Seven candidates had filed for four at large seats on the Fort Mill School District Board of Trustees as of Monday morning, hours before the noon filing deadline.
Three of the four incumbents whose terms expire this year appear on the county candidate filing list. Michele Branning, Joe Helms and Lipi Pratt have all filed to keep their seats. Wayne Bouldin, who holds the fourth seat on the ballot, did to file.
Four candidates who do not currently serve on the board have filed. They are Larry Barnett, Keith Griffin, Brandon Langford and Melissa M Maynard.
The seven member board hires and evaluates the superintendent and adopts the annual budget that sets the school portion of local property tax bills in one of the fastest growing districts in the state. Trustees also approve construction projects and attendance zone changes, decisions that land directly on families in Fort Mill, Tega Cay and the unincorporated areas around them.
How the Election Works
Fort Mill school board seats are nonpartisan. No party label appears next to a candidate’s name, there is no primary, and every qualified candidate goes straight to the Nov. 3 general election.
All four seats on this year’s ballot are at large. The district has no wards or single member districts, so every voter in Fort Mill School District casts a ballot in the race and the four candidates with the most votes win. Trustees serve terms of four years, staggered so only part of the board turns over in any given cycle.
Under Article VI, Section 1 of the South Carolina Constitution, a candidate must be a registered voter in the area the office represents. A person convicted of a felony or an election law offense cannot file for or hold office until 15 years have passed since the sentence was completed, unless the person has been pardoned.
Fort Mill is one of four York County districts with seats on the November ballot. York School District One, Clover School District Two and Rock Hill School District Three are also filling seats this year, for a countywide total of 14.
Filing closed at noon on Monday. The York County elections office posts filed candidates and their filing documents in a public candidate tracker as they are received. The general election is Nov. 3.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
