All three Rock Hill School District Three board seats on the November ballot will go to people who have never served as trustees, after none of the sitting members filed for reelection before filing closed at noon Monday.
Eight candidates qualified for the three seats, and every race is contested.
Board Chairwoman Helena Miller, who represents Seat 2 and has served on the board for 11 years, did not file. Three candidates are running for her seat. They are Zach Oxendine, Lamont Ratchford and Holly Shook.
Pete Nosal, an attorney who holds Seat 4, also did not file. Tyler Williams, Jason Wilson and Sally Young are running for that seat.
Lacy Daniel, a teacher elected to an at large seat in 2024, did not file either. Matt Hiers and Seberina Barber Myles are competing for the at large seat.
A Fourth Seat Could Open the Same Night
The turnover may not stop at three. Trustee James Burns, who holds Seat 3, is the Republican nominee for South Carolina Senate District 15 in a special election on the same Nov. 3 ballot. If Burns wins, his board seat becomes vacant.
Burns became the nominee in July when he was the only Republican to file for the seat, which opened when former Sen. Wes Climer resigned. His Democratic opponent will be decided in a Sept. 1 primary between former York County Councilman Chad Williams and York County Democratic Party Secretary Monika White.
Burns is a Rock Hill native, a Citadel graduate and the owner of Burns Chevrolet Cadillac and Burns Ford. He has served on the school board for six years and moved from an at large seat to Seat 3 in the 2024 election. Four of his children attend Rock Hill schools.
He would not appear on the school board ballot in either case, since his board term runs through 2028.
How the Election Works
Rock Hill school board races are nonpartisan. No party label appears next to a candidate’s name and there is no primary, so all eight candidates go directly to the Nov. 3 general election.
Seats 2 and 4 cover the northern part of the city. The at large seat is voted on by every voter in the district. Trustees serve terms of four years, staggered so that only part of the board turns over in a given cycle. Winners take office at the first board meeting in November following certification of the results.
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.
Rock Hill is one of four York County school districts with seats on the November ballot, alongside Fort Mill, Clover and York School District One.
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.
