JACKSON – Unofficial results from Tuesday’s Northampton County Board of Education election show two incumbents returning to their seats.

According to the preliminary numbers, both Grace Edwards and Charles Tyner Sr. will remain on the board of education for the next four years. They will be joined by former board member Donald B. &uot;Don&uot; Johnson, who garnered the highest vote total in the election.

Johnson received 2,189 votes in Tuesday’s primary to take the top spot, followed by Edwards with 1,997 and Tyner with 1,822.

Current school board member Lafayette &uot;Lott&uot; Majette was a mere 21 votes behind with 1,801 according to the unofficial tally.

From there the totals dropped to 1,488 for newcomer Erica Smith-Hicks and 1,033 for former member Clinton M. Williams. Julius O. Webb finished last with 441 votes.

Conway was the biggest precinct for Johnson where he garnered 209 votes compared to 131 for Edwards and 95 for Tyner. Smith-Hicks was next with 71 followed by Majette with 56, Williams with 35 and Webb with 20.

Newtown was also a big precinct for Johnson, Edwards and Tyner as they secured 103, 98 and 94 votes respectively while the highest total for any other candidate was Majette with 86.

Johnson got the largest chunks of his votes from Conway (209), Jackson (185), Gaston (182) and garnered 165 absentee votes.

The biggest support for Edwards came from Lake Gaston (230), Gaston (184), Seaboard (167) and Garysburg (142).

&uot;I am pleased with the turnout,&uot; Edwards said of being elected to her fourth term on the board. &uot;We do have problems, but we are working on them. We have a plan of action and we’re following it.&uot;

Edwards said she was pleased with the work of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathi Gibson. She said Dr. Gibson was working diligently to help improve the district.

Tyner received strong support in Garysburg (203), Gaston (302), Rich Square (241) and Seaboard (185).

&uot;I will continue to do the right thing for the students of Northampton County,&uot; Tyner said. &uot;I will continue to work for the parents of Northampton County to ensure we have no low-performing schools.

&uot;My major goal is to continue to stay focused on that goal and make sure we raise the achievement level for all of our students,&uot; he added.

Majette got the lion’s share of his support from Gaston (314), Garysburg (268) and his hometown of Rich Square (264).

Smith-Hicks was supported in Gaston (327), Lake Gaston (214) and Garysburg (175). The only other precinct in which she had triple digits in votes was Rich Square, where she received 165.

Williams got 232 votes in Gaston, which was his strongest showing, while Webb’s highest total was 70 in Garysburg.