Where Charleston County School Board Candidates Stand on School Choice

These days Charleston County seems brimming over with magnet, charter, partial magnet, and statewide charter schools. Are there too many choices? Is the district emptying neighborhood schools in the name of choice? Can they be racially diverse? 

Many questions on the policies of the Charleston County School District are swirling around this fall's candidates. Here, as reported by Lowcountry Source, are the school-choice positions of the candidates, as stated in an October 2 forum sponsored by the Quality Education Project.

West Ashley (vote for one)

Paul Padron: Retired CCSD teacher, principal, administrator – Strong advocate for school choice – Hopes to work on fairness in admissions.

Eric Mack – Incumbent Vice Chairman – Pastor at a downtown church and business analyst at MUSC--Critic of present system for inequity of access, strong supporter of neighborhood schools.

Herbert Fielding – Retired Veterans Director at the Employment Security Commission--Against free-standing choice schools--wants specialized programs in existing schools.

Francis Marion Beylotte – Clinician at MUSC. Beylotte is opposed to the school choice programs. 

North Area (vote for one)

Linda Mosley Lucas – Retired CCSD guidance counselor--The neighborhood school should be the first choice and have every opportunity the child needs.

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Cindy Bohn Coats (Incumbent)--Wants to curtail partial magnets in elementary schools--Critic of three legal types of schools--public, charter, public/private--as creating inequity; wants programs in every neighborhood.

Vivian Pettigrew--retired CCSD teacher with tax and accounting business--absent from forum due to professional conflict--previously reported as supporting school choice while calling for improvement of neighborhood schools.

Mt. Pleasant (vote for two)

Jake Rambo – 10 years in CCSD as a teacher and principal--supporter of all school choices as long as they provide quality education--suggested Orange Grove Charter as a good model.

Sarah Shad Johnson – Chairwoman for the District 2 (Mt. Pleasant) Constituent Board--supports choice in Charleston County-with "transparency and accountability"--desires greater focus on neighborhood schools.

Joyce Green – Owns a Human Resources consulting business--choices are necessary as long as neighborhood schools fail to deliver quality--“Improve schools so parents don’t have to make a choice.”

Kate Darby (Incumbent Chairwoman)--we need to narrow choices--close choice schools not closing the "achievement gap"--too many choice schools "segregate students and don’t reflect the racial makeup of Charleston County.”