Two new Charleston County School Board members representing North Charleston neighborhoods will take office after the Nov. 3 election reshaped the nine-member board's political balance.

Libby Tisdale unseated incumbent Carlotte Bailey in District 5, which covers North Charleston. Bethany Nemitz won the District 3 seat covering downtown Charleston and parts of North Charleston after former board chair Pamela McKinney chose not to seek re-election. Joy Brown defeated incumbent Leah Whatley in District 7, which covers West Ashley, according to the Post and Courier.

The three newcomers give the board a more liberal-leaning majority. Both Tisdale and Brown received endorsements from the South Carolina Education Association (SCEA), a group advocating for public education. Nemitz was endorsed by District 3 Charleston County Council member Rob Wehrman, a Democrat, and several city council members.

Incumbents Keith Grybowski in District 1 and Carol Tempel in District 9 held their seats. Both have served since 2022.

What it means going forward

Superintendent Anita Huggins said the district has made significant progress over the past three years by focusing on students. She noted that many incoming members' stated priorities, including expanding pre-K, keeping employee pay competitive and supporting neighborhood schools, appear to align with work already underway.

"I'm hopeful that anybody who runs for CCSD school board shares my passion for serving kids and we plan to continue doing what we know is best and work with our board to do it," Huggins said, according to the Post and Courier.

Nemitz, a parent of four children in district schools, listed competitive teacher pay, evidence-based policies and implementing a universal pre-K system countywide among her priorities during the campaign, according to the Post and Courier's candidate guide. Tisdale, president of the Forest Hills I Neighborhood Civic Association in North Charleston and a retired district student data clerk, campaigned on academic excellence, community partnerships and school safety.

Teachers rated the board 'minimally effective'

The shift comes after the Charleston Teacher Alliance (CTA) released its 2026 Leadership Survey, based on responses from 455 district teachers collected between May 5 and May 29. The board as constituted at that time received an overall rating of 2.21 out of 4, which the CTA categorized as "Minimally Effective," according to Count on 2. That score was down from 2.34 in 2025.

Teachers said they wanted the board to focus more on classroom issues such as discipline, staffing and instructional support. The most common response when asked what the board should change was to avoid politicizing classroom instruction and school practices, the Post and Courier reported.

Survey respondents also reported feeling disconnected from the board, with many saying they did not know who represents them.

Huggins, by contrast, received a 3.61 out of 4, an "Effective to Highly Effective" rating. The CTA called it the highest score in the organization's 11 years of numerical evaluations, according to ABC News 4.

Jody Stallings, a longtime district educator and CTA director, said teachers want the board to focus on academics regardless of politics, the Post and Courier reported. He said teachers hope the new board continues to support Huggins and her goals.

How the board got here

In 2022, voters elected a nearly entirely new board with a majority backed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty. The board's first two years were marked by factional disputes over leadership decisions and committee composition. This year, Moms for Liberty did not endorse any candidates. Its website notes the group is seeking new leadership.

The Charleston County School District serves approximately 50,000 students across about 90 schools. It is South Carolina's second-largest school district.

The new members are set to join a board that unanimously approved recent budgets, including teacher salary raises that made Charleston the top-paying district statewide and a weighted student funding model directing more dollars to schools with higher numbers of vulnerable student populations.