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Charleston County School District elections (2016)
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Five of the nine seats on the Charleston County School District school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Two seats representing West Ashley, two seats representing North Area, and one seat representing Peninsula (Downtown Charleston) were up for election. West Ashley incumbent Michael Miller filed for re-election and faced challengers Priscilla Jeffery and Gary Leonard. The incumbent was successful in his bid for another term and was joined in his victory by Jeffery. Incumbent Chris Collins filed for re-election to one of the two North Area seats. He was joined on the ballot by Kevin Hollinshead, Russ Patterson, and Louis Smith. Collins and Hollinshead secured the seats. The Peninsula seat saw incumbent Todd Garrett file for an additional term on the board, defeating challenger Tony Lewis. There was no primary.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Charleston County School District school board is a nonpartisan board that consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. They serve by specific geographic area. 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
West Ashley
Results
| Charleston County School District, West Ashley General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Michael Miller Incumbent |
36.14% | 49,748 |
| Priscilla Jeffery Incumbent |
35.39% | 48,716 |
| Gary Leonard | 28.05% | 38,609 |
| Write-in votes | 0.42% | 581 |
| Total Votes (100) | 137,654 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Election Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Michael Miller 
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Priscilla Jeffery
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Gary Leonard | |||
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North Area
Results
| Charleston County School District, North Area General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Chris Collins Incumbent |
36.90% | 51,026 |
| Kevin Hollinshead Incumbent |
24.15% | 33,390 |
| Russ Patterson | 22.60% | 31,256 |
| Louis Smith | 15.90% | 21,994 |
| Write-in votes | 0.45% | 618 |
| Total Votes (100) | 138,284 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Election Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Chris Collins
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Kevin Hollinshead
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| Russ Patterson | Louis Smith | ||
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Peninsula
Results
| Charleston County School District, Peninsula General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Todd Garrett Incumbent |
66.01% | 59,156 |
| Tony Lewis | 33.42% | 29,949 |
| Write-in votes | 0.56% | 505 |
| Total Votes (100) | 89,610 | |
| Source: South Carolina Election Commission, "Official Election Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Todd Garrett
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Tony Lewis | ||
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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:[3]
| 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 raised a total of $8,813.19 and spent a total of $3,797.11 in this election as of October 27, 2016, according to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.[4]
The following are the guidelines provided by the South Carolina State Ethics Commission for campaign finance reporting:[5]
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?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Candidate steps down as chairman after blackmail allegations
After an investigation into allegations of blackmail, Charleston school board candidate Tony Lewis stepped down from his position as chairman of the District 20 Constituent School Board on August 10, 2016. A Charleston County School District employee allegedly received a text message from Lewis, identifying "allegations of inappropriate behaviors at Burke High School," according to an incident report. The text also stated that if certain individuals were not placed in specific positions in the district, Lewis would "contact the media in an effort to expose the Charleston County School Board," according to the same report.
The Charleston County school board issued a statement regarding Lewis' actions:
| “ | We take allegations of this nature very seriously. We have turned this matter over to law enforcement, which will have our full cooperation and assistance. We have no further comment at this time.[6] | ” |
| —Charleston County school board[7] | ||
About the district
Charleston County School District is located in Charleston County, South Carolina. The city of the same name serves as the seat of county government. Charleston County was home to 389,262 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 45,650 students.[9]
Demographics
Charleston County outperformed in comparison to South Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education attainment between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 25.3 percent for state residents. The median household income in the county was $52,083, compared to $45,033 for the state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 16.8 percent, while that rate was 16.6 percent for state residents.[8]
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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 'Charleston County School District' 'South Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Charleston County School District | South Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
- Charleston County School District
- Charleston 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
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "Individual Reports," accessed October 27, 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.
- ↑ Live 5 News, "Constituent school board chairman resigns amid investigation," August 10, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Charleston 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
| 2016 Charleston County School District Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | West Ashley: Incumbent, Michael Miller • Priscilla Jeffery • Gary Leonard North Area: Incumbent, Chris Collins • Kevin Hollinshead • Russ Patterson • Louis Smith |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
