Thomas Hagerty

Because I've also been a teacher. I know what it looks like from both sides of the desk. I've run companies and I've taught teenagers. I've managed budgets and I've written lesson plans. The school board needs people who understand governance and education—not one or the other. I'm one of the few candidates who can genuinely claim both, and I intend to put both to work for the families of District 3.

It means the board does its job and lets teachers do theirs. Transparent budgets. Clear policies set in public. Votes made on the record, for reasons constituents can see and evaluate. No hidden agendas. No partisan interference in what happens in classrooms. The board's job is to set the conditions in which great educators can thrive - and then trust them to do it. And I will be communicating regularly with parents and all constituents interested in a vibrant, productive school board.

I was born here. My family has been part of this community for generations—my three brothers have spent their entire lives here, raising families, building businesses, and serving their neighbors. I left to serve my country, to build a career, and to raise a family. I came back because this is home, and because I care about what happens here. I'd also gently note that 35 years of experience in law, business, and education—followed by coming home with fresh eyes—might actually be an asset.

Since my return to Charleston, I have become involved with Lowcountry Literacy (Orton-Gillingham), Reading Partners, tutoring at the Citadel, and writing instruction at Burke High School.

Literacy. Other issues matter, but reading, writing and thinking are the foundations under everything. When 35% of our students aren't reading proficiently, all the other goals—math scores, graduation rates, college readiness—become unreachable. I'll push the board to sustain the progress we've made, fund proven approaches like Orton-Gillingham, and demand transparent, school-by-school reporting on results. Progress was hard-won. We cannot afford to let victory slip away.

During his youth, while he was enslaved, Frederick Douglass was being taught to read by the wife of the plantation owner. When the owner discovered that this was happening, he became enraged. At that instant, Douglass knew that reading was linked with power. He never forgot this truth. And neither should we.

We want students to love reading, but we also want them to understand the iron link between reading and the power to shape one's own destiny. I spent years in the classroom trying to help students picture their destinies…the lives they wanted. I watched, again and again, how students who struggled to read struggled to believe their dreams were possible. Reading is not just a skill. It is access. It is confidence. It is the door through which every other subject — and every career, and every civic role — must pass. Getting every CCSD child to reading proficiency is not one priority among many. It is the foundation upon which everything else is built. And that's why I got involved in Lowcountry Literacy and Reading Partners when I returned.