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Published: Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 10:59 AM

Bouldin, Johnson win school board seats

FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- 

Wayne Bouldin will be a fresh face on the Fort Mill School Board while incumbent Michael Johnson gets another four years.

Both took commanding leads over competitors Marion Davenport and Chris Krieger in the run-up to a final vote tally in Tuesday's election. When it was over, Bouldin and Johnson had swept nearly all 17 voting precincts.

“Quite frankly, I was surprised,” Bouldin said. “I'm a huge believer in giving back to the community and this is a great opportunity.”

A 19-year resident who calls Fort Mill his “second hometown,” Bouldin celebrated his victory surrounded by family and friends at the downtown Clebourne House. His son, Josh Bouldin, who spent eight years in the Fort Mill school system, was visibly proud of his dad as he talked about the man who will take a seat on the board next week.

“He's always been part of [the schools],” Josh Bouldin said. “Now, we're lucky to have him in a leadership position.”

Bouldin's main priority when he takes his seat on the board will be the school district's finances. With the district losing state funding at a time when it continues to attract new students, Bouldin said it's time to make a change.

“One thing I hope to achieve is legislative action to up our revenue stream,” Bouldin said. “All of our programs are important. I hate to see us cut things because of [state budget cuts]. I don't think we should be in the boat we are in.”

Johnson, who celebrated at home with friends and family, said he did not take reelection for granted.

.“I was worried up until the last minute,” he said. “I was surprised that more than 2,600 people thought enough of me to elect me to the school board.”

Although “I'm thrilled to be reelected,” Johnson said there's no time to revel in the win.

“It's time to hit the ground running,” he said.

The four candidates ran for two open seats on the at-large board, which sets policy for the school district encompassing Fort Mill and Tega Cay. Johnson's seat was open, as was Chairwoman Jan Smiley's, who decided not to run again after taking a job with the U.S. Census Bureau.

Johnson was the top vote-getter with 2,603. Bouldin followed with 2,300 votes. Krieger had 1,480 and Davenport had 1,374.

Bouldin and Johnson will take their seats on the seven-member school board during the group's next public meeting on Nov. 9.

The board will likely face tough and unpopular choices in the coming months as Fort Mill schools, like most across South Carolina, try to navigate a turbulent economy in which money for public education continues to shrink.

At the top of the agenda is how to manage a recently announced 4 percent cut in state money. Fort Mill school officials expect that to be between $800,000 and $1 million.

If the district moves ahead as planned, the new members will also vote on reassigning hundreds of elementary and middle school students in their term. The district has plans to open two more elementary schools and a fifth middle school by 2013.

One issue Bouldin and Johnson pledged to make a priority is the achievement gap between white students and minority students. Both said they plan to be vocal about closing it.

That was one of several issues the candidates discussed at a recent forum in Paradise, the historically black community between Joe Louis and Steele streets near downtown, in which they took questions from the neighborhood's families about how minorities are faring in the school system.

“I learned a ton from that forum,” Johnson said. “I realized for the first time that there's a large segment of people who feel disenfranchised from the school district.”

One of the first things Johnson pledged to do is ask the school board to hold a meeting in Paradise to get feedback from residents and discuss schools' efforts to address achievement gaps.

In an off election year, Fort Mill's school board race was one to watch.

The competition was heated but never ugly. The candidates, who campaigned by posting signs around town, sending mailings and knocking on doors, remained polite.

During the forum in Paradise all four agreed that no matter who won, the district would be in good hands.

While other candidates spent the evening waiting for election results at parties and gatherings, Krieger spent the night in a meeting at Nation Ford high School, where he was volunteering his time to help with this weekend's band competition the school is hosting. He helped make plans for the weekend's event, all while checking his Blackberry for the latest election information.

He was disappointed to learn that he wouldn't be sitting on the school board this year, but said he will continue his commitment to volunteering in Fort Mill schools.

“You name it, I'll be there,” Krieger said.

And don't count Davenport out, either. Though Davenport also lost her bid for Paul Lindemann's York County Council seat this time last year, she said she is considering another run at the District 1 Republican's seat.

“I'll see if I can get the Democratic Party behind me,” she said.