Don’t know much about him yet, but I see that Tom Thompson is going to announce his candidacy for SC superintendent of education, meaning that Frank Holleman will have opposition in the Democratic primary.

Mr. Thompson is taking the symbolically novel approach of announcing his candidacy tomorrow across from the DJJ facility on Broad River Road, “to illustrate how quality education can keep kids out of prison,” according to his campaign.

For more info, here’s his Web site. Here’s some bio information from a press release:

A career educator, Thompson was a high school mathematics teacher who later became a high school principal, first in Wisconsin prior to being named Winnsboro High School’s first African-American principal in 1982. If elected, Dr. Thompson will return to lead the agency where he once served as the coordinator of training programs responsible for the Leadership Academy, leading professional development programs for principals, superintendents and other school administrators in South Carolina. He worked under the Charlie Williams administration. He joined the faculty
at the University of South Carolina’s College of Education in 1988, where he continued his work with teachers and administrators across the state until being named dean at SC State in 2004.

Dr. Thompson attributes his qualications to serve in the position to his experience in school leadership and strongly believes that the superintendent of education position should be held by
someone who has had rich experiences throughout the education system – from classroom to boardroom. He vows, if elected, to work closely with other elected ocials, educators, parents and
students—in a true spirit of cooperation—to revitalize the current system and bring back pride, trust and excitement for public education.