COASTAL OBSERVER

More than 50 people came to Waccamaw Library to figure out who the three candidates are that are running in a special election for the Georgetown County School Board in District 6.

That was a good sign, the candidates said, because they see turnout as key in the election that will follow the Fourth of July weekend.

The League of Women Voters organized the forum for Alex Belser, a former TV newsman; Jarrod Ownbey, a lawyer; and Jon Tester, a retired educator in the school district.

Early voting starts Monday and runs through July 3 at the county election office in Georgetown. Election day is July 8.

Andrea Marshal of Wilbrook, a former educator, said she didn’t know any of the candidates, but wanted to find out about them before she cast a ballot.

“I don’t understand why people don’t vote. This is our county school board we’re voting for,” she said. “If we don’t like what’s going on in the schools, if we don’t participate, we have no right to say anything. We have no right to complain if you don’t even voice your choice.”

“This is what the league does,” said Karen Ebbetts, the league president. “We try to get up the vote.”

The special election will fill the unexpired term of Kristie Baxley. She was elected in November and resigned in April.

The forum was also a chance for voters to learn what the school board does. Questions about book banning, curriculum and South Carolina’s ranking in test scores, prompted the three candidates to point out that those issues are outside the scope of the county school board. They are handled on the state level. 

 Tester said the three main goals of a board member is to hire school district employees, evaluate them and oversee policy.

However topics such as the budget arose and what would happen to the district’s taxes and funding without the U.S. Department of Education.

Ownbey said that 14.3 percent of the board’s budget comes from the federal government and the board has proposed a $1 million increase in taxes already.

“Unfortunately, there’s only two other places for that to come from; the state and the local taxes,” he said. “We’re going to have to get creative.”

Tester agreed that federal government funding is “critical.”

“If we lose that federal input it’s going to be, in my opinion, harmful. Especially over time,” Tester said. “We just have to be cautious on what we’re trying to accomplish and how to get that funding.”

Belser pointed out that the school board was due to approve the fiscal 2026 budget this week.

“We’ll have to see what happens,” Belser said. “We’re already trying to catch up with the teachers’ salaries, and we’re already falling behind some of the other counties.”

One woman asked the candidates to address the differences between four Waccamaw Neck schools and those in the western part of the county. The Waccamaw schools consistently outperform the other county schools on the state’s standardized tests.

Tester said he wants to “equal the playing field” by assessing what individual schools are lacking.

“Some of the families, some of the children have challenges in some of those areas. We just need to find any resources that we can lend to those people,” he said, whether it be things like health care, academics or technology.

Ownbey said it’s not a socioeconomic issue, and that the Waccamaw schools are the “blueprint” of what to do for the rest in Georgetown County.

“They’ve not been told they can do it, and until you can envision yourself doing it, you’re not gonna,” he said. “You’re going to settle for less.”

Belser noted that a magnet program in the Carvers Bay attendance area aimed to increase enrollment with new curriculum in the various schools.

“That hasn’t really panned out so much,” he said. “What are the steps that are going to come after that?”

When the candidates were asked about school safety, Tester recalled when Alan Walters, the former safey director and now director of operations, tightened up security.

“It starts at the school level. All of the staff there should be vigilant. They should be watching what’s happening with their students,” he said.

Ownbey said the school board’s “one size fits all” approach, which he described as doing one thing for a school means all of the schools in the county, isn’t working.

“That’s a load of malarkey,” Ownbey said.

Belser said he was at a sporting event where he heard a student resource officer threaten to kick the student athletes out of the game if they were caught using vapes.

“I don’t want the kids to be criminalized for vaping,” he said. “I don’t think that’s necessary for that type of infraction but they need to follow the policy.”

The candidates mostly agreed on topics such as prioritizing safety, supporting teachers and upholding tech school partnerships.

Lisa Smith of Pawleys Island, an educator in Charleston County, has one son in school and one that just graduated from Waccamaw High.

“I’m just kind of interested to see what they have to say. I would love to be here where my boys go to school,” she said.

Smith asked the candidates how they will ensure transparency and accountability on board decisions.

“That’s very important to me, you know, as a reporter. I always like to get more information,” Belser said.

“I want to be accessible. I want to be visible, I want to be there so that you can come to me with any concerns and we can address them,” Ownbey said.

“A lot of things happen in an executive session. You’re not privy to that,” Tester said. “But a lot of the things seem to be in the dark. People don’t understand.”

Skip Van Bloem’s daughter, Scarlett, just graduated from Waccamaw High, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about the school board anymore. He asked the candidates their thoughts on the modified year-round calendar, which he supports.

Belser had no opinion but said it “seemed that’s what people wanted.” 

Ownbey doesn’t like it because it limits students’ summer jobs. 

Tester said learning loss from longer summer breaks was a “big deal” and he’s heard from people who like it now that they are used to it.

Jeff Ciuba, whose wife is a retired teacher, asked the candidates to explain why they would be the best person for the job?

With board members with backgrounds in education and business, Belser said he wants to bring in his journalism skills for more transparency.

“I would like to bring you a new voice, a younger voice, to the board,” he said. “I’ve been out there getting to your school events and watching the parents going in and out of school… When you drop your child off, you’re relying on this system to educate your child.”

Ownbey was the only person on the stage with children currently in the school district, and his wife, Stacey, teaches at Waccamaw Middle. He emphasized that he’s visible at athletic events because of his daughters’ involvement in sports.

“I know how to bring people together effectively. I can identify problems,” Ownbey said. “We need a new direction.”

Since Tester was with the district for 32 years, a part of “that old guard,” he told the audience he believes in change. His wife and two of his children are school teachers, and has grandchildren entering the Waccamaw schools.

“I have a serious invesment that would be successful, not just at Waccamaw but throughout the whole county,” he said. “I understand the workings of the school district.”

“They’re all pretty good,” said Thomas Maese, who has a son starting his freshman year at Waccamaw this fall. “It’s going to be a tough decision for me.”