Brunswick County Board of Education

David Robinson and Sherrill Jolly are facing off for the Board of Education seat in Brunswick County’s District 2. Both candidates are newcomers to elective office -- but, they’re no strangers to the school system they hope to serve.

Three Republicans are competing for one open spot in the Brunswick County District 4 Board of Education Primary. The candidates vary -- in their experience and their top priorities. But they all have two concerns in common: overcrowded schools and teacher pay.

The fall 2020 school assignment of over 500 students in Brunswick County is set to change. At Tuesday night’s special meeting, the School Board voted to reassign elementary and middle school students as part of Phase One of the redistricting process.

Bill Flythe is running for Brunswick County’s Board of Education.  The Democratic challenger faces Republican incumbent Charles Miller – who serves as Chief Deputy in the Sheriff’s office.  That’s one of the reasons Flythe says he’s a better option for the School Board. 

 Brunswick County’s Board of Education is split into five districts.  Two of them have contests this year.  In District 5, John Thompson lost his primary to Republican Jerry Benton.  Now this political newcomer battles Democratic Challenger Joanne Levitan in November.

Jerry Benton is seeking a seat on the Brunswick County Board of Education.  It’s his second run at elected office; two years ago, he challenged then-Representative Susi Hamilton for her state House seat.  However, this disabled veteran says the galvanizing issue for him remains the same:  education.

Besides the addition of classrooms and schools to address overcrowding concerns, the bond money would go towards updating technology.  That’s according to Deanne Meadows, Assistant Superintendent for Brunswick County Schools:

"You have to continue to upgrade and update your technology resources.  We are on a seven-year rotation right now.  It really should be five years that we take a computer and we trade it out for an upgrade."

Marty Mentzer is running as a Democrat to represent District 4 of Brunswick County’s Board of Education.  As a retired teacher with over two decades of experience, she says her number one issue is increasing teacher pay and morale. 

Marty Mentzer says state cuts to education spending have discouraged teachers.  But she says local actions could help pick up the slack left by state lawmakers:  

On this edition of the CoastLine Candidate Interviews, we’ll hear from the two Democrats seeking seats on Brunswick County’s Board of Education.

There are five members on the Board – one representing each district in Brunswick County.  The four-year terms are staggered, and elections are held every two years.  In 2016, Districts 1, 2, and 4 have open seats.  No Democrats filed for District 1, however, which means that Republican Ed Lemon has no formal opposition.  Write-in candidates are permitted.