The District Five Foundation for Educational Excellence of Lexington Richland School District Five has appointed a duo to serve as co-chairs for the 2025-26 school year.
The foundation board voted unanimously to select Elizabeth Balog and Dr. Matthew Boyeson to lead the foundation in raising funds and building awareness to support innovative programs, initiatives and needs of students, teachers and staff.
Elizabeth Balog currently serves two schools as a School Social Worker with Lexington Richland School District 5, where she has been working since the 2020-2021 school year. Balog works to support students’ emotional, social, and academic development by addressing a variety of issues that may impact their ability to learn, including mental health concerns, family challenges, poverty, and other barriers to success. She provides counseling, crisis intervention, case management services and much more; and works collaboratively with teachers, administrators, and families to create a supportive environment that fosters students’ well-being and academic success.
Balog holds both a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. Prior to her work in the school system, she served as a Multidimensional Family Therapist with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. In this capacity, she worked closely with families and adolescents, helping them navigate complex issues utilizing interventions designed to promote healthier family dynamics and personal growth.
Balog was selected as Support Employee of the Year for Harbison West Elementary School and District Support Employee of the Year for the 2023-2024 school year. She joined the School District 5 Foundation board after seeing firsthand the profound impact of the Foundation’s work, particularly the Emergency Fund and their support of the district snack pack program. The snack pack program, which the Foundation funds one weekend out of each month, serves over 120 students at her two schools.
Dr. Matthew Boyeson, DC, is the owner of Midlands Family Chiropractic where he practices with his sister, Dr. Amanda Boyeson. Dr. Boyeson is very familiar with District Five schools as he attended Nursery Road Elementary, Crossroads/Irmo Middle and participated in football, baseball and band while attending Irmo High where he graduated in 2007. After high school he attained a Biology Degree from Clemson University and enrolled at Sherman College of Chiropractic. Graduating in 2016 he moved to Kentucky, honing his chiropractic skills for three years, but wanted to get back to his roots in Irmo. Wanting to give back to the community he opened Midlands Family Chiropractic in 2019 and since then has become a chiropractic clinic using the most current techniques in the trade. Dr. Boyeson joined the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce in 2019 and the St. Andrews Optimist Club in 2024.
Dr. Boyeson enjoys golf, traveling and community involvement.
The foundation holds events throughout the year to support the Snack Pack Program which provides food for children who do not have enough to eat to sustain them through the weekend. Grants are provided through the foundation to help support students research programs.
Donations can be made to the foundation at https://www.district5foundation.org or by mailing directly to District 5 Foundation, P.O. Box 129, Ballentine, SC 29002.
