Orange County’s election with the most crowded field on Tuesday resulted in one of the more stable results: the nonpartisan Orange County Schools Board of Education race. Voters in the school district re-elected three incumbents to the board – Sarah Smylie, Anne Purcell and Will Atherton – while adding newcomer Lori Russell to succeed the departing Andre Richmond. The outcome signals general support for the direction of the school district, which has seen stability at the board level and under its superintendent’s leadership.
Smylie was the top vote-earner in the race, with roughly 500 more votes than the next candidate. The consultant and former Teach for America employee has made equity in education a central part of each of her school board campaigns and her first two terms. Smylie told 97.9 The Hill she weighed whether to run again – but wants to see through the school district’s positive momentum from an aligned Board of Education and district administration.
“My focus,” Smylie said on Tuesday, “has been on the progress the district’s made and really accelerating that, making sure it actually reaches all of our students, making sure we stay true to our values through these difficult times.
“The things that continue to ground me in this [service],” she said, “are making sure I’m keeping the focus on students, that we’re all ultimately making our decision on them, and really rooting in our values [of] community, equity and inclusion. And so, if we’re aiming for the right goals and staying rooted in our values, that’ll help the board and the district continue to make some great progress.”
That progress includes seeing the district reach 100% of student growth benchmarks for the first time last school year and continued success under Superintendent Danielle Jones since she joined Orange County Schools in 2024. Purcell – who worked as an educator in the district for three decades and will now serve a second term – said she believes the school board’s focus on academic achievement and use of data to drive decisions is helping.
“And I have also said to many people during this election,” Purcell added, “that this school board is in a very good place. We all work well together…we may not always agree, but we do have the focus of our students, our families and our teachers. I think that is what parents are seeing and the community is seeing.”
Atherton, who will serve a third term, said one of his ongoing goals is to highlight the positive stories and achievements from the district. Sharing those examples with families is important to build trust, as well as trying to address the existing challenges Orange County Schools face. To do the latter, Atherton said he wants to use his experience on the board and seek creative solutions.
“Trying to see how we can advocate more at higher levels,” he said, “to get our teacher pay increased, or to get the school calendar changed, or to work through these funding issues we’re seeing happen across the state and county… I think these upcoming four years [are] going to be more about working beyond the school board, it’s going to be working at the county and the state level.
“And,” Atherton added, “I’m definitely looking forward to working with Lori as well, [who will be] a new board member and a different perspective.”
Russell separated herself from the two other first-time candidates, Saru Salvi and Brian Edwards, in Tuesday’s results. The mother of three made “transparent, accountable, and effective governance” a pillar of her campaign platform, alongside continuing to improve community engagement and academic excellence for all students. The lawyer and former compliance officer for a global biotech company said she believes her background will translate well to serving on the board and she looks forward to meeting all kinds of district stakeholders.
“I think I have a unique perspective,” Russell said when asked about why her message resonated with the schools community. “Although I grew up in Alamance County, I’ve also lived in other countries and other places…I think I can relate to everyone in some capacity, and I think that helps people feel like they’ll be heard and represented.
“I’ll also say that my background in law and policy is attractive to people,” she said, referencing her professional work. “I think we’re all seeing the difficulties of navigating complex systems right now, especially as state and federal policies are changing so rapidly. And having somebody who can navigate that complexity in the way I can because of my background is really interesting for our community.”
The elected quartet will work alongside Carrie Doyle, Bonnie Hauser and Wendy Padilla on the Orange County Schools Board of Education starting this summer, as they’ll be sworn in before the new academic year begins.
Additional results from around Orange and Chatham counties on Tuesday night can be found on Chapelboro’s 2026 Primary Election Results page.
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