Open Sumter school board Area 8 seat on school board will be a 4-way race

Former senator, 3 others prep for special election

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A range of candidates to include a political newcomer all the way to a retired state senator who served for 32 years filed for the open Area 8 seat on Sumter School District Board of Trustees.

A special election for the seat is required to serve out the remaining two years of Jeff Zell's term as the area's representative after he ran for and won the state Senate District 36 seat in the November election. The special election is set for Tuesday, Feb. 11, and four candidates filed.

The candidates include Foxy Rae Campbell, Phil Leventis, Tom Montgomery and Keith Schultz, and the filing period was from Dec. 6 through Monday, Dec. 16, according to the Sumter County Voter Registration and Elections Office.

If no candidate captures 50% plus one vote in the special election for a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff. School board seats are nonpartisan races.

FOXY RAE CAMPBELL

Campbell is running for the seat for multiple reasons, she said, including her belief that every child deserves a high-quality education. Also, she said, she thinks schools shape the future and the local community. Additionally, Campbell said, she would be an advocate for higher academic outcomes, teachers and workforce development to retain youth locally.

She has run twice for mayor of the City of Sumter in 2020 and 2024, she said. She lost both times with David Merchant winning the races, coming in second in this year's election.

A Sumter County native and lifelong resident, Campbell has been a real estate broker and owner of BrownstoneHunt Real Estate in Sumter for seven years.

Her qualifications include her management experience that includes education, as her work involves "teaching to retain employees and teaching to advance employees."

Also, Campbell said, she has a proven commitment to Sumter and lived in Area 8 for 16 years.

Her community involvement includes working with "Dream Academy," which is a summer program for youth and teaches them home economics, martial arts and other skills. Campbell is also a supporter of a new program called "Smac Impact," she said, which connects schools with trade programs, colleges and industries.

"I bring a unique combination of experience, leadership and a deep commitment to improving the lives of our children and strengthening our community," Campbell said.

Regarding school district challenges, Campbell noted academic performance, teacher shortages and retention issues, aging facilities and inequity in resources between city schools and rural schools.

As far as successes, she noted the district's career and technical education programs, early college and dual enrollment, STEM programming and safe school initiatives.

Campbell has one son who graduated from Sumter High School in 2020.

PHIL LEVENTIS

A state senator for 32 years from 1980 to 2012, Leventis also ran for the Area 8 seat two years ago but lost to Zell in a runoff. There were also four candidates in that race from 2020.

He said he is running this time for essentially the same reasons as before because - in his opinion - nothing is more important to the future of our community than Sumter's schools.

Leventis served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and was a pilot. He then served in the S.C. Air National Guard and retired as assistant adjutant general in 1999 after 30 years of combined military service.

A Sumter resident for 50 years, Leventis has four children who all graduated from Sumter High School.

He said the school board employs the superintendent and specifies policy, but the key element to the district is its teachers, administrators and support staff.

Leventis said he thinks the board needs people who have worked with fairly large organizations before and can help set policy, like his service in the state legislature.

Regarding challenges, he noted that teacher recruitment and retention of dedicated and capable staff is always a challenge for a school district. Leventis also said student discipline is a challenge but noted that public schools must accept all students regardless of background and achievement level.

As far as successes, he noted the district's International Baccalaureate program at Sumter High, two mobile STEM-related buses and extracurricular programs in music and sports that help keep some students in school.

"The board is something that I know I could contribute to and bring some business experience that I have, some military experience I have and life experience that I have to the organization," Leventis said. "I am also used to working with large budgets and digging down deep into issues to be sure in fact those budgets are right for the organization and that the organization uses those budgets the way they are intended. That is an important part of any large organization, and the school district's budget is well over $100 million; so, it's key to have someone who is used to looking at big budgets and also looking at small parts of those big budgets."

Regarding community involvement, Leventis is a member of Sumter Rotary Club and The Church of the Holy Comforter.

The four candidates in the race will represent the most in any area race in this election cycle. With the four board of trustees races from November, there were just seven total candidates. Three area elections had two candidates each, while Gloria Lee ran unopposed for the Area 7 seat.

TOM MONTGOMERY

A retired senior master sergeant in the U.S Air Force National Guard with 32 years of experience, Montgomery has lived in Sumter for about 10 years and said he thinks there is a large gap between local employers' workforce standards and the education and skill level that students graduate high school with. He also noted a lack of leadership in the district, student behavior/discipline issues and teacher retention issues. Additionally, he said, the district "accepts mediocrity in school performance, and that should not be acceptable."

Montgomery said he knows personally how education can positively impact people because he joined the Air Force directly out of high school and obtained both a bachelor's and master's degree while in the military. He also has a doctorate in strategic leadership, he added.

Despite the district's challenges, Montgomery said he thinks he can help to address the issues.

"I like addressing problems, I like finding the problems, I like finding solutions to problems," he said, "and I think Sumter School District has problems that need to be addressed. Also, I think some of the problems can be easily fixed. They may not be joyfully fixed, but I know they can be easily fixed."

As far as successes, he noted the district is beginning to address its teacher retention issues.

Montgomery has never run for political office before, he added.

Regarding community service, Montgomery serves on the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee, which helps coordinate a summer internship program for students to improve work readiness for high school graduates. The committee also highlights good citizenship among middle school and high school students.

He is also a volunteer guardian ad litem in the judicial process associated with the state Department of Social Services to be a voice for the child and help ensure "what is best for the child's welfare," Montgomery said.

Montgomery's wife is a teacher at Sumter High School.

KEITH SCHULTZ

Schultz is no stranger to the school board, having served on the first consolidated district Board of Trustees from 2011-15. He later lost his reelection bid to former trustee Johnny Hilton.

Before district consolidation in 2011, Schultz served two years on the former Sumter School District 17 board, he added.

The school board is the only political office he has run for previously, and now he said he wants to "give it another try." He still regularly attends board meetings.

Schultz said he is concerned about the status of public education in Sumter and the loss of district enrollment during the last decade.

A retired banker for the former BB&T, he spent his career in the financial industry after serving eight years in the U.S. Air Force.

Regarding challenges, Schultz noted "wasteful spending" to include the installation of artificial turf for the district's three high schools' football fields. He added the district has low student achievement levels that are significantly below state averages and needs a technical high school with expanded course offerings that are relevant to local industry needs.

"We are getting dumber and dumber every year, and if the public doesn't want to hear it, then I am sorry," Schultz said. "But I am not going to stand around and watch public education in Sumter County go down the drain because we are well on the way."

As far as successes, he noted the district's increased security measures to include metal detectors and secured doors in schools.

Schultz said he thinks his previous knowledge of the district and how it operates and experience in the financial industry make him qualified for the school board seat. That background gives him a distinct advantage over his opponents who have never served on the district's board of trustees. For a newcomer, it will take that person two years just to learn the district's operations, he said.

Schultz has a son who is a Sumter High graduate.

His community involvement includes being a member of Trinity United Methodist Church for 35 years, and he previously served on local Rotary and Optimist clubs.


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