Five candidates have filed for four at large seats on the Fort Mill School District Board of Trustees, setting up a contested race with one week remaining in the candidate filing period.
Filing opened at noon Monday, Aug. 3, and closes at noon Monday, Aug. 17. Candidates file with the York County Voter Registration and Elections office, which posts names and filing documents in a public candidate tracker as they arrive.
Fort Mill trustees are elected districtwide. There are no wards or single member seats, so every voter in the district votes on every candidate and the four highest vote getters win. That structure means the current field of five produces a race in which at least one candidate will fall short.
Who has filed so far
Incumbents Michele Branning, Joe Helms and Lipi Pratt have all filed to keep their seats. They are joined by Keith Griffin and Melissa M. Maynard, neither of whom currently serves on the board.
Wayne Bouldin, who holds the fourth seat on the ballot this year, had not filed as of Tuesday morning. Bouldin has served on the board since 2009.
All four seats carry four year terms. The races are nonpartisan, so no party label appears next to a candidate’s name and there is no primary. Everyone who qualifies goes directly to the Nov. 3 general election.
Filing across York County
Fort Mill’s four at large seats are part of 14 school board seats on the ballot across York County’s four districts. York School District One has Seats 2 and 4 plus an at large seat open. Clover School District Two has Seats 1, 2 and 5 plus an at large seat. Rock Hill School District Three has Seats 2 and 4 plus an at large seat.
Filing closes at noon Monday, Aug. 17. The general election is Tuesday, 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.
