Meet John Lanier

Candidate for School Board

John Lanier is a candidate for the Transylvania County Board of Education and a lifelong advocate for students and teachers. He believes every student deserves to be respected, supported, and given the opportunity to succeed—and that teachers should be trusted, valued, and treated as the professionals they are.

Job Experience

For 21 years, he worked as a journalist at The Transylvania Times, with the last 14 years as editor of that paper until his retirement in 2021. He helped implement the newspaper’s Everyday Education column, as well as covering more than 100 Board of Education meetings. He also served as moderator of numerous political forums sponsored by the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce.

John spent 20 years in the classroom, teaching primarily English at the middle school, high school, and community college levels. During that time, he also coached football, basketball, volleyball, and softball, and served as advisor to the Rosman High School student newspaper.

He also spent 21 years as a journalist at The Transylvania Times, including 14 years as editor before retiring in 2021. In that role, he helped launch the newspaper’s Everyday Education column and covered more than 100 Board of Education meetings, giving him a deep understanding of the local school system.

John also served as moderator for numerous community and political forums sponsored by the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce.

Awards

• Twice named Most Influential Teacher by students at Rosman High School

• Received multiple awards for feature and editorial writing from the North Carolina Press Association

• Received three national awards from the National Newspaper Association

•Honored by Rosman High School for coverage of the 1987 Tigers’ state football championship run

• Named a Friend of Education by the Transylvania County Association of Educators

Education

Bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science from the University of Mississippi
Master’s degree in English from Florida State University

Community Activities/Family

John has served on several community boards, including the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce, and volunteered as a coach for Little League baseball and church league basketball.

His wife, Debbie, taught school for 42 years. They have three adult sons and five grandchildren.