Proposed bill could make South Carolina school board elections partisan

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One of the only non-partisan races on the ballot during an election year is for school board representatives, but one statehouse bill is hoping to change that.

S.C. House Rep. Jordan Pace (R) hopes the next time voters head to the ballot box, a Democrat, a Republican or another party identifier is next to the school board candidates’ names, as he’s one of the main ers behind H.3759.

“Local parties have been endorsing and ing candidates for school board, even if they’re nominally not partisan,” Pace said. “So, functionally, this is already happening.”

If this were to get ed, school board candidates would run in a primary election and then a general election, just like how it works for races like county council or and governor.

Pace says any counties that already do this would have had to have been ed under the state legislature. And this new bill would make these partisan elections run statewide.

South Carolina Education Association President Sherry East thinks that putting a label on candidates could do more harm than good.

“We already have a tough time getting people to fill these spots,” East said. “I think that would just be another hindrance of people having to do another race with the primaries to get on a school board.”

Pace says the push for the bill stems from issues candidates are already campaigning on.

“Whether it’s DEI or CRT or — pick your acronym — inappropriate things that are in books, all of this is taken on a much more partisan nature,” Pace said.

But Berkeley County School District parent Rick Cayer doesn’t think that’s a positive.

“I think it would shift the conversation from a local conversation based on issues like funding, teacher retention, curriculum development to more hot button national issues… that don’t affect students nearly as much,” Cayer said.

And East questions if this would just be for political gain.

“Unfortunately, some people use the school board as a stepping stone for a political career,” East said. “And we also don’t like that either.”

Right now, Horry and Lee counties are the only counties in the state with partisan school board elections, according to the Associated Press. But Gov. Henry McMaster also vetoed for Lancaster County to adopt this bill in 2022.

“I taught high school for three years,” Pace said. “The politics is there in the governance. Anytime you have a governing body that controls policy and controls tens of millions to hundreds of millions to… a billion dollars a year, that is going to be inherently partisan.”

And East adds there’s also similar legislation already introduced in Iowa, New Hampshire and Oklahoma, with Indiana already adopting it.

“I frankly care more about what the parents think than what the students think,” Pace said. “They are the adults. They’re the ones that vote whose finances are being forcibly extracted from their pocketbooks to finance this whole thing.”

All three were asked if this should be at the top of state leaders’ agendas.

“No, absolutely not,” Cayer said.

“Yes, it’s important,” Pace said. “It is not the highest priority. But I think telling the truth to people is a very high priority.”

“We need to be worried about infrastructure and education and money and the budget,” East said.

This bill is currently sitting in committee and would still need to go to subcommittee, the house floor and eventually the governor’s desk before it is ed. And with this being a two-year Session, Pace says it really has until next May to get fully approved.

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