Orthodontist hopes to straighten students out as school board member
By GORDON ANDERSON
anderson@sanfordherald.com
SANFORD — Lynn H. Smith has worked with children in one form or another for most of his working life.
Since 1972, it’s been as an orthodontist.
“I’ve been straightening teeth on kids here for a long time,” the Sanford resident said.
But since November, when he was appointed to the Lee County Board of Education as a replacement for member Mary Ellen Axner, he’s seen a different side of working with children.
“This is the first time in my life that I’ve had time for something like this,” he said, noting that his own children are now grown and out of the house.
Smith, who has served his community in the past as president of the Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Lee County Parks and Recreation Board, said he became interested in the school board when he heard that Axner was resigning her seat.
“I attended a couple of meetings after I heard she was leaving, just to get a sense of what the board was doing,” he said. “About two weeks before the deadline (for applications for appointment), I decided that it was something I wanted to commit to.”
After his appointment, Smith was appointed to the school board’s curriculum and instruction committee, and said serving the community as a member is “a ton more time-consuming than I ever imagined.”
Still, he’s seeking a full term in May’s primary election, as he said the current board is “an excellent group of people who have the children at the center of every discussion.”
Smith said the biggest of the challenges the new board will face is renovating Lee County High School.
Lee County residents will also vote May 6 on a quarter-cent sales tax which school board members have called for in order to fund renovations at the 50-plus-year-old school. But county commissioners have balked at the idea of a resolution that would bind them to spending the tax revenue on refurbishing and upgrading the campus, leaving school board members in what Smith described as “an awkward position.”
“The number one priority with that money should be renovations to Lee County High School and Central Carolina Community College. The taxpayers have been promised this for years, and we’re now to the point where we’ll be expected to live up to what we’ve been telling them,” Smith said. “But the commissioners have decided to say ‘trust us.’ So I’m kind of skeptical about whether the tax will pass or not.”
Smith said other challenges will include finishing the construction of San-Lee Middle School, beginning work on a ninth elementary school and starting a 9th grade academy at Southern Lee High School.
“The important thing is to be an advocate for every one of our students,” he said. “All 9,405 of them.”
Lynn H. Smith
Age: 68
Occupation: Orthodontist
Office sought: One of four at-large seats on the Lee County Board of Education
Political experience: Appointed to the Lee County Board of Education in November 2007
Education/military experience: Graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor of science degree in dentistry and a doctor of dental surgery degree. Served two years in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.
