5 takeaways from Sumter school board candidate forum

The Sumter School District Teacher Forum held a candidate forum and ensuing meet-and-greet time for all 15 candidates in the five board area races on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The forum was an hour long, held at the Crestwood High School Fine Arts Center, and given time constraints of one minute for each candidate to answer each question, most responses seemed like soundbites and simple talking points.

Common responses by candidates were their commitment to serve in the best interest of children and for the board to work together with the superintendent.

But, here are some of The Item's specific takeaways from the forum.

1. 4 INCUMBENTS IN RACES

Four incumbent board members are looking for re-election in this election, and they include the Rev. Ralph Canty (Area 3), Tarah Cousar-Johnson (Area 4), Matthew "Mac" McLeod (Area 6) and Phil Leventis (Area 8).

At the forum, most said the local district is poised for future success now under the new district administration led by Superintendent Gerald Gary, who began in his role six months ago on April 1. All four have told The Sumter Item they are in support of Gary, who is a Sumter native and has returned home after previously serving in Irmo-based Lexington-Richland School District Five.

One incumbent is not seeking reelection, and that is board Chairman Shawn Ragin, who is planning to open a new public charter school in Sumter next school year.

2. KEY QUESTIONS FROM TEACHERS ASKED

All the questions that school board candidates answered at the forum were directly from the Sumter School District Teacher Forum, which is composed of the district's current campus Teachers of the Year and immediate-past campus Teachers of the Year. Those questions were on teacher recruitment and retention, school board-and-superintendent relations and how they would address schools' identified needs when brought to their attention.

The fourth and final question was for the candidates to give a closing statement on their experience, educational background and interest in serving on the board.

3. FORMER SUMTER DISTRICT 2 PRESENCE AMONG CANDIDATES

Five of the total 15 candidates in the races are former employees or board members of the former Sumter School District 2, which was the previous district locally that represented the outlying rural areas in Sumter County before the 2011 consolidation of two districts into one.

Those candidates include Tarah Cousar-Johnson (former employee), the Rev. Daryl McGhaney (former board member), Roosevelt Miott (former employee), Matthew "Mac" McLeod (former board member) and Sherril Ray (former employee).

McGhaney and Ray are also former trustees on the newly formed board since 2011 that includes both City of Sumter and county representation. McGhaney served on Sumter school board from 2011 to 2022, and Ray served a single, four-year term from 2018 to 2022.

4. LOCAL POLITICAL NEWCOMERS IN RACES

Seven of the candidates are political newcomers locally to an area election. They include Allie Bullard, Ronald Pace, Tiffany Thompson, Roosevelt Miott, Gregory Walters, Sindy Beam and Philip Good.

Jason Johnson ran in a Sumter school board race in 2018 against McLeod and lost when the board was still seven single-member districts for all Sumter County before the transition to nine single districts in 2022. Johnson also lost in a 2020 election for Sumter County Council District 3 to Jimmy Byrd.

Venitia Reebel is running again in Area 6 after opposing McLeod and one other challenger in the 2022 election.

5. FACT CHECK NEEDED ON MCGHANEY

Only one candidate made any statement that was factually inaccurate about Sumter School District matters, and that was the Rev. Daryl McGhaney. In his remarks, he made two statements that were not factually correct.

First, he said the district's fiscal year 2026 "deficit is nearly $15 million."

That is incorrect. At the last meeting of the district's board of trustees on Sept. 14, Chief Financial Officer Shatika Spearman projected/estimated the net loss, or shortfall, for fiscal 2026 that concluded on June 30 to be $10 million.

Then, a little more than two weeks later on Oct. 2, she communicated through a district spokeswoman to The Item that the district is hoping to remain around that number when closing the books on the fiscal year. (With by far the largest budget in Sumter County at about $170 million, the district's financial activity for every fiscal year extends a few months beyond June 30.)

Also, regarding "bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitors," or custodians, McGhaney said, "they have not had a raise in God knows how long?"

All those classified workers receive annual step increases in the district. Additionally, all bus drivers statewide received a mandated pay increase beginning July 1, and Sumter raised wage levels for cafeteria workers before the 2025-26 school year and then custodians before the current school year.

Also, in 2023, an outside consulting firm completed a districtwide salary study to ensure the local district was competitive on pay levels for all classifications of workers, and it was implemented.

None of the other candidates' statements could necessarily be refuted based on facts.

BONUS TAKEAWAY: WHO IS TIFFANY THOMPSON, AND WHERE IS SHE?

Area 3 candidate Tiffany Thompson was the only candidate who did not attend the forum. She also did not submit a questionnaire for The Item's Vote Guide for school board races that was published in the Weekend edition on Saturday, Sept. 26.

On Monday and Tuesday, the newspaper left three messages for Thompson to respond on the status of her candidacy and why she did not attend the forum, and she did not respond.

Additionally after Thompson initially filed for the race in August and The Item wrote short descriptions on who all the candidates were and where they worked, she was hesitant to provide any work information.

Regarding the published candidate questionnaires, she texted the newspaper when submissions were due and said, "Unfortunately, I will not be able to provide responses to your questionnaire at this time."

Then, when The Item responded that she could have an extra day to submit, she never responded. Thompson was the lone candidate to not provide a questionnaire in the Vote Guide.