FORT MILL, S.C. — Fort Mill School District voters returned incumbents Joe Helms, Michele Branning and Lipi Pratt to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday and elected newcomer Keith Griffin to the fourth open seat, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting.
Helms led the seven candidate field with 14,083 votes, or 16.41 percent. Branning finished second with 13,920 votes, followed by Griffin with 13,139 and Pratt with 12,134.
An Open Seat After 17 Years
Griffin’s win fills the seat held by Wayne Bouldin, who has served on the board since 2009 and did not file for another term this year. Bouldin’s decision left one seat without an incumbent and drew four candidates who do not currently serve on the board: Griffin, Larry Barnett, Brandon Langford and Melissa M. Maynard.
Griffin finished 1,005 votes ahead of Pratt and more than 1,800 votes ahead of Langford, the closest of the remaining challengers.
Incumbents Hold Their Seats
Branning, first elected in 2014, wins a fourth term. She has served as chair of the board’s policy committee and as vice chairman, and has sat on the Strategic Planning Committee, according to the district.
Helms and Pratt each won their first terms in 2022, when they finished among the top four in a 12 candidate field. Pratt, the board’s current vice chairwoman, taught in Fort Mill schools for more than 25 years and worked at six elementary schools across the district before her election.
Pratt’s hold on the fourth seat was the tightest margin among the winners. She finished 824 votes ahead of Langford, who received 11,310 votes, or 13.18 percent. Maynard was close behind Langford with 11,243 votes, a gap of 67. Barnett received 9,615 votes, and 377 write in votes were cast.
How the Race Works
The district has no single member districts or wards. Every voter in the Fort Mill School District could cast ballots for up to four candidates, and the four candidates with the most votes won. Voters cast 85,821 total votes in the race.
The board’s other three members, Chairwoman Kristy Spears, Dr. Scott Frattaroli and Anthony Boddie, hold seats that are next on the ballot in 2028.
Results remain unofficial until certified by the York County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. Full results are available at scvotes.gov.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
