Ex-superintendent Postlewait wins state school board seat

Posted on January 3, 2008 
Filed Under News

Former Horry Schools Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait will represent Horry and Georgetown counties on the state Board of Education, besting college executive Eddie Dyer 8-5 in a vote by the legislative delegation Thursday.

Neither Postlewait nor Dyer was available for comment. Both are out of state and did not attend the meeting that was called to select someone to fill the unpaid slot on the board that sets statewide school policy.

Five other candidates filed for the post, but none received any votes or serious consideration from the delegation.

Postlewait brought attention to Horry County for progress in the schools during her 10-year tenure, which ended last year when she resigned.

She has been Superintendent of the Year for several organizations in the state as well as in West Virginia, where she formerly worked.

Postlewait is often a presenter at nationwide educational seminars and is a consultant to Beaufort County schools on revising their policies.

Her record in Horry County Schools made her the ideal candidate to some legislators, as well as some supporters who came to speak on her behalf.

Jeff Eggart said he has five children who attended mostly Horry schools, and he saw the changes in the system after Postlewait took over.

“She’s a great leader,” he said. “That can be frightening. If you send her to Columbia, she might actually do something.”

Jim Vaught said when Postlewait came, buildings and programs were in shambles, but she was able to bring both up to modern standards.

“I believe that students all across the state” will benefit if Postlewait is on the state board, Vaught said.

Johnny Calder, principal of Forestbrook Elementary, also wanted to speak on her behalf but Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, cut him off because he had limited support speeches to two.

Even other candidates praised Postlewait.

Robert Zuercher, manager of Blackmoor Golf Club, said Postlewait is more qualified for the position than he is, and if she had filed in the first round, he would not have done so.

But candidate Art Nordstrom said Postlewait’s tenure was a failure and he is more qualified to serve on the state board. Too many children are still not working at their grade level, he said.

Nordstrom, an engineer, said there are ways to reach the goals of educating all students and he is the one to do it, just as he helped meet the goal of space exploration.

“If we can put a man on the moon in 10 years, why can’t we educate a kid in 12 years?” Nordstrom said.

The dispute over who should take the position became one over vouchers or school choice, with Postlewait opponents saying she would be too in favor of limiting choices.

The competition should not be viewed that way, said Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach. Rather, it’s about Postlewait’s proven track record in education, he said.

Rep. Liston Barfield, R-Aynor, said Dyer, vice president at Coastal Carolina University, is a better choice because the state board needs “a bridge between the state Board of Education and the universities.”

Rankin said he could not see how it would help to have someone representing a university because the state already has both statewide and local higher education boards.

“I don’t believe you can look me in the eye and tell me it would not help” to have a university employee on the state board, Barfield said to Rankin.

Afterward, Viers said Postlewait’s victory was due to Democrats and legislators from other counties.

“I do think it’s telling that the majority of Horry County’s delegation wanted somebody else,” Viers said.

All four senators, two of them Republican, voted for Postlewait along with one Republican House member.

——————————————————————————–

How they voted
Gerrita Postlewait | Rep. Carl Anderson, D-Georgetown; Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet; Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach; Rep. Jackie Hayes, D-Hamer; Sen. Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree; Rep. Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island; Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach; Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway

Eddie Dyer | Rep. Liston Barfield, R-Aynor; Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach; Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach; Rep. Nelson Hardwick, R-Surfside Beach; Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach

The Sun News
By Zane Wilson
12/28/07