Orangeburg County School Board elects Dr. Deborah Brunson chair in 5–4 vote; vice chair and secretary also chosen

The Orangeburg County School Board voted on new board officers at its Jan. 14 organizational meeting, electing Dr. Deborah Brunson as board chair by a 5–4 vote. The board also selected Lorraine Peebles as vice chair, 5–4, and named Betty Pelser secretary; a parliamentarian was nominated but the transcript does not record a final roll-call tally for that office.

The vote followed the formal nomination process described in board policy BD, Organization of the Board, which the superintendent summarized at the start of the meeting. The superintendent said the board’s organizational meeting elects officers for two-year terms and that officers “can serve no more than two consecutive terms.”

Candidates were nominated from the floor. A motion to close nominations for chair was seconded and carried; the board then voted by show of hands to elect Brunson, 5–4. After the chair election, the superintendent handed the meeting over to Dr. Brunson, who thanked colleagues and pledged support to the superintendent, staff, students and families.

Board members then nominated two candidates for vice chair. A motion closed nominations and the board conducted a hand vote; Lorraine Peebles received five votes to Adela/Idella Carson’s four and was declared vice chair. For secretary, board members nominated Betty Pelser (declined nomination from another member noted) and, with no other candidates, Pelser was confirmed. A nomination for parliamentarian (Dr. O’Quinn) was made and nominations closed; the transcript does not record a roll-call or hand-vote tally for that office.

During the officer-election discussion, board member Idella Carson and others raised that the board has not named a legislative liaison to represent the district in Columbia for approximately five years and asked that the board address the liaison role at a future meeting. Chair Brunson and other members agreed to place the matter on the agenda for the next meeting so the board can vote on it then.

Actions recorded at the meeting include motions to use voice votes for officer elections, motions to close nominations for specific offices, and the elections themselves. The transcript records vote tallies for chair and vice chair (5–4 each); counts or roll-call results for the secretary and parliamentarian were not specified in the record.

The board moved on after the officer elections to routine business and superintendent reports.