Three school board races in parts of Columbia and Marion County will be on the ballot Nov.6.
In the Municipal Separate School District race, the incumbent, Dr. Ronald Luethje, faces challenger Chris Wallace. In District 3 on the Marion County School District race, incumbent Jessie Graham faces Lonnie C. Ball Sr. and in District 4, incumbent Wendy Hammonds is opposed by David Foxworth.
Luethje, a longtime surgeon and physician in Columbia, has served several years on the Columbia School District Board of Trustees. He could not be reached for comment Monday or Tuesday.
Wallace, a commercial pilot, said he wanted to run so that more parents of current students would be involved in how the district is run.
“I have a vested interest in the schools with two kids there,” he said. “Currently, my wife is working there. I think the school board has done a great job. I think it’s time that there are some new people to step up to the challenge and move in. It would make a fresh face and fresh blood there. It’s not that the current school board has done a bad job, but it might be time to pass the baton. We could pick that baton up and carry it across the finish line. We can pick up where they left off and continue to make it better.”
Wallace said he has a passion for school programs, the arts and sports.
“I had one lady ask me if I was going to be on the side of the students or be on the side of the teachers. I told her that a good school board member wouldn’t take sides to begin with. I think that I’ll be a candidate for everybody,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hearing people’s problems and working on those problems and fixing them collectively as a board.”
The city school district rose back to a B this year in the state ratings after dropping to a C the year before.
Hammonds, the incumbent in Marion County’s District 4, spoke about her time on the county school board.
“When I first started running, I only had one child in the schools,” she said. “Now I’ve got two grandchildren in it, and my child is also still in it. My little granddaughter is 3, and she’ll be coming up through the schools. I just want to continue running and to do the best I can to help the children in our district.”
Hammonds, who works for Regan and Regan LP Gas Co., is in her sixth year on the board and said many important issues will be facing the board in the near future.
“We’ll have to appoint a new superintendent, not this year, but next year, with the changes in the law,” she said. “That will take a lot of effort. We’ll have to search the applicant pool. We’re not just going to look locally; we can look throughout the state to find someone that is the best qualified.”
Hammonds said she’s proud of accomplishments made during her terms.
“When I first got on the board we were in the middle of renovations at East and West Marion. The bathrooms and removing the old ceiling tiles were a big project. I was very proud of those. In the future, we’re going to start bringing the bathrooms at East and West’s football and baseball fields up to ADA codes. I’m looking forward to that. We also want to have handicap sections at each ball field so that people in wheelchairs can have a place to sit and make it so they can come and watch the games and enjoy them. We’ve gotten several new buses this past year and it’s been good.”
David Foxworth, the branch manager for Nelson Wholesale, is challenging Hammonds and spoke about his decision to run.
“The main thing that pushed me to run is the new law that requires the school board to appoint the superintendent,” he said. “I feel that somebody with some experience hiring and some educational background needs to be doing that.”
Foxworth also has another reason for running and to be concerned.
“I’d like to see the schools perform better,” he said. “The main thing is performance. I’m an employer, so I know what comes out. I’d like to see it better. I have two children in the district and a grandson in the district. I’m a 1982 graduate of West Marion.”
The county district fell from a B to a C this year, in part because of new, more difficult standards.
In District 3, incumbent Jessie Graham spoke about his time on the board. Attempts to reach Ball, who is retired from the USDA, on deadline Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful.
“I’ve served on the board eight years,” Graham said. “I decided to run when I went to graduation and I saw all the kids walk across the stage and it felt good to be a part of that. We’ve gotten our scores up and it’s a great accomplishment over where they were. I know they aren’t going to reflect that in the new report that is out. It’s because they changed the scoring tables. The dropout rate is down and the graduation rate is up. The grades are up in school. We’ve also done a lot of work to the buildings. I’m hoping that it could be a lot more. I would like to see more on the fieldhouses and bathroom issues at the athletic facilities.”
Graham said that when he was first elected he knew he wanted to serve on the board for an extended period of time.
“I wanted be a part of it,” he said. “I’m proud of the kids and the accomplishments they’ve made. Let’s just keep the schools headed in the right direction.”
Absentee voting began Sept. 22 and ends Nov. 3 at noon. The Marion County Circuit Clerk’s Office will be open on Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon and on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 8 a.m. until noon in addition to normal business hours.
