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Sarah O'Neill Thornburg
Office history
Current office and 2026 campaign
Sarah O'Neill Thornburg, an attorney who practices professionally as Sarah Sparboe Thornburg, is an incumbent member of the Asheville City Schools Board of Education running for re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election, one of six candidates for four open seats on the nonpartisan board 12. Responding to Mountain Xpress's 2026 candidate questionnaire, she said the district's new three-year collaborative funding agreement with Buncombe County Schools "brings predictability and stability to a budget process that otherwise lacks much of either" 2.
Background and education
Thornburg earned a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Duke University in 1990 and a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1996, and was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1997 3. Before practicing law, she worked as a high school social studies teacher and later served as a judicial clerk for Judge Thomas A. Higgins of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee 3.
Career
Thornburg is an attorney at the Asheville firm McGuire, Wood & Bissette, where she focuses on estate planning, estate administration, guardianship, and tax planning 3. She is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association 3.
Office history
Thornburg was a candidate for the Asheville City Schools Board of Education in the 2022 election cycle 4 and is identified as an incumbent board member as of April 2026 2.
Legislative record and accomplishments
On the board, Thornburg has discussed the new Buncombe County Schools/Asheville City Schools funding agreement, the district's zero-waste and universal free-meals programs, and classroom climate-education content, in response to Mountain Xpress's candidate questionnaire 2.
Business interests and wealth source
Thornburg's law practice focuses on trusts, estates, and elder law; no additional business ownership or wealth-source details are documented in available sources 3.
Family
Thornburg self-describes on her personal Instagram account as a "mom of two boys and public school teacher" 5.
Sources
Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
North Carolina — campaign finance
- State, county, and municipal candidates — all in one system — NC State Board of Elections — Committee Search. Search by last name “Thornburg”.
North Carolina — statement of economic interest
- Required for state-elected and many local officials — NC State Ethics Commission — Statement of Economic Interest Search. Search by last name “Thornburg”.