not coming into the teaching field to replace those teachers who leave.
Teachers are the backbone of our schools. Today, they are being asked to do more than ever, particularly with the combination of virtual, face-to-face teaching and technology problems in general in rural areas. We need to support our teachers in multiple ways for they are our most precious asset.
Finally, our state and local district need to pay teachers appropriately; otherwise, teachers may look to other districts or states that offer a better salary.
Gloria Lee -- Lee is a 1983 graduate of Sumter High School and has been with the Department of Corrections for 25 years She is assistant minister at Fourth Crossroad Baptist Church in Manning.
Jay Linginfelter -- 15 years in managerial positions overseeing staff of 30+, departmental budgeting and scheduling, 6 years in the real estate industry, Degree in Business Management, Served in US Air Force 1995-1999 with 3 tours to Middle East, Serving 2nd Year as Board President of Sumter Habitat for Humanity, Past Board Treasurer with Sumter Board of REALTORS and Sertoma Club of Sumter, Graduate of SC REALTORS Leadership Academy
I have been involved in some way with schools, teachers and local youth organizations for most of my life. Our school district has continually failed its students, community, and military members. My goal is to help turn the district around from being below the state averages in numerous categories educationally and financially, to being a state leader in the classroom and community. I want see Sumter become a destination location because of highly rated and respected schools. We have to take the reins off Teachers in the classroom and let them be innovative in the way they teach and reach students. We need to provide better resources to Teachers and offer more options to students, especially those in high school.
Previously, but not any longer.
There are several “main” problems the district faces, aside from COVID-19 challenges and Teacher shortages that all districts are facing. Proper funding and financial accountability is the #1 issue facing the school district. Sumter falls about $40 million short in local funding compared to the state average in per pupil funding, but Sumter County Council controls revenue funding, not the district. We must build better relationships with County Council and elect members who will put an emphasis on public education. In the meantime, the School Board must find ways to be efficient and effective with current revenue and reduce our debts while finding new ways to be forward-thinking. Maybe solar powered schools are an option and partnerships with utility companies can be formed? In addition to finances, school attendance rezoning is also a major need. It was not done after the district consolidated in 2011 and has stayed the same way it’s been for decades. Rezoning can positively affect many things to include more efficient bus routes, better staffing, smaller class sizes, community improvement & involvement, and more equitable educational opportunities for students.
