LEXINGTON — Robert Whitney has served on the Lexington school board for more than 57 years, but he believes there is still work to be done.
Whitney, 86, has served on the board since April 1964, when he was appointed to finish the term of another member who resigned. He was elected to a 15th term on Tuesday.
Whitney garnered 1,596 votes, according to final, unofficial vote totals from the Richland County Board of Elections.
Whitney’s fellow incumbents Dave Roberts and Martin Gottschling also retained their seats, beating challenger Danielle Bussell. Roberts received 1,840 votes. Gottschling received 1,550 votes. Bussell received 1,295 votes.
Whitney said he hopes to see the district finish its current construction of a new junior high and high school and begin construction of a new Pre-K thru 6th grade facility during his next term.
“I’m happy to know that I can go ahead and go on with our building sites,” Whitney said. “The voters passed the levies for us to get the new buildings and I feel personally that I owe it, the board owes it that to them.”
“I want to see it through and get things done for our youngsters to have a better education than before.”
The buildings aren’t the only priorities on Whitney’s list.
“There’s a lot of work to be done period to keep our curriculum updated, to keep our children in the class safe,” he said.
Roberts, 72, is a retired educator and administrator. He has been on the school board for four years.
Like Whitney, he said he hopes to see the district’s facilities projects continue on schedule.
“I’m very honored that the people in our community have faith and trust in me to help lead our great school district to even greater things in the next four years,” Roberts said.
Gottschling, 60, is a chiropractor who owns his own practice.
“I’m honored that the community has continued confidence in me representing and serving them as a Lexington board of education member,” Gottschling said.
