Spartanburg County: Who's running for school board in your district? What you need to know.
Editors Note: This article has been updated to reflect the most current information from the Spartanburg County Voter Registration & Election Office.
Spartanburg County voters will decide who are the best candidates to lead their school boards in the upcoming state Municipal Election on Nov. 7.
There are 29 seats to be filled and 42 candidates running. There are four seats available in each school district except in District 2, which has five. District 2 has one extra seat to represent the Cherokee County section of the district.
In District 5, the 5-2 seat will be appointed by the district's Board of Trustees because the only candidate did not receive enough voters on her petition.
Spartanburg County Voter Registration & Elections Director John L. Baucom said the seat will not appear on ballots this November and that public notice of the vacancy will be made on Oct. 16. He said applications for the position will be taken through Nov. 3 with board members hearing from applicants at either their Nov. 20 meeting or a special called meeting.
Here are the seats up for election in your district and the candidates vying for them:
District One
In Spartanburg School District 1, Board of Trustees Chairman Billy Cothran is running for re-election. Six additional candidates are also running for one of the four available seats.
The six new candidates are Barbara G. Hopper, Wanda M. McDowell, Marshall A. Seay, Laura Tario, Mike Tolman, and Gene Vanderford.
District Two
In Spartanburg School District Two, Board of Trustees secretary Seth Breitenbach is running unopposed for the Cherokee seat.
Board Vice Chair Brandon McKillop and members Sarah Simmons and Rachael Smith Yelton are running for re-election for three of the district's four Spartanburg seats.
Jeff Watson is also running.
District Three
In Spartanburg School District Three, Board of Trustees Secretary Billy Gossett and members Eddie Dearybury and Jodi Hoyle Gilmer are running for re-election. Four additional candidates are also running for one of the four available seats.
The four new candidates are Laurie Lee, Joni L. Ware, Amanda Wyatt, and Meg H. Cheshier.
District Four
In Spartanburg School District Four, Board of Trustees Secretary Sandy Norman and member Rick C. Sloan are seeking re-election. Eight additional candidates are running for the four available seats.
The eight new candidates are Stephen Y. Brown, Nathan Craig, Bobby Edwards, Elaina Hyatt, Micha Kelley, Marie Rhodes Williams, Rhonda Sumner, and Kathleen Welch.
District Five
In Spartanburg School District Five, Board Vice-Chairman Mark Cleveland is running unopposed for the 5-1 seat.
Board Chairman Jeff Boland and board member Derek Watchorn are running for the two 5-3 seats.
District Six
In Spartanburg School District Six, Board of Trustees Chairman Lynn R. Harris, Secretary Charles I. Boyd, and members Wendell J. Lee and Henry Ross are running for re-election.
District Seven
In Spartanburg School District Seven, Board of Trustees member James A. Jones is running unopposed for the 7-1 seat.
Incumbent board member Rick L. Gray is running against Sally N. Carroll for the 7-4 seat.
Board members Meg Pickens Clayton and Clay Mahaffey and new candidate Gary D. Leake are running for the two 7-5 seats.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg County has about 50 candidates vying for school boards
