Beaufort County School District elections (2016)
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Four of the 11 seats on the Beaufort County School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. District 1 incumbent Earl Campbell filed for re-election and initially faced newcomer Caleb Brown, but he withdrew from the race leaving the incumbent unopposed. Campbell won another term on the board. In District 6, incumbent Paul Roth ran for re-election against newcomer Patricia Felton-Montgomery, who successfully ousted the incumbent. Stephen Bacon originally filed to run in the District 6 race, but later withdrew his candidacy. However, his name still appeared on the ballot. District 9 incumbent Laura Bush did not file for an additional term, and four newcomers vied for her spot on the board: Christopher Epps, Bill Fletcher, Bridgette Frazier, and Christina Gwozdz. Gwozdz won the spot on the board. In District 11, incumbent JoAnn Orischak filed for re-election and faced no opposition, securing another term. There was no primary.[1][2][3][4]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Beaufort County School District Board of Education is a nonpartisan board that consists of 11 members elected by district to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and a general election was held November 8, 2016. The deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions was on August 15, 2016.
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
| Beaufort County School District, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Earl Campbell Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.64% | 2,758 |
| Write-in votes | 1.36% | 38 |
| Total Votes (100) | 2,796 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Earl Campbell 
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District 6
Results
| Beaufort County School District, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Patricia Felton-Montgomery |
59.58% | 4,103 |
| Stephen Bacon | 20.59% | 1,418 |
| Paul Roth Incumbent | 19.59% | 1,349 |
| Write-in votes | 0.23% | 16 |
| Total Votes (100) | 6,886 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Paul Roth | Patricia Felton-Montgomery
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District 9
Results
| Beaufort County School District, District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Christina Gwozdz |
43.51% | 1,998 |
| Bridgette Frazier | 25.24% | 1,159 |
| Bill Fletcher | 15.59% | 716 |
| Christopher Epps | 15.42% | 708 |
| Write-in votes | 0.24% | 11 |
| Total Votes (100) | 4,592 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Christopher Epps | Bill Fletcher | ||
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| Bridgette Frazier | Christina Gwozdz
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District 11
Results
| Beaufort County School District, District 11 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| JoAnn Orischak Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.11% | 4,682 |
| Write-in votes | 0.89% | 42 |
| Total Votes (100) | 4,724 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| JoAnn Orischak
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: South Carolina elections, 2016
The following offices shared the general election date with this South Carolina school board election:
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this South Carolina school board election in 2016:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 30, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions for partisan elections |
| June 14, 2016 | Primary election day, if necessary |
| June 28, 2016 | Primary runoff election day, if necessary |
| August 15, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions for nonpartisan elections |
| October 8, 2016 | Deadline to register to vote in the general election |
| October 10, 2016 | Fourth quarter campaign finance deadline |
| October 24, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance deadline |
| November 4, 2016 | Deadline to return absentee by mail application for the general election |
| November 7, 2016 | Deadline to vote absentee in person for the general election |
| November 8, 2016 | General election day |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Candidates reported a total of $5,067.32 in contributions and $3,496.59 in expenditures in this election as of October 26, 2016, according to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.[6]
The following are the guidelines provided by the South Carolina State Ethics Commission for campaign finance reporting:[7]
Initial report: School board candidates were required to file this report within 10 days of spending or receiving the first $500 of campaign funds. A subsequent report was not required until additional funds were raised.
Pre-election report: This report had to be filed by all candidates, whether or not there was any financial campaign activity. The report had to be filed no later than 15 days, and no earlier than 20 days, prior to the general election. The pre-election report was due on October 24, 2016.
Quarterly report: All candidates with contributions on hand were required to file this report. It was required of all candidates once they have begun to file, whether or not there was financial activity. The fourth quarter campaign finance report was due on October 10, 2016.
Final report: This was due after the campaign account was closed.
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the election
Sales tax referendum
The Beaufort County School District Board of Education voted to place a one-penny educational capital improvement sales and use tax referendum on the general election ballot in 2016. The following statement was provided by the board about the referendum:
| “ | If approved by Beaufort County voters in November, the tax, specified for a time period of ten (10) years, would begin in March 2017 and expire automatically in 2027. Renewal would require a subsequent approval by voters in a future general election. In general, items currently exempted from tax would also be exempt from this education sales tax. For example, the sales tax would not apply to unprepared foods. It is estimated that over one-third of the revenue generated by a sales tax of this nature would come from non-Beaufort County citizens, including both tourists and residents from neighboring counties who visit and shop in Beaufort County.
Funds from the one-penny education sales tax referendum would be used exclusively for capital projects as specified on the ballot question; state law would prohibit the funds from being used for operations. In addition, ALL Beaufort County property owners’ taxes on debt service, including 4 percent homeowners, 6 percent homeowners, businesses, vehicles, etc., would be reduced by over 42% during the period of time the tax is in place. Between now and the November referendum, the Board and district will schedule multiple educational and informational public meetings in order to provide complete and accurate information to the public. Additionally, the school district will have the details of the proposal available on the district website. The Board's goal is to ensure that parents, employees, and all Beaufort County taxpayers have access to the information they need to make an informed decision in the voting booth. If the sales tax referendum is not successful on the November 2016 ballot, the Beaufort County School Board will use other capital funding mechanisms available that would result in an increase in the school district debt service millage.[8] |
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| —Beaufort County School District Board of Education (2016)[9] | ||
About the district
Beaufort County School District is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The city of the same name is the seat of county government. Beaufort County was home to 179,589 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the 10th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 20,725 students.[11]
Demographics
Beaufort County outperformed in comparison to South Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 37.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 25.3 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $57,295, compared to $45,033 for the state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 12.9 percent, while that rate was 16.6 percent for state residents.[10]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Beaufort County School District' 'South Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Beaufort County School District | South Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
- Beaufort County School District
- Beaufort County Board of Elections
- South Carolina Elections Commission
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 11/8/2016 Statewide General Election," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ The Beaufort Gazette, "School board candidate withdraws, leaving race uncontested," September 29, 2016
- ↑ The Island Packet, "Bacon leaves Beaufort County school board race," September 3, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Unofficial Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "Individual Reports," accessed October 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "Campaign Practices," accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Beaufort County School District, "Sales Tax Referendum," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "Beaufort County, South Carolina," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 19, 2014
