Conservatives retain majority on Charleston County School Board, though new trustees will join

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) — The school board in South Carolina’s second-largest school district will see some turnover following Tuesday’s election, though conservative-backed candidates are set to retain the majority.

Half of the seats on the Charleston County School Board of Trustees were up for election on Nov. 5, giving voters a chance to reshape what has been previously characterized as a dysfunctional board.

The board has been embroiled in controversy over the past year, in part due to a string of contentious decisions that left some educators, parents, and elected officials urging the board to put politics aside and refocus on educating students.

Among the decisions were placing Superintendent Dr. Eric Gallien on paid administrative leave, replacing six members of the Health Advisory Committee (HAC), and initially not hiring the interim chief academic officer, Michelle Simmons. Simmons was eventually appointed to the role in late 2023.

Those decisions were approved by the board’s majority faction, backed by the ultra-conservative group Moms For Liberty, a self-described parental rights advocacy organization.

One of those members was District 2 Trustee Ed Kelley, who spearheaded the effort to overhaul the HAC and was censured last April after he was accused of making comments deemed to be threatening and transphobic towards a teacher within the district.

Kelley lost his reelection bid Tuesday. He was ousted by Carolina Jewett, a Mount Pleasant mother and small business owner.

Kevin Hollinshead bested Craig Logan 54% to 46% in District 4, regaining the seat he previously held from 2016 to 2020. Courtney Waters opted not to run again.

Another incumbent, Daron Lee Calhoun II, was defeated by Michele Leber in District 6 by an 11-point margin.

Leber, the wife of Republican state Senator-elect Matt Leber, said on her campaign website that she is committed to “education excellence, safe schools, establishing trust, transparency, accountability, community partnerships, and fiscal responsibility.”

District 8’s Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson was the only incumbent seeking reelection to retain her seat, fending off challengers Michelle Faust and Charles Glover.

The outcome of Tuesday’s elections means Moms for Liberty-backed candidates will keep their five-member majority on the board.

In 2022, voters picked trustees for all nine seats following a decision by state legislators that switched the election to single-member districts so that trustees are now elected only by voters who live in their district.

Newly-elected members will serve four-year terms.