Voters in Mount Pleasant, Awendaw, McClellanville, Sullivans Island, and Isle of Palms have a choice in the 2024 election for Charleston County School Board District 2: Ed Kelley or Carolina D. Jewett. We sent a questionnaire to both candidates about key civil-liberties issues.
We asked both candidates, “Will you prioritize students’ freedom to read when responding to book ban requests?”
Carolina Jewett said, “Yes.” She added:
“If you don’t want your child to read a certain book you have the right to ask the school not to allow your child to read it. When you take that book out of the school because you disagree with what it is teaching, you take away someone else’s right to learn. That is simply not fair.”
Ed Kelley didn’t answer the question. He didn’t respond to our questionnaire at all. Because Kelley is an incumbent, we can share what we know about his platform based on his public statements and votes:
- On February 27, 2023, Kelley voted for a policy to open school board meetings with religious prayer.
- On March 13, 2023, Kelley introduced a local version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” policy that would ban most classroom conversations about sexual orientation or gender.
- On Sept. 25, 2023, Kelley sought to replace members of the school district’s Health Advisory Committee, which had overhauled the district’s health and sex education curriculum to make it more medically accurate and inclusive of LGBTQ people.
You can read the rest of Jewett and Kelley’s responses below, along with the responses we received from all 2024 candidates in the Charleston County School Board race.
District 2 Candidate Responses
The ACLU of South Carolina does not endorse or oppose candidates, but wants you to cast an informed vote.
Are you a Charleston County voter and unsure about which school board district is yours? Head over to SCVotes.org to get a sample ballot for the election.
