---
title: "Burns Senate Bid Could Add a Fourth New Rock Hill School Trustee"
url: https://www.hererockhill.com/2026/11/02/rock-hill-school-board-could-see-fourth-new-trustee/
date: 2026-11-02T06:45:45-05:00
modified: 2026-11-02T06:45:45-05:00
author: "Piper Trumbull"
categories: ["Politics"]
site: "HERE Rock Hill"
attribution: "HERE Rock Hill"
---

# Burns Senate Bid Could Add a Fourth New Rock Hill School Trustee

> ROCK HILL, S.C. — Tuesday’s election could reshape the Rock Hill Schools Board of Trustees even more than expected, because one of the sitting trustees, James Burns, is also on the ballot for the state Senate. Three seats are already guaranteed to change hands. Helena Miller, the board chair from District 2, District 4’s Pete

*Source: [HERE Rock Hill](https://www.hererockhill.com/2026/11/02/rock-hill-school-board-could-see-fourth-new-trustee/) — November 2, 2026 by Piper Trumbull*

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Tuesday’s election could reshape the Rock Hill Schools Board of Trustees even more than expected, because one of the sitting trustees, James Burns, is also on the ballot for the state Senate.

Three seats are already guaranteed to change hands. Helena Miller, the board chair from District 2, District 4’s Pete Nosal and Lacy Daniel, who holds an at-large seat, all passed on new terms, leaving eight first-time candidates to fight over those seats in nonpartisan races.

Burns, the Republican nominee in the special election for South Carolina Senate District 15, represents District 3 on the school board. That Senate seat came open when former Sen. Wes Climer resigned, and Burns was the lone Republican to file for it in July.

A Burns win would put a majority of new members on the board. Because no regular election falls between Tuesday and his Senate swearing-in in January, district spokesperson Laurabree Monday said the board would appoint someone to serve out the rest of his term, which runs through 2028.

If Burns falls short, he keeps the District 3 seat through 2028 and has said he will not seek another board term. A Rock Hill native and Citadel graduate, he owns Burns Chevrolet Cadillac and Burns Ford and has served six years on the board.

Trustees chosen Tuesday take their oath at the board’s Nov. 10 meeting. Voters can look up their polling place on the York County website.