Pending the passage of new local legislation, which cleared its first hurdle in the Statehouse Wednesday, the Fairfield County School Board will have two new faces among it ranks in coming weeks.

One of two bills introduced this week by Sen. Creighton Coleman and Rep. Boyd Brown, the legislation increases the number of board members to nine, with the two new seats filled by appointment.

The appointment would be made by Fairfield County’s local legislative delegation – currently Coleman and Brown.

Ron Smith, of Winnsboro, and Shirley Greene, of Ridgeway, have already accepted appointment to the seats, and both say they are looking forward to getting started.

“I hope to bring consensus to the table,” said Greene, a Blair native who currently resides on Lake Wateree. “I’ve been known throughout my career as a consensus builder and a level thinker.”

Greene, who earned her master’s degree in elementary education from Temple University in 1971, is retired from a career in education, beginning in the Philadelphia School District in 1969. Most recently, she served as the Director of Cancer Control Development and Training for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Ga., from 1999 until 2004. She currently serves as chairperson for the Fairfield County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs. She is also a product of Fairfield County public schools, graduating from McCrory-Liston High School.

“My view is that every child in Fairfield COunty deserves an education,” she said. “We need to give them the opportunity to do that.”

A Florida native, Smith received his bachelor of science degree in management and marketing from the University of South Carolina in 1972 and graduated from the Professional Management Institute at Purdue University in 1989.

Retired since 2002, Smith’s worked for Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co. beginning in 1972. After accepting the General Agent position with Colonial Life in 1998, he formed his own business, Gulf Coast Business Concepts, Inc., a general agency with 25 sales offices located throughout Florida and Puerto Rico.

“I agree with Creighton Coleman,” Smith said of the new legislation. “This isn’t just about the school board. It’s about the survival of our county. If we don’t fix the education system, we’re not going to get good jobs here. If we don’t do that, all we’re doing is putting people on Welfare and into crime.”

Smith said one of the things he would like to see are improvements to the Career Center.

“I think we should take the best part of our educational system, our vocational school, and do something with it,” Smith said.

The legislation, which passed its first reading Wednesday afternoon, is meeting with both resistance and support from the current school board.

“They’re saying that the same people who are smart enough to elect them (Coleman and Brown) are not smart enough to elect the school board,” said board chair Annie McDaniel.

Other board members disagree.

“I think it’s an awesome and courageous thing for Creighton Coleman and Boyd brown to step up and help the school board,” said board member Danielle Miller. “They’re not taking away from the school board, they’re helping us.”

Board member Polly Parker agreed.

“I truly believe, at this point in time, it’s the only thing we can do to get the schools back on track,” Parker said. “I think the board members truly do want to do what’s right by the children, but conflicting interests get in the way.”

Being appointed, as opposed to elected, Smith said, will be an asset to moving the school district forward.

“I love being appointed,” he said. “Because I don’t have a constituency to please, I can work across district lines.”

Coleman said he expects both bills to be signed by the governor and made law within 10 days.