Candidates for Marion seat on McDowell Board of Education answer questions
This year, the Nov. 3 general elections will decide several McDowell County offices. The early voting period will begin Thursday, Oct. 15, and end Saturday, Oct. 31.
This year, two candidates are seeking election to one of the Marion seats on the McDowell County Board of Education. They are Republican Marvin Greer and Democrat Sarah Skinner.
The McDowell News asked each candidate to answer questions about themselves and why they are seeking this seat on the Board of Education. The following are their responses to the questionnaire.
Marvin Greer
Name: Marvin F. Greer
Marvin Greer
Party affiliation: Republican
Address: James View Road, Marion
Age: 54
Occupation: Managed service technician, CoMPAS Cable.
Education: Graduated from Avery High School. Attended community college of the Air Force.
Why are you running for the Board of Education?
McDowell County has so much to offer and is growing rapidly, and as that growth continues, I want to make sure our schools stay focused on providing a strong, traditional education, one grounded in the fundamentals that prepare children for life. I believe McDowell County Schools are already doing a great job, and I want to help strengthen that foundation. Most of all, I believe our schools need leaders who listen, serve with integrity, and put students and families first.
What experience prepares you for this?
I’m an 11-year Air Force veteran who served in a variety of roles, including supervisory positions. After my military service, I held management roles responsible for budgeting, planning, directing teams, and implementing cost-saving measures. I’ve also spent many years working with children through church ministries and school settings, and I served on staff with a Christian school curriculum publisher where traditional education and values were paramount. Together, these experiences shaped my belief in the importance of strong educational foundations and character development and prepared me to bring both leadership and genuine care for students to the School Board.
Do you see things you would like to change? Can you list them and why should they be changed?
Our school system is making great strides and heading in the right direction, though there’s always room for improvement in any organization. This past year, our graduation rate reached 89%, the highest in our school system’s history. As great as that is, it needs to keep climbing. The current school board, staff, and teachers deserve real credit for pushing that number higher, and every student who graduates steps into their future with a genuine accomplishment already behind them and a real step toward long-term success.
Adequate school facilities are core to education, it’s hard to learn if the roof is leaking, the HVAC isn’t working, or the lights are out. Our maintenance staff has a colossal job, and they handle it like the professionals they are. Between current renovations, upgrades, everyday upkeep, and the upcoming new elementary school, I believe our schools are in great hands. Continuing that work is essential, and I hope to support our staff in carrying it forward.
What should be the district’s most important budget priorities?
Ensuring we’re competitive on pay should be a top budget priority at every level of staff, from teachers and administrators to maintenance workers and bus drivers, and everyone in between. Competitive pay attracts talent and keeps it here, and it makes happier, more committed staff across the district.
What does a safe school environment mean to you? How would you work to achieve that in McDowell schools?
A safe school environment means a place where every child is protected and feels emotionally secure, free from fear, bullying, or harm, and confident that the adults around them have their best interest at heart. It means students feel free to communicate openly with their teachers and staff, and parents are encouraged to play an active role and feel like part of their child’s education. I would work to ensure our policies and procedures reinforce that mindset and keep both our children and staff safe.
Sarah Skinner
Name: Sarah Skinner
Sarah Skinner
Party affiliation: Democrat
Address: Marion
Age: 39
Occupation:Â Director of programs, Montreat Conference Center; communications specialist & project manager, Kaleidoscope Institute; accredited dialogue facilitator.
Education: B.A. in anthropology, University of South Carolina; accredited dialogue facilitator, Kaleidoscope Institute; Interfaith Community Chaplaincy program (in progress).
Why are you running for the Board of Education?
Because my community asked, and I couldn't say no. Not to a party — to the parents, teachers, and children I've been working alongside. I was asked to run three times by the Democratic Party and declined. I said yes when the teachers and parents I served with as PTO president at Eastfield Elementary asked me to step up.
During my time as PTO president (2024-2026), I fell in love with this community and also saw things that should never happen in an elementary school. While the board devoted time to reviewing challenged books, I was receiving reports about children in crisis — kids harming themselves, kids being severely bullied because of who they are. I heard from parents who couldn't afford dental care for their children and families whose children’s IEPs couldn't be met at their current school. I saw band programs without enough funding.
But I also saw what we're capable of. After Hurricane Helene, I watched this community show up for each other in extraordinary ways. I know what McDowell County can do when we put children first.
I'm running because School Board decisions should never be about party lines — they should be about kids' lives. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only candidate with children currently in the school system. And I'm not interested in culture wars. I'm interested in whether our kids are safe, whether our teachers are supported, and whether every child in this county has what they need to learn and grow.
What experience prepares you for this?
I've spent nearly 15 years at the Montreat Conference Center working in events, and since 2022 have served as director of programs, managing operations, staff, and budgets. I know how to lead teams, navigate tight resources, and build systems that serve people well.
But what prepared me most was leading the PTO at Eastfield Elementary — especially after Hurricane Helene. When I stepped into that role, the community was still reeling. Leadership wasn't about having all the answers. It was about recognizing that the answers already exist in the community and empowering people to act on them.
At the PTO, we never asked parents for large donations. Many of our families were already stretched thin. Instead, we looked at the other resources in our community — relationships, local businesses, the willingness of neighbors to help. We checked in with each other. We spent time being a community together. And we supported our teachers by asking for help from partners who could give it.
I also serve on the McDowell County Head Start Policy Council, where I've learned about early childhood education policy and budgets. My own child was in Head Start, and I'm not embarrassed to say so — it's an extraordinary program.
Professionally, I'm also an accredited dialogue facilitator with the Kaleidoscope Institute, trained in leading conversations across difference. That's what a school board needs: someone who can sit at a table with people who disagree, listen well, and find a way forward that centers the children. I've spent my career doing exactly that.
Do you see things you would like to change? Can you list them and why should they be changed?
Yes. I'd like to see our board spend less time on partisan culture issues and more time on the daily realities facing our students and teachers. While energy has gone toward book review processes and political debates, our schools have had basic infrastructure failures — Eastfield's plumbing failed twice last school year. Our teachers need better compensation and support. We have difficulty recruiting and retaining support staff like janitors.
One of the biggest topics ahead is the merger of Eastfield and Marion Elementary into a single new campus. I don't pretend to have all the answers on that, but I know how to listen to the families, teachers, and staff who will be most affected and make sure their voices shape the process.
I'd also like to see the board engage proactively with emerging issues like AI in schools and social media's impact on students. Community review and input on these topics is essential.
And I'd like to see more transparency and communication between the board and the families it serves. Parents should feel like partners in their children's education, not outsiders trying to navigate a system. The best ideas I've encountered have come from parents and teachers on the ground.
What should be the district's most important budget priorities?
Teacher compensation and support staff retention. We cannot expect excellent education if we aren't investing in the people who provide it. When a school struggles to hire a janitor, that affects every child's learning environment.
Beyond compensation, I'd prioritize student support services — counselors, nurses, and mental health resources. Our children are facing challenges that directly affect their ability to learn, and our schools need the staffing to respond.
I'd also prioritize maintaining and improving school infrastructure. Functional plumbing, safe facilities, and adequate classroom resources aren't extras - they're the baseline for learning. With the upcoming school merger, thoughtful investment in the new campus will shape our children's experience for decades.
Finally, I believe in creative budgeting. As PTO president, I learned that not every need requires a line item. Community partnerships, grants, and resource-sharing can stretch limited dollars significantly. We have a tooth bus that serves our schools, but access remains a struggle — that's the kind of partnership worth expanding and strengthening. Our budget should reflect our actual priorities: the people who teach our children, the well-being of our students, and the buildings where learning happens.
What does a safe school environment mean to you? How would you work to achieve that in McDowell schools?
A safe school environment means every child can focus on learning and growing — and every teacher can focus on teaching. It means functional buildings, yes. But it goes deeper than that.
Safety means a child can walk into school without being bullied for who they are or who their family is. It means that when hateful rhetoric circulates in a community, the school is a place that stands firm as a refuge. During my time as PTO president, I saw firsthand what happens when children absorb the message that some of their classmates don't deserve to exist. Elementary school children were in crisis. That is a safety issue.
Safety also means adults in the building have the support and resources to respond. Teachers shouldn't have to choose between teaching and being a child's only lifeline. Adequate counseling staff, clear reporting systems, and a culture where asking for help is normal — that's infrastructure, just like working plumbing.
I'd work toward this by listening to the people closest to our students — teachers, counselors, parents, and the students themselves. I'd advocate for adequate mental health staffing. And I'd push for a board culture that treats student well-being as seriously as test scores and budgets. Our children deserve a school where they feel seen, safe, and ready to learn.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my perspective with McDowell County voters.
