While the main focus of election day was of course on the national races, Charleston County had some important coinciding races. Incumbent Republican Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal and incumbent Democrat Treasurer Mary Tinkler both won reelection comfortably. But in an upset, Republican Carl Ritchie unseated Democrat Sheriff Kristin Graziano, the first gay person and woman to be a Sheriff in South Carolina.
But the most important race directly affecting AMHS students was the School Board race. After changes to how the School Board is elected, 9 board members were elected in 2022, with 5 serving a 4 year term and 4 serving a 2 year term. This year, the 4 even numbered districts had elections, which now means all members serve 4 year terms. After the 2022 election, a majority of 5 members were backed by far-right extremist group Moms for Liberty. Only one of these 5, Ed Kelley of District 2 in Mount Pleasant, was up for election this year, and while he did lose, Moms for Liberty retains their majority, with the victory of Michele Leber over incumbent Daron Lee Calhoun II.
The last 2 years under the Moms for Liberty School Board have included multiple incidents, including a failed attempt to get rid of an Expeditionary Learning curriculum, which was criticized for being “liberal propaganda;” an attempt to open meetings with prayer; privately planned meetings; the allegedly racist suspension of superintendent Gallien for alleged misconduct, without an investigation, and in an allegedly illegal meeting, condemned by state reps, the Mayor of Charleston, and the Governor. The suspension and firing of Dr. Gallien resulted in a lawsuit by the latter, which the board settled with a $350,000 payment. They then hired Anita Huggins, whose contract was signed without board approval, in another allegedly racist and allegedly illegal incident. They also replaced numerous members of the Health Advisory Committee, when Ed Kelley claimed that the CCSD Health Curriculum “speaks positively” about “various sex acts,” and complained about the use of gender neutral pronouns.
Last year, Ed Kelley was censured and removed from his leadership positions, after a speaker at a board meeting recounted comments Kelley allegedly made at a Moms for Liberty meeting. According to the speaker, Kelley told a story in which a parent contacted him, after their daughter came home upset, because their teacher was transgender. Kelley applauded the parent for coming to him, and said that if his child did this, he would have shown up to the teacher’s house with a gun. He also claimed to have threatened to fire the superintendent if the teacher wasn’t placed on unpaid leave. The speaker then called for Kelley to resign, and a petition demanding the same reached over 1,500 signatures. Kelley did not comment on what the speaker said at the meeting, but later released a statement, in which he only partially denied the gun threat. He claimed he said the father was “understandably agitated” and applauded him for “making the right choice” to not “pick up a gun.” Even if, as according to him, Ed Kelley did not say he would threaten a transgender teacher with a gun, his comments about this teacher, which he admits to, are virulently transphobic. He said that the teacher telling students she is trans was “totally wrong on a variety of levels,” that it was wrong for the teacher to make statements about “personal sexual choices” without approval from the superintendent and principal. He claimed that the teacher being trans meant a “child was robbed of their innocence by someone they should have been able to trust” and that “what this teacher did was disruptive & destabilizing to the learning process and negatively impacted young children.” The teacher was suspended, but no reporting indicated whether they were fired or not.
“It is not within a teacher’s unilateral discretion to make statements about personal sexual choices to children without consulting school officials including the Superintendent & Principal… In my opinion, this teacher demonstrated poor judgement with no consideration of the emotional impact or confusion forced upon these young, impressionable children.” Former CCSD Board Member Ed Kelley
Ed Kelley lost his Mount Pleasant seat to Carolina Jewett, a small business owner who supports depoliticizing the school board, stopping book bans and affirming the rights of LGBTQ+ students and staff.
Daron Lee Calhoun II of District 6 in West Ashley also lost his seat to Michele Leber, the wife of a Republican SC Senator Matt Leber, who was also just elected this year. He was previously a member of the SC House. Both are supporters of Moms for Liberty. She pledges to support the current superintendent, Anita Huggins, and her website criticizes Calhoun for having supported Dr. Gallien, and she blames him for his dismissal and subsequent lawsuit, something he voted against. She does not support the rights of LGBTQ+ students, and her website uses common transphobic talking points.
Moms for Liberty will stay in control of the CCSD School Board for at least the next 2 years, and will likely continue implementing their radical policies, such as the new, extremely restrictive state book ban, also supported by Moms for Liberty, which the School Board could make even more strict.
