News

GOP names school board member to fill vacant seat

Henderson County Sheriff’s Capt. Stephanie Cantwell

By Amy McCraw, Published: August 29, 2025

A committee of the Republican Party in Henderson County on Thursday evening named a sheriff’s office captain to the school board.

Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Stephanie Cantwell will fill the seat left open when Henderson County School Board Vice Chairman Robert Bridges passed away earlier this month.
Cantwell on Friday said in an email that the legacy Bridges left behind “leaves some very big shoes to fill.”
She said she wants to continue Bridges’ commitment to focusing on the needs of children.
“One of the most important lessons I’ve learned through my work in our school system is this: When you keep students at the center of every decision, and they know you genuinely care, everything else tends to fall into place,” she said.
Her work as a school resource officer gave Cantwell a first-hand perspective on the school system that another new member might not have, she said. As a school resource officer, she said she witnessed everything from young students learning to read and tie their shoes to the dark days of COVID and Hurricane Helene.
“Through it all, I’ve remained fully invested. To say I care deeply would be an understatement,” Cantwell said. “These experiences have been a blessing made possible by the role I’ve been fortunate to hold. And I truly believe the Lord had this path laid out for me long before I ever saw it coming.”
Joining the school board, she said, was a long-time goal.
“With my recent promotion, new opportunities have opened up, and I feel more prepared than ever to take this next step,” she said.
Cantwell, who has worked in Henderson County for more than a decade, was recently promoted to captain. Her duties include overseeing school resource officers in Henderson County and supervising the department’s officers who serve in the northwestern area of Henderson County, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Lowell Griffin on Thursday night said Cantwell is passionate about serving Henderson County and its students.
"She is passionate about the children of Henderson County. Her decisions will be based on her principles, what she feels is best for the children of Henderson County.”
Cantwell’s work as an SRO and supervisor with the sheriff’s department also means she is familiar with school administrators, faculty and almost all school campuses, the sheriff said.
“She brings a ton of positives to the table,” Griffin said.
Kathy Revis, the school board’s chair, on Friday said she too thinks Cantwell will be a good addition to the board.
“We’re excited to have her,” Revis said. “She knows the schools and she knows how schools operate. She’s already built relationships.”
Revis said she met Cantwell before her retirement when the two worked together to revise the county’s substance abuse curriculum known as STAR. Cantwell’s daughter and Revis’s granddaughter also play basketball together, she said.
Cantwell said she is proud of the work she accomplished with teachers, students, administrators and the school board to make Henderson County schools as safe as possible.
“Together, we've created one of the strongest school system–law enforcement partnerships in the state, something I’m incredibly proud of,” she said.
Cantwell was named to fill the open seat on the board after an executive committee of the county’s Republican Party met to consider the issue Thursday. Greg Beam, chairman of the Henderson County Republican Party, said 35 people attended the meeting.
He said he could not comment on why Cantwell was selected to fill the open seat.
In addition to Cantwell, the GOP also considered Randy Beaver, a general contractor and parent, for the appointment.
Revis and Griffin said they felt both Cantwell and Beaver would make excellent school board members.
“I hope he will put his name in the hat to run for school board,” Revis said of Beaver.
Bridges,78, passed away on Aug.4 after an extended illness. He suffered from heart trouble and had difficulty breathing and moving around in the days before his death, friends said.
Bridges was last elected the school board in 2024 after school board elections in Henderson County became partisan races. As a result, state law required that the seat Bridges held on the board be filled 30 days from his death.
The change to having school board seats filled through partisan races also meant that an executive committee of the county’s Republican Party was tasked with naming the person who would fill the seat Bridges held.
Given that the 30-day time period to fill the seat ends on Labor Day and during the N.C. Apple Festival, Beam said at the time of Bridges’ death that he intended for the committee to meet before the festival to determine who will fill the school board seat.
Cantwell is expected take her oath of office during a school board meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday before going on a tour of schools, Revis said.