Two women embroiled in a lawsuit involving Richland School District 1 will face off for a school board seat in this fall’s election. It’s one of several contested school board seats in Richland 1 and Richland 2 that will be on the ballot in November.
Current board member Cheryl Harris and Ericka Hursey, former principal of Lower Richland High School, will compete to represent the Lower Richland community. They are the only candidates seeking that seat on the Richland 1 board.
Hursey filed a lawsuit against Harris and the district last summer over accusations of free speech violations, breach of contract and defamation. A longtime Richland 1 teacher and administrator, Hursey alleged that she was removed from being principal of Lower Richland High School as retaliation for a speech she gave at a graduation in 2022. She was reassigned to a different job as a “coordinator of student hearings,” which the lawsuit said was a breach of contract. Hursey eventually retired early from the district.
The lawsuit accused Harris specifically of defamation for saying Hursey grew up on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Harris, according to the lawsuit, also said that Hursey was “suspended” from her job at Lower Richland, that she stole money from the Lower Richland Alumni Association and that she allowed students to graduate without meeting all the necessary requirements.
The period for candidates to file for Richland County school boards closed Thursday at noon. Here’s who’s running .
Richland 1
Richland School District 1, which serves students in Columbia and the western and southern parts of Richland County from St. Andrews to Lower Richland, has four school board seats up for election, including two at-large seats and two district-specific seats. Current board members whose terms expire this fall, Angela Clyburn, Tamika Myers, Jamie Devine and Harris, have all filed for reelection.
Six candidates have filed for the two at-large seats, currently held by Clyburn and Myers.
- John Black
- Angela G. Brown
- Angela D. Clyburn
- Richard E. Moore
- Tamika Myers
Another candidate for an at-large seat, Teddy Carfolite, filed for the election but has since dropped out.
Four candidates have filed for the county’s district 2 seat, which represents areas of Columbia. This seat is currently held by Devine.
- Lee Carroll
- Jamie L. Devine
- Steven Diaz
- Christa Williams
Two candidates have filed for the county’s district 4 seat, which represents Lower Richland. This seat is currently held by Harris.
- Cheryl Hinton-Harris
- Ericka Roberson Hursey
Richland 2
Richland School District 2, which serves students in northeast Richland County from Blythewood to Fort Jackson, will have three at-large school board seats up for election. Those seats are currently held by Monica Elkins (previously known as Monica Elkins Scott), Lindsay Agostini and Lashonda McFadden.
According to election filings, Elkins and McFadden are running for reelection. Agostini, who was first elected to the board in 2016, will not seek another term.
Ten candidates have filed to run for Richland 2 school board.
- Brenda Branic
- Franklin P. Davis
- Gary Dennis
- Monica Elkins
- Dionne Sumter Fleshman
- Lashonda McFadden
- James A. Mobley
- Brett Porterfield
- Larry J. Smalls
- Shelley Williams
Lexington-Richland 5
Lexington-Richland School District 5 , which serves the northwest corner of Richland County near Irmo and the eastern parts of Lexington County, will have three open seats between the two counties, currently held by Catherine Huddle, Rebecca Blackburn Hines and Matt Hogan. Hines and Hogan are not seeking reelection.
Three candidates are running for two Lexington County seats, currently held by Hines and Huddle.
- Scott Herring
- Catherine Huddle
- Kenneth Loveless
Two candidates are running for the district’s Richland County seat, currently held by Hogan.
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