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Web posted Friday,
November 12, 2004
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Editorial: Partisanship has no place in
school board races
Beaufort County School Board candidate Al
Stern was gracious in defeat last week, especially
given the circumstances of his race.
Stern,
running for a spot on what is supposedly a
nonpartisan board, was beaten by a candidate,
David Chase, who had the support of the Beaufort
County Republican Party and Republican Gov. Mark
Sanford.
In fact, the governor has been
unusually involved in Beaufort County School Board
politics for some time, siding with certain
candidates and actively opposing to the proposed
northern county high school. Sanford's family owns
property in the area and he misuses his bully
pulpit when he promotes personal concerns from
afar.
School board races are nonpartisan
for a reason. Making decisions about the education
of children, hiring superintendents, setting
district policy and achievement standards,
facilitating communication between the district
and the community ... these are things done best
by people beholden to no set
philosophy.
The nonpartisan nature of the
board also helps attract well-qualified
candidates. In Beaufort County, Republicans
currently rule the roost. That was obvious in the
Nov. 2 election. Candidates in partisan elections
must first go through the party before becoming
candidates.
With the school board - at
least in theory - any person who wants to improve
education in Beaufort County can run for office.
Their personal politics are
secondary.
Stern wrote a letter to the
editor this week in which he said, "My one regret
is that it appears that the days of nonpartisan
school board elections in Beaufort County are
over." We hope he's wrong. We also hope the
governor read his letter.
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