Two of the four Lancaster County School District board seats on the November ballot have drawn contested races, and a third has no candidate at all with one week left to file.
In District 1, incumbent Eddie Boykin faces Kristen Setzer. In District 3, incumbent Courtney Crump Green faces Jonathan Phipps. Board Chairman Melvin Stroble filed for District 7 and has no challenger so far.
No one had filed for District 5 as of Tuesday morning. That seat is held by Casey Cato, the board’s vice chairman.
Filing opened at noon Monday, Aug. 3, and closes at noon Monday, Aug. 17. Cato has until then to file for reelection, as does anyone who wants to run for any of the four seats.
How the board is structured
The Lancaster County School District board has seven members, each elected from a single member district. Trustees serve four year terms on a staggered schedule. Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 are elected in years when South Carolina elects a governor, which is why those four are on the ballot this fall. Districts 2, 4 and 6 come up in presidential election years.
The other three trustees, Tyrom Faulkner in District 2, Revery Johnson in District 4 and Olivia Hann in District 6, are not on the ballot until 2028.
The races are nonpartisan. No party label appears next to a candidate’s name and there is no primary, so every candidate who qualifies goes straight to the Nov. 3 general election.
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.
