Local businessman Philip Kent Jr. has filed a declaration of intent to run for the District One Columbia County School Board seat currently held by David Alalof.
Alalof has announced he is retiring from the board and will not seek reelection.
A father of three school age children, Kent is the son of former longtime Augusta Chronicle editorial page editor and current CEO of Insider Advantage News Agency, publisher of James Magazine, Phil Kent Sr.
Kent also notes that his mother is a retired teacher of both the Aiken, S.C. and Columbia County school systems and still works as a substitute teacher in Columbia County.
“You can imagine that we had some pretty lively dinnertime conversations,” Kent said.
As a partner of Metro Fiber Systems, an internet service company headquartered in Augusta, Kent, 45, says that, if elected, he will bring his business acumen to the job.
“I am a fiscal conservative, and I believe that I can work with the superintendent and the other board members, share ideas and maybe bring a different perspective when it comes to finance,” Kent said.
According to Kent, his primary reason for running is that he doesn’t see a lot of people from his generation willing to step up and maintain a system that he says is currently an excellent place to get an education.
District One covers the Evans area with the following schools: Blue Ridge Elementary, River Ridge Elementary, Riverside Elementary, South Columbia Elementary, Stevens Creek Elementary, Greenbrier Middle, Lakeside Middle, Riverside Middle, Stallings Island Middle, Greenbrier High and Lakeside High.
Kent has received the endorsement of David Alalof.
“I think he will make a terrific board member. He is well educated, a fiscal conservative and has kids in the system,” Alalof said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.co
