Fairfax residents invited to town hall on rebuilding together

Fairfax residents had a direct line to Board Member Farrah Maner Thursday evening, when Allendale County Schools held a town hall at the Fairfax Senior Citizen Center at 6 p.m. The district said the meeting was meant to listen and collaborate as the community works to rebuild together, and it paired the conversation with an open Q&A, light refreshments and a recognition segment for staff and students of the month.

Maner is listed in South Carolina election records as the elected School Board District 1 member for Fairfax, and Allendale County Schools says she completed board orientation in 2025. Her role carries added weight in a town where the district office, Allendale-Fairfax Elementary School and Allendale-Fairfax High School all sit along Allendale-Fairfax Highway, making school decisions part of daily civic life rather than something handled far away in Barnwell or Columbia. Board Chair Catherine Russell has served on the board for 10 years, and regular meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month unless a holiday or closure changes the schedule.

The district said community members’ feedback would help reflect the interests and needs of the community, which is why the town hall was set up as a working session rather than a ceremonial stop. Residents were able to bring up education concerns, family needs, neighborhood priorities and the everyday challenges of rural life, then have their ideas captured to guide next steps. In a district that enrolled 928 students in the 2024 school year, the scale is small enough that a single room of comments can quickly shape what leaders hear next.

The setting also mattered. Fairfax’s senior and community center was announced in 2019 as a bigger place to hold activities for the community, and that made it a practical place for parents, older residents and school staff to gather without leaving town. Allendale County Schools has used the slogan TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS, while the district’s events page uses REUNITE, REBUILD, REDEFINE, a message that fit the tone of the evening and the invitation for residents to show up in person.

The town hall closed with recognition for staff and students of the month, but the larger purpose was clear: give Fairfax residents a place to speak directly, give Maner a chance to hear concerns face to face, and carry those concerns into the next round of board action.