Conservative candidates dominate school board race

In a decisive election for the Burke County Board of Education, Jamey Wycoff, Sonya Rockett, Brad Camp, and Jeffrey Beck secured victories, signaling a shift toward conservative leadership.

Wycoff defeated Sharon Everhart for the at-large position, while Rockett won the Central District seat over Don Hemstreet. Camp and Beck, running unopposed, claimed the Eastern and Western District seat. The new board members, set to take office in December, have pledged to focus on educational reforms, community engagement, and improving student outcomes.

BRAD CAMP, WESTERN DISTRICT

Camp, elected for the Western District, had what he considers a normal day today – picking vegetables from his garden and answering emails with the news on television at his residence.

Among the speculations of issues that may have decided this election, Camp believes Americans are ready for a change, there’s more of a move toward conservatism, and the radical agenda of transgenders and critical race theory decided the election.

“That turns a lot of people off. I have not spoken to one parent that was ever in favor of boys being in girl’s sports, restrooms, or locker rooms. … Never,” Camp said. “I think those are the things that propelled us conservative candidates to be elected.”

Camp, a member of the Republican Party, ran with no opponent, securing 34,661 votes.

When asked about changes he’d like to see in BCPS, he highlighted school report cards, radical agendas, and the move toward conservatism. Camp spoke about improving learning and teaching in middle schools.

“I did take a look at the school report cards. One thing I saw was that there were real struggles in terms of scores on the part of the middle schools,” Camp said. Camp, a former middle school teacher, said middle school teachers need extra help.

“Tightening up discipline procedures and getting more adult bodies on campus. Aides to teachers, so teachers are a little more freed up to teach,” Camp added.

Camp’s wife, Brenda, was seen at the polls on Election Day handing out conservative voting guides. She said her husband is well prepared to begin on the board.

“He’s very thorough. He’s read all of the board policies,” Brenda said.

“We’re from California and we fought against every liberal ideology and it didn’t come into my classroom,” Brenda said. As a former teacher, Brenda said she refused to have students read books with homosexual scenarios.

When asked about her views on history books, Brenda said she does not believe in changing or rewriting history.

“We always teach what is truth and history,” Brenda said. “We are for history, period. We believe that whatever is in history is in history, do not take it out, leave it there.”

Brenda concluded with her and her husband’s goal for schools.

“We want the best education possible, we want the best careers possible, and we want the best citizens possible,” Brenda said.

SONYA ROCKETT, CENTRAL DISTRICT

In the Central District vote, Sonya Rockett defeated Don Hemstreet securing 66% of the vote.

Rockett expressed excitement to start work on the board and highlighted her focus areas.

“The first order of business will be learning what my role is as a board member,” Rockett said. “Until you are really in position, you really don’t know what you’ll be called to do or how it works.”

“One of the top orders of business will be to look at the new school down at the eastern part of the county. Look at the property and land acquisitions and talk to those citizens down there and figure out what they want and how they feel about things,” Rockett said.

Hemstreet was in good spirits as he gathered his campaign signs the day after the election.. He’s hopeful that as long as the board will work together for the common good of the district, BCPS will continue to be a great district.

“I’m always hopeful,” Hemstreet said. “We’ve got some good board members. My hope and prayer is that we have some incoming members that can keep out of politics as much as possible and come together for the common good of the kids, administration, and students.”

“When people come and hear some of the numbers – there’s always room for improvement. When you come on a board you have all these ideas about things you’d like to change, but then you realize, a lot of things you can’t change because of funding, but you come together and look at the positive side of things,” Hemstreet said.

Hemstreet commended the Republican Party for their win.

“The folks spoke, they did it. The Republicans were well organized and well funded. They did a good job,” Hemstreet said. “The important thing is if you can realize there’s something bigger than just you there or a political party. … It’s these kids and the system.”

JAMEY WYCOFF, AT-LARGE

Wycoff showed appreciation for the support he’s received during the election. Wycoff won Burke County Board of Education At-Large against Sharon Everhart with 30,361 votes.

As a newly elected member of the board, Wycoff said he doesn’t see any issues with policies or procedures that need to be changed.

“I think the majority of the policies and everything going on right now are great. I don’t see any issues going in. I think some folks are worried that four conservative Republicans are going in and that we’re going to go in and just start changing policies … That’s not true,” Wycoff said. “We don’t really see any major issues as far as policies and procedures go.”

“In the past 15 years, we’ve seen a major conservative growth in Burke County. We’ve seen growth in the Republican party and a decline in the Democratic party. I think more people are voting for conservative values.”

When asked about those values, Wycoff said he believes the public wants less focus on political agendas and a stronger emphasis on conservative family values.

“People want to be able to talk to their kids in the privacy of their own homes,” Wycoff said. “Families want to talk about sexual issues at home and not at schools, which I don’t think we have a problem with here in Burke County, and I think people want to keep it that way.”

Wycoff, who’s attended school board meetings for the past three years, shared one of the changes he’d like to see in the district.

“I’ve already started looking into ways to get the Exceptional Children’s (EC) program an opportunity for more recognition and awards,” Wycoff said. Wycoff has a child who recently started kindergarten in the EC program.

He recalled the recognition of EC students at Monday’s board meeting. Students at Ray Childers Elementary were recognized for creating Boo Bags and raising nearly $1,000 toward hurricane relief efforts.

“There’s never been any opportunities for those kids to come in and be recognized. That happened for the first time that I know of this past Monday and it was great. Some of those kids can’t participate in programs that the general population does,” Wycoff said.

Wycoff said he’s preparing to be officially sworn in.

“I’ve already started going to work and looking into policies and procedures. I want to make sure I’m well versed in that when I’m sworn in,” Wycoff said. “I promise to listen to voters. … I’ll always be there to listen to their opinions and what they want.”

Everhart on the other hand was surprised at Hemstreet’s loss, but not as surprised by her own.

“I had expected to lose because I’m a newcomer to this whole thing. That Evangelical group has a strong constituency,” Everhart said. “I was shocked that there were no citizens and parents coming to the school board meetings. I thought there would be more people that would be concerned.”

Everhart, who’s attended nearly all school board meetings this year, said it is less likely she will attend moving forward.

Jeffrey Reid Beck won for the Eastern District, securing 100% of the vote. Beck received 34,598 votes with no opponent. The Paper reporter was unable to reach Beck for a comment.

New members of the board are set to be sworn in early December.