Veterans Get the Edge



Friday’s editorial explains the editorial board’s decisions on Horry County school board candidates. You can read more about their biographies and answers to questions here.

 

School board elections this year have focused on security, student achievement and, above all, finances. With a shortfall estimated to reach $17 million next year, candidates have offered a range of suggestions for balancing the books, some more viable than others. The contests pit three strong incumbents against some impressive challengers, but the decision for our editorial board came down to the experience each possesses entering a grueling budget year with little time for playing catch up.

Most candidates toed the same line on security, advocating tough measures to protect students in schools, including zero-tolerance policies for bullying, regular use of available metal detectors, security cameras and severe consequences for violators. The dedication to safety is important, but we were disappointed in the siege mentality that seemed to pervade the field. No candidate mentioned work with bullies or potential bullies to head off dangerous behavior during our interviews. Instead, most measures focused on identifying and punishing bullying behavior after it happens. Granted, it’s far easier to measure success by a response to real situations than by the prevention of potential problems, but we would have liked to see more of a proactive emphasis on prevention and student counseling rather than one solely relying on protection and punishment.

District 2

MaryEllen Greene has done an admirable job during her 12 years on the board, working tirelessly and building up a great deal of support and influence in the community, as the influx of recent letters to the editor have exhibited. She offered a neat summation of where her priorities lay when she said in our interview that all finances and cuts need to be looked at with the students in mind first. As a retired teacher and veteran of the board, she’s familiar with the process and the ins and outs of policy, earning the editorial board’s recommendation.

Greene faces a strong challenge this year from Rivers Lynch, a 38-year teaching veteran who showed his own community support by gathering enough signatures to become a petition candidate. Lynch was himself the victim of a budget cut and so perhaps has a unique outlook on the process. He impressed the editorial board with his pledge not to spend any money on his campaign, saying that in these tough times it could be put to better use elsewhere. Despite his decades in the school system, however, Lynch finds himself at a disadvantage, without the knowledge of district details that Greene has accumulated in her years on the board. If the ballot box does not go his way on Tuesday, we would urge him to present himself for public office in the future.

Karen McIlrath, the third candidate in the district and a first-timer in politics, is clearly passionate but seemed to lack the depth of knowledge possessed by the other two. We did note her frequent attendance at recent school board meetings, and we hope she continues to offer suggestions and advocate for our schools.

District 3

Joe DeFeo and Johnny Evans have geared up for a rematch after DeFeo unseated Evans in 2006. DeFeo is quick to point out his accomplishments in the district, crediting himself with lowering taxes, building Postal Way in Carolina Forest and expanding the power of the school board. He sees his role as a more active one than other candidates, happy to talk to parents, take issues to the board and work until a problem is fixed. While we appreciate his initiative, we have no wish to return to the not-so-distant past of school board members presiding over individual fiefdoms in the county, and we hope he can restrain himself to working within the prescribed hierarchy of power.

On policy issues and in experience, Evans is remarkably similar to DeFeo, though in talking with him he focuses more on students while DeFeo emphasizes his work for county taxpayers. A vote for either candidate would serve the county well, although DeFeo has a slight advantage in that he has been on the board for the past four years and is more familiar with the current budget and environment. As Evans said at the end of our interview, whoever you choose on Tuesday, the important thing is simply that you vote.

District 10

Neil James enters his first election with little opposition. After being appointed to fill a vacant position, he faces Lucian Norton, who did not accept the editorial board’s invitation for an interview and offered only terse, short answers to previous reporting. James struck us as a competent, focused, intelligent board member concerned first with students and evaluating all of his decisions by asking how it will affect their progress. We have no hesitation in recommending him for re-election.

 

Most candidates toed the same line on security, advocating tough measures to protect students in schools, including zero-tolerance policies for bullying, regular use of available metal detectors, security cameras and severe consequences for violators. The dedication to safety is important, but we were disappointed in the siege mentality that seemed to pervade the field. No candidate mentioned work with bullies or potential bullies to head off dangerous behavior during our interviews. Instead, most measures focused on identifying and punishing bullying behavior after it happens. Granted, it’s far easier to measure success by a response to real situations than by the prevention of potential problems, but we would have liked to see more of a proactive emphasis on prevention and student counseling rather than one solely relying on protection and punishment.

District 2

MaryEllen Greene has done an admirable job during her 12 years on the board, working tirelessly and building up a great deal of support and influence in the community, as the influx of recent letters to the editor have exhibited. She offered a neat summation of where her priorities lay when she said in our interview that all finances and cuts need to be looked at with the students in mind first. As a retired teacher and veteran of the board, she’s familiar with the process and the ins and outs of policy, earning the editorial board’s recommendation.

Greene faces a strong challenge this year from Rivers Lynch, a 38-year teaching veteran who showed his own community support by gathering enough signatures to become a petition candidate. Lynch was himself the victim of a budget cut and so perhaps has a unique outlook on the process. He impressed the editorial board with his pledge not to spend any money on his campaign, saying that in these tough times it could be put to better use elsewhere. Despite his decades in the school system, however, Lynch finds himself at a disadvantage, without the knowledge of district details that Greene has accumulated in her years on the board. If the ballot box does not go his way on Tuesday, we would urge him to present himself for public office in the future.

Karen McIlrath, the third candidate in the district and a first-timer in politics, is clearly passionate but seemed to lack the depth of knowledge possessed by the other two. We did note her frequent attendance at recent school board meetings, and we hope she continues to offer suggestions and advocate for our schools.

District 3

Joe DeFeo and Johnny Evans have geared up for a rematch after DeFeo unseated Evans in 2006. DeFeo is quick to point out his accomplishments in the district, crediting himself with lowering taxes, building Postal Way in Carolina Forest and expanding the power of the school board. He sees his role as a more active one than other candidates, happy to talk to parents, take issues to the board and work until a problem is fixed. While we appreciate his initiative, we have no wish to return to the not-so-distant past of school board members presiding over individual fiefdoms in the county, and we hope he can restrain himself to working within the prescribed hierarchy of power.

On policy issues and in experience, Evans is remarkably similar to DeFeo, though in talking with him he focuses more on students while DeFeo emphasizes his work for county taxpayers. A vote for either candidate would serve the county well, although DeFeo has a slight advantage in that he has been on the board for the past four years and is more familiar with the current budget and environment. As Evans said at the end of our interview, whoever you choose on Tuesday, the important thing is simply that you vote.

District 10

Neil James enters his first election with little opposition. After being appointed to fill a vacant position, he faces Lucian Norton, who did not accept the editorial board’s invitation for an interview and offered only terse, short answers to previous reporting. James struck us as a competent, focused, intelligent board member concerned first with students and evaluating all of his decisions by asking how it will affect their progress. We have no hesitation in recommending him for re-election.