Five Berkeley School District seats up for re-election

Candidates for two of five seats up for re-election this year on the Berkeley County School Board face challengers.

Three others are running unopposed.

Districts 1 and 7 each have two candidates seeking a place on the nine-member nonpartisan board.

Newcomer C. Kevin Cox faces incumbent Kent Murray in District 1, which includes the Hanahan and Goose Creek areas.

Murray has served on the board since 2008 and Cox has been a member of Hanahan City Council since 2004.

Murray supports the $198 million school bond referendum, while Cox, a frequent critic of the school board, has come out against it, saying a one-cent sales tax is a better way to raise money to build schools needed to ease overcrowding in the district.

In District 7, which includes Cross, St. Stephen and the upper part of the county, longtime board member Wilhelmina Moore faces challenger Marty Housand, a retired state trooper and former police chief.

Both have expressed interest in making sure their district gets equal treatment within the county.

Incumbents Phillip Obie II in District 3 and Kathy Schwalbe in District 5 do not have any challengers, while Donna Marino is not seeking re-election in District 9. Her son, Scott Marino, is running unopposed for the seat.