Berkeley County School District elections (2014)

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2014 Berkeley County School District Elections
General Election date:
November 4, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
South Carolina Berkeley County School District Berkeley County, South Carolina ballot measures Local ballot measures, South Carolina

Four seats on the Berkeley County Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 were up for re-election.

In District 2, where incumbent Doug Cooper did not file for re-election, Mac McQuillin defeated Rindy Ryan. In District 4, incumbent Shannon Lee won re-election against U.S. Navy veteran Jeff Reuer. Newcomers Tommy McPherson and Sally Wofford faced off for the District 6 seat, since incumbent Sheldon Etheridge did not file for re-election, with Wofford winning. Incumbent Frank Wright was unopposed in District 8; he was also unopposed in 2010. This is Wright's fifth term serving on the board.

About the district

See also: Berkeley County School District, South Carolina

Berkeley County School District is located in Berkeley County, South Carolina

Berkeley County School District is located in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The county seat of Berkeley County is Berkeley. Berkeley County is home to 177,843 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau. In the 2011-2012 school year, Berkeley County School District was the fourth-largest school district in South Carolina and served 30,085 students.

Demographics

Berkeley County underperformed in comparison to the rest of South Carolina in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 20.5 percent of Berkeley County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 24.6 percent for South Carolina as a whole. The median household income in Berkeley County was $51,476 compared to $44,623 for the state of South Carolina. The poverty rate in Berkeley County was 14.3 percent compared to 17.6 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2013
Race	Berkeley County (%)	South Carolina (%)
White	69.1	68.3
Black or African American	25.0	27.9
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.7	0.5
Asian	2.5	1.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	2.6	1.7
Hispanic or Latino	6.1	5.3

Presidential Voting Pattern, Berkeley County
Year	Democratic Vote	Republican Vote
2012	28,542	38,475
2008	27,755	36,205
2004	20,142	32,104
2000	17,707	24,796

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.

Voter and candidate information

The Berkeley County Board of Education consists of nine members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic district. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014. Four seats were up for election in 2014.

Candidates began filing nominating petitions on July 15, 2014. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was August 15, 2014.

District 2

• Mac McQuillin
  • Graduate, University of South Carolina
  • Member, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce
  • Attorney
• Rindy Ryan
  • Graduate, University of Illinois and Washington University
  • Volunteer, Berkeley County School District

District 4

• Shannon Lee
  • Incumbent and board vice chair
• Jeff Reuer
  • Veteran, U.S. Navy

District 6

• Tommy McPherson
  • Employee, Santee Cooper
  • Volunteer, Berkeley County School District
• Sally Wofford
  • Graduate, University of South Carolina
  • Manager, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company

District 8

• Frank Wright
  • Incumbent

District map

Election results

District 2

Berkeley County School District, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Mac McQuillin	59.9%	2,492
	Nonpartisan	Rindy Ryan	39.9%	1,659
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.2%	8
Total Votes				4,159
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Berkeley County General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014

District 4

Berkeley County School District, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Shannon Lee Incumbent	68.3%	1,662
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Reuer	31.3%	761
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.4%	9
Total Votes				2,432
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Berkeley County General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014

District 6

Berkeley County School District, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Tommy McPherson	38.6%	1,694
	Nonpartisan	Sally Wofford	61.1%	2,681
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.2%	10
Total Votes				4,385
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Berkeley County General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014

District 8

Berkeley County School District, District 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Frank Wright Incumbent	98.6%	2,290
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	1.4%	32
Total Votes				2,322
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Berkeley County General Election Results," accessed December 20, 2014

Endorsements

No candidate publicly received an endorsement in this election.

Campaign finance

Candidates were required to file a quarterly finance report with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission for the November general election by October 10, 2014. This report covered the period of July 1, 2014, through September 30, 2014. Candidates were also required to file a pre-election report no later than 15 days prior to the election. A final report is due after the campaign has closed. Candidates for local school boards may not accept more than $1,000 from individuals and $5,000 from political parties.

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2012 Berkeley County School District, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kent Murray 55.1% 3,224      Nonpartisan C. Kevin Fox 44.6% 2,608      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 19 Total Votes 5,851 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Phillip Obie II 99% 3,876      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1% 40 Total Votes 3,916 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kathy Schwalbe 99.3% 5,383      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.7% 37 Total Votes 5,420 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Wilhelmina S. Moore 60.9% 3,911      Nonpartisan Marty Housand 38.9% 2,501      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 10 Total Votes 6,422 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Scott Marino 99.3% 4,924      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.7% 35 Total Votes 4,959 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 2010 Berkeley County School District, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Doug Cooper 99.5% 2,539      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 12 Total Votes 2,551 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 2010," accessed September 1, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Shannon Lee 51.6% 1,461      Nonpartisan Jimmy Hinson 48.1% 1,363      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 8 Total Votes 2,832 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 2010," accessed September 1, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Sheldon Etheridge 51.8% 1,616      Nonpartisan Sylleste Davis 47.9% 1,492      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 9 Total Votes 3,117 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 2010," accessed September 1, 2014 Berkeley County School District, District 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Frank Wright Incumbent 98.8% 2,178      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.2% 27 Total Votes 2,205 Source: South Carolina State Election Commission, "Presidential General Election - November 2010," accessed September 1, 2014

What was at stake?

Issues in the district

2012 "Yes 4 Schools" referendum campaign

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating Berkeley County School District officials as a result of a 2012 referendum campaign meant to build five new schools and renovate 29. The $198 million referendum, which was approved by voters, added "$60 to the tax bill on a $150,000 house for three years starting in 2013, [double] that amount from 2016 until 2023, then [go] back to $60 for three more years," according to a district report. The investigation targeted district employee Amy Kovach, Superintendent Rodney Thompson and Deputy Superintendent Archie Franchini, stating that during the development of the campaign there were ethics violations and other misconduct occurring throughout. Allegations made also stated the three violated the law by working on the "Yes 4 Schools" campaign during district time and using district resources. Kovach was indicted by a Berkeley County grand jury on one count of "Violation of Ethics Act: Use of Public Funds to Influence the Outcome of an Election." She was placed on administrative leave with pay, and she faced a fine of up to $5,000 or one year in prison. As of February 2014, the district had spent about $1.7 million on legal fees on the case.

Outside legal spending

According to a report by The Post and Courier, Berkeley County School District lead the state in outside legal spending. A large contributing factor was that, since 2011, the district had spent $1.7 million on legal fees as a result of an ongoing investigation into ethics violations in the 2012 "Yes 4 Schools" building referendum campaign. Collectively, South Carolina school districts spent $22 million on legal assistance since 2011 as of March 2014. This was an average of nearly $100,000 per year per district. The legal-related data was gathered by The Post and Courier through Freedom of Information Act requests filed with South Carolina's 81 county-level school districts.

Lawsuit against Board Chairman Kent Murray

In June 2013, Nancy Corbin, Linda Riney and former board member Terry Hardesty filed a lawsuit against Board Chairman Kent Murray, stating that their first and 14th amendment rights were violated at a school board meeting when Murray prohibited comments about the district's ongoing investigation regarding its 2012 "Yes 4 Schools" referendum campaign. Murray said the move was an attempt to "protect the integrity of the board’s decision-making process and ensure the ability to provide due process to our employees.” Murray also stated that the change to the meeting agenda was at the discretion of lawyers involved with the case. In September 2013, the board made the decision to lift the ban on comments about the campaign. The time for public commentary was also doubled, speakers were allowed to talk about district-level executives and a provision allowing the chairman to let people speak longer than three minutes was modified. According to Hardesty, "the change in policy, from [his] perspective, means that they figured out there’s something wrong."

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Berkeley County School District election in 2014:

Deadline	Event
March 16, 2014	Candidate filing for primary begins
March 30, 2014	Candidate filing for primary closes
June 10, 2014	Primary election day
June 24, 2014	Primary runoff (if required)
July 15, 2014	Candidate filing for general election begins
August 15, 2014	Last day for nonpartisan candidates to file for general election
October 4, 2014	Voter registration deadline
November 4, 2014	Election day

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: South Carolina elections, 2014

This election shared the ballot with general elections for U.S. House seats and South Carolina state executive offices. It also shared the ballot with other county and municipal elections.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Berkeley + County + School + District + South + Carolina"

Berkeley County School District News Feed

See also

• South Carolina
• Berkeley County School District, South Carolina
• South Carolina school board elections, 2014
• List of school board elections in 2014
• School board elections, 2014
• Berkeley County, South Carolina ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, South Carolina

External links

Suggest a link

• Berkeley County School District
• Berkeley County, South Carolina
• South Carolina State Election Commission
• South Carolina State Ethics Commission