Choose residents of Aiken and Saluda counties may have the chance to elect their subsequent consultant to the Aiken County Public College District Board of Governors on April 11.
4 candidates Tony Kirkland, Drew Klapko, Kim Livingston and Deborah Tyler have obtained the required variety of petition signatures to run on the poll for the seat vacated by Sandra Shealy.
Shealy, elected to the varsity board in 2017, resigned for private causes on the college board assembly on Jan. 10.
The headquarters represents northern Aiken County and southern Saluda County. (Residents of southern Saluda County ship their kids to high school in Aiken County.) Cities included are Wagener, Ridge Spring, Salley, Monetta, Perry, and Windsor. The excessive faculties included are Wagener-Salley and Ridge Spring-Monetta.
Tony Kirkland
Kirkland, 62, is initially from Wagener. Lui stated he graduated from Wagener-Salley Excessive College in 1978. After highschool, Kirkland stated he attended and graduated from USC Aiken.
He stated 2023 marks his fortieth 12 months as a registered nurse. Kirkland stated he labored at Aiken Regional Medical Facilities for 20 years, College Dwelling Well being Companies for eight years, and at the moment works at Orangeburg Regional Medical Middle.
Kirkland stated he has been married to his spouse Gale of 43 years. The couple have two sons, Justin and Kyle (each graduates of Wagener-Salley Excessive College) and 5 grandchildren.
“My father was a center college principal, my spouse taught college, I’ve a number of relations who educate in Aiken County, and I’ve been involved not solely with our faculties right here in Aiken County, however with how training it has modified,” Kirkland stated. “We won’t change the best way training is as an entire, however sooner or later the dad and mom and grandparents of many kids raised by their grandparents must be as concerned within the college system as they as soon as have been. That will probably be my focus. “
Kirkland stated he additionally needs to enhance the district’s check scores, be sure that district disciplinary insurance policies are adopted, and enhance college lunches.
He additionally stated he needed lecturers to be native residents.
“It was like that after I was in class,” Kirkland stated. “For those who broke in class, you noticed your trainer at church on Sunday and he or she instructed your mother and pop and whenever you got here residence you bought your ass lower off.”
Drew Clapko
Klapko, 34, is initially from Baltimore. He stated he graduated from highschool in Hartford County, Md. and got here to South Carolina to play baseball at Lander College in Greenwood. To Lander, Klapko stated he met his spouse, Pam, and bought an engineering job on the Savannah River Website after graduating. Klapko majored in arithmetic and his spouse bought a job in Columbia.
She stated the couple settled within the Wagener space as a result of her father-in-law had looking floor within the space and so they already knew him. Klapko stated the couple purchased land and constructed a home on it.
Klapko added that he labored as a programs engineer for Savannah River Remediation for 3 years earlier than becoming a member of Hubbell Energy Programs as a supervisor/engineer in 2016. He stated he’s at the moment liable for operations for the corporate.
He added that he has a mechanical engineering diploma from Clemson and served a number of years as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.
The Klapkos have 4 kids: Betty Jo, Andrew Jr., Jethro and Bristol.
“I’ve 4 kids who’re at the moment in faculties, my spouse is a trainer at Wagener Elementary College, I’ve two grandchildren in faculties, I’ve buddies whose kids are in faculties, buddies whose kids have graduated highschool… I’m invested in faculties,” Klapko stated. “I do know that as a board member, as insurance policies emerge, there isn’t any higher strategy to make an impression in your group than by representing them on the varsity board.”
Klapko stated he needed to get to know the opposite board members and work on three issues: cut back classroom disruptions, enhance trainer retention by bettering the varsity atmosphere, and enhance and safe technical training in District 1.
Kim Livingstone
Livingston, 54, stated he spent most of his childhood in Ridge Spring however added that his dad and mom purchased a enterprise in central Georgia when he was within the sixth grade. She stated she lived in central Georgia, graduated highschool there, and spent her freshman 12 months at Georgia Faculty (now a part of Georgia State College) earlier than transferring again to the Aiken space.
She stated her stepfather had a stroke and ended up going again to assist her mom.
Livingston stated she majored in psychology at USC Aiken, labored at Farm Bureau Insurance coverage for some time, returned to USC Aiken, and took sufficient academic programs to afford to take the Praxis examination and earn a certificates of instructing.
She stated she taught first and third grade at Ridge Spring Elementary College for eight years, adopted by about 5 years at Aiken Elementary College instructing fourth and fifth grade, and 5 years as a literacy trainer at Wagener’s Busbee Elementary College.
Livingston stated she then grew to become a literacy coordinator with the district after which took a job working on the South Carolina Division of Training’s Workplace of College Transformation.
He added that he additionally later earned two grasp’s levels: one in training (USC Aiken) and one in administration and management (Southern Wesleyan College).
Livingston stated she has been married to her husband, Jimmy, of 35 years. The couple has three sons, Taylor, Paul and Sammy, who attended Aiken County faculties.
“I thought of it for a very long time, however I could not do it after I labored within the district,” Livingston stated. “After I left the district, I at all times thought perhaps I am going to run for the varsity board if it ever exhibits up. to serve”.
Livingston stated her targets are to place college students first, take into consideration the group and be a great contributor and listener to it, and take heed to lecturers about the right way to enhance trainer retention.
Deborah Tyler
Tyler, 56, can be a Wagener native. She stated she graduated from Wagener-Salley Excessive College. Lei tyler stated she labored for the varsity district after which she entered Limestone College the place she earned a level in enterprise administration.
On the college district, Tyler stated she began out as a procurement secretary. She stated she labored for the district for 16 years. Tyler stated he took a job working for the South Carolina Division of Probation, Probation, and Pardon Companies as a procurement specialist. Tyler stated she then labored for the South Carolina Division of Transportation as a procurement supervisor earlier than returning to the Aiken College District, the place she served as a procurement director.
Tyler stated she retired in October.
Tyler and her husband, Ronnie, have two sons: Rontreal and Ronnie. Rontreal performed extensive receiver at The Citadel and Ronnie, the youngest, performed extensive receiver at Maryland.
“We have at all times been passionate in regards to the success of kids, even kids within the smallest communities,” Tyler stated. “We have been fortunate to get them [her children] in good schools which have by some means secured their future and I simply wish to be sure that each different child has that chance in the event that they wish to.”
Tyler stated his targets embrace bettering trainer retention and bettering elementary college pupil efficiency. Tyler stated she needed to include extra profession and know-how alternatives for District 1 college students. She added that she needed to work along with her opponents if he gained to proceed bettering faculties.
Find out how to vote
Early voting commenced at 8.30am on Monday and continues till 5.00pm on Thursday 6 April.
Aiken County residents who want to forged early could accomplish that on the Aiken County Board of Elections workplace situated on the decrease degree of the Aiken County Authorities Middle situated at 1930 College Pkwy in Aiken.
Saluda County residents who want to vote early could accomplish that on the Saluda County Board of Elections workplace situated at 702 Batesburg Hwy. in Saluda.
Election Day voting will start at 7:00 a.m. on April 11 and proceed till 7:00 p.m. in 15 precincts.
The districts in Aiken County are Monetta 21 (Ridge Spring-Monetta Excessive College), New Holland 24 (New Holland Hearth Division), Oak Grove 30 (Oak Grove Baptist Church), Perry 31 (Perry City Corridor), Salley 32 (Previous Crescent Vocational College), Shaws Fork 33 (Shaws Fork Baptist Church), Tabernacle 36 (Couchton Hearth Division Substation No. 2), Wagener 39 (Courtney Senior Middle), Ward 40 (Jerusalem Baptist Church), White Pond 42 (Summer time Grove Baptist Church), and Windsor 43 and 82 (First Baptist Church Windsor Exercise Constructing).
The districts in Saluda County are Richland 15 (St. Williams Catholic Church), Ridge Spring-Monetta 16 (Ridge Spring Civic Middle), and Ward 20 (Mine Creek Baptist Church).
To seek out an electoral district and decide if a voter is eligible to vote in an election, a registered voter can log into SCVotes.gov and scroll down the web page to find and click on the “Test My Registration” possibility beneath a “MySCVotes” gold. type.
The voter will probably be requested to enter the county of registration, first and final title, date of delivery and the final 4 digits of the Social Safety quantity on the subsequent display. There’s additionally a robotic check that could be required to maneuver ahead.
The following display offers the varsity board district the place the voter lives (solely residents of District 1 can vote), the placement of the voter’s polling place, and an choice to open the placement in Google Maps for driving instructions .
Polling station places are additionally supplied on a voter’s registration card, and until the polling station modifications locations inside days of the election, any location modifications will probably be despatched to the registered voter. If the district modifications location inside days of the election, notices will probably be posted with the earlier district offering the brand new location.
As soon as a voter arrives on the precinct, they might want to present photograph ID to forged their ballots. Accepted photograph IDs are a South Carolina driver’s license, South Carolina Division of Motor Autos ID, US passport, or federal army ID.
Find out how to discover the outcomes
The outcomes will probably be revealed on-line at aikenstandard.com and within the April 13 problem of Aiken Commonplace.