Change on this board requires four votes

The "change" mantra of the 2008 election didn't extend all the way through the Wilson County Board of Education election. One change was inevitable: Will Winslow was stepping down, choosing not to run for another term. But the other two seats at issue were retained by the incumbents. Marvin Sessoms had no opposition, and Henry Mercer turned back James Brake's challenge in District 4.

Gary Farmer, running a high-profile campaign, took District 6 by a landslide against two opponents. Joe Testino got his name out but still lost his first bid against the better-known Farmer, a former Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and Wilson County Schools teacher and administrator. Gale Shafer fell short again in his third bid to win a seat on the board. Shafer had been encouraged four years ago when he came close to toppling Winslow, but that close finish was largely the result of Winslow's not taking the challenge seriously and making little effort to attract votes. Will Shafer, an affable mechanic and small-business owner, give up on his quest or will he become the Harold Stassen of Wilson County politics?

Many supporters of Farmer, Testino and Brake had hoped the "change" mantra would sweep a new majority onto the Board of Education, one that would challenge the administration, listen more to parents and teachers and open up the decision-making process. To achieve anything on a seven-member board, you need four votes. With the re-election of  Mercer, a former school principal, the change candidates may have trouble finding a fourth vote. Mercer has not been one to buck the administration. Farmer and incumbents Robin Flinn and Wiley Boyette need a fourth vote. If they can't bring Mercer on board, perhaps Eunice Lindsey, who has shown sparks of independence, or Christine Fitch can be brought around.

Farmer promises to question the status quo and is unlikely to be silenced easily. The question is whether he can bring three other board members to his way of thinking.