School board filing heating up near end
By ROB NOVIT
Senior writer
With the filing deadline for Aiken County Board of Education candidates ending today at noon, the upcoming contests for three of the four vacant seats have heated up.
The School Board is assured of having four new trustees following the November general election, as none of the incumbents is seeking re-election.
At press time Monday, District 1 in the Wagener/Ridge Spring area has one candidate - Barnwell School District 45 principal John Bass.
In District 4 in North Augusta, barbershop owner Darrell Blocker is running against Savannah River Site environmental engineer Keith Liner.
Three candidates are seeking the District 8 seat in Aiken -- school volunteer and physician-by-training Tammy Conner-Moore, business owner Donna Wesby and retired principal Chuck Leopold.
The District 9 race has four candidates - retired DuPont manager Dave Best, business owner Johannah Blue, Area 1 schools advisory council chairman and businessman Richard Hazen and retired principal Alice Sheehan.
Bass, Liner, Conner-Moore, Wesby and Sheehan have been interviewed previously. Blocker could not be reached for comment Monday.
DISTRICT 8
4 Chuck Leopold retired in 1998 after 23 years as an Aiken School District principal - 13 years with special education schools and the last 10 as the North Aiken Elementary School. He has served on the State Board of Education 1988-92 and in 2007 served at the invitation of the National Association of State Boards of Education on a study committee to restructure No Child Left Behind.
Leopold and former Aiken Elementary School principal Danny Shaw of Charleston have an educational consultation business in other parts of the state.
"With almost 40 years of working with children," Leopold said, "I've always put children first. That's what I will emphasize in making decisions. I want to give back to the community. I feel I have a lot to offer and the time to do it."
DISTRICT 9
4 Dave Best retired as a manager from the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Del. He moved to Aiken five years ago from Hilton Head. Best cites his corporate background as a potential asset that would provide diversity on the board, as well as creativity and new ideas.
He also wants more emphasis on elementary school reading proficiency, as too many children reach middle school unable to read at basic levels. The high schools seem to have a high dropout rate, said Best, a problem that also starts in elementary schools.
"We need to look at the best of the best," he said. "Charleston County has four of the top 10 elementary schools, and Aiken County needs to take a look at some of those areas. With a new superintendent, this is an exciting time to make a difference. I want to help set specific goals and set strategies to attain those goals."
4 Johanna Blue, previously the Red Cross executive director in Aiken, now operates Easy Street Events, working with nonprofit organizations. An Air Force veteran of the first Gulf War, she has teaching experience in Florida. She also worked with United Way in that state and directed a nonprofit group that provided education support and advocacy for single parents. Blue and her husband, Tim, an SRS network engineer, have three children - one at Schofield Middle School and two at Aiken Elementary School.
As a longtime advocate of public schools, Blue said she believes she has the expertise to help the school district progress.
"I'd like to focus on continuing development in science and math," she said. "I'd also like to see more family and parent involvement in their children's education."
4 Richard Hazen, a Wachovia financial adviser, and his wife Kathy also have three children, two at South Aiken High School and one at USC Beaufort. He has served on the Area 1 Advisory Council for six years, the last three as chairman. He previously spent three years on South Aiken's athletic booster club, including two years as the chair. During that period, said Hazen, the club raised $250,000, including $33,000 for track resurfacing through a grant application written by Hazen. For the past year, he has served on the Aiken-based education foundation, Public Education Partners.
"I hope to make a difference for the kids," Hazen said. "As a board member, I'd like to improve our education from the bottom up. Let's also see what we can do to decrease the dropout rate. There have been plans presented to reduce some costs. We need to make sure there's as little waste as possible and use that money to improved programs for the kids."
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.
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