SALISBURY — There will be one new face on the Rowan-Salisbury School Board of Education following the results of Tuesday’s election. 

Jonathan Barbee narrowly defeated Dr. Rebecca Childs for the Salisbury seat on the school board Tuesday by a margin of 39 votes. Bryan Wymbs finished third in that race. 

“When it was happening, I was thoroughly convinced I would be behind and lose,” Barbee said on Wednesday. “I was behind by 500 in the beginning and a thousand all the way until the end. 

I was on the couch and one of my closest friends called me … He said, ‘Jonathan, you need to check this out right now. You are ahead.’ And then people started blowing up the phone.”

This was not Barbee’s first campaign for school board. He ran unsuccessfully in 2020. 

“I think I won because of my honesty and demeanor,” Barbee said. “People who have known me a long time know that I am consistently the same person I have always been.”

What was different this time around is that in 2020, Barbee, like any other aspiring candidates that year, was limited in the amount of public engagement he was able to do because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“A lot more people were capable of seeing me in public,” Barbee said. “I was able to go express my positions and express what a school board member’s role is and how they can be effective as a school board member.”

As Barbee explained that means having the most appropriate items on the agenda for various meeting types: work sessions, business meetings and retreats.

Barbee cited his top priorities for his first term which included involving more organizations to be a part of the Rowan Salisbury School System. 

“For an example that would be the local Boys and Girls Club that has been trying to come up,” Barbee said. “They need satellite buildings so that local people for those schools can go to those locations and other organizations that would like to come in and cover for more programs.”

Barbee also wants to oversee a fiscally responsible budget, which means “being good stewards of the people’s money that are supporting the Rowan-Salisbury School System,” adding that “we need to make sure local money stays within our district and our county so that way our local pool is highly efficient.”

During this election, a referendum to make Rowan-Salisbury School System Board of Education elections partisan was approved by nearly 7,000 votes.

Barbee said that he was not necessarily for or against the measure but that he would be happy to work within the system that the voters supported. 

He did add that he believes its a little unfortunate “that we have somewhat less of a pool now” because if “we have someone who wants to run for office that is a registered independent they need 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

Barbee was not the only former candidate to find electoral success a second time around. Kathy McDuffie Sanborn, who was currently filling the East seat vacated by former school board member Brian Hightower in 2023, secured a complete term following an uncontested race.

Sanborn previously ran unsuccessfully in 2020 just like Barbee. Since coming on last year, Sanborn has risen to the ranks of vice chair of the board. 

Looking ahead to her full term, Sanborn said, “I think I want to continue to explore all the opportunities that renewal gives us for flexibility. I am very happy and encouraged by the changes and initiatives that (Superintendent) Dr. Kelly Withers has put in place working with teachers on standards and making sure our curriculum is aligned with those standards while showing teachers what those are.”

Sanborn, like several of her colleagues on the board, has expressed frustration over state testing metrics that prioritize proficiency over growth. 

“We have seen a lot of growth in testing last year,” Sanborn said. “Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a strong proponent in the state testing metrics how they are. I am more about how children grow from year to year and we are seeing a lot of growth.”

Like Barbee, Sanborn sees opportunities in community partnerships. 

“Education is about the community coming together, local businesses, nonprofits, faith organizations all coming together in partnerships to work toward educating our children so they can be contributing members to our community as they grow,” she said. 

With the current chair of the board Alisha Byrd-Clark stepping down, the board will collectively vote to fill those two top roles in December after the three victorious candidates are sworn in. 

“There will be a vote,” Sanborn said. She did not rule out the prospect of becoming chair but insisted that she will follow the will of her fellow boardmembers. 

“Whatever the majority of the board wants me to do I will be glad to service in that capacity,” Sanborn said. 

Dr. Lynn Marsh, who won the race for the Southeast seat, was not able to be reached for comment by the Salisbury Post’s deadline on Wednesday.