WLTX.com (News 19) reported today that a 15-year-old at Blythewood High School had a gun at school.
How absolutely stupid.
What's wrong with kids these days?
The Principal should recommend expulsion.
The Superintendent should approve it.
The Board should meet for two minutes and approve it.
No excuses. No explanation. Zero tolerance. Assuming the student is male, out he goes on his backside.
Charge him as an adult and release his name and photo.
The Trustees of Richland School District Two are doing a great job. They have hit the ground running.
They are actually doing something. Yes, there is a learning curve. Yes, some of them are catching up on parliamentary procedures. Yes, some of them don't have a corporate background or a financial background. But they are working hard and they are working together.
They are putting in many hours on behalf of the students, staff, teachers, and the public. And they aren't complaining. They aren't running off to WIS-TV or The State newespaper.
Note the unanimous decision to accept Baron Davis' resignation.
Will the public accept that it was a true resignation? Davis doesn't strike me as a guy who would get forced to do anything. Was his resignation negotiated? If so, why not?
Some have written on Facebook about "discrimination" and "forced resignation". Where could the discrimination come from? Do those wags mean "racial discrimination"? Do they realize that five of the trustees are black?
This board (the one since Nov. 21, 2022) is color-blind; i.e., they are not making decisions based on race or color. They made a business decision to accept Davis' resignation.
So, why did he resign? Did they ask him if he would follow the directions of the board? What was his answer?
The terms of his resignation are not yet public. We'll probably all be surprised at the terms. How much will he be paid for leaving that board meeting unemployed? Somewhere between pay to the end of the school year (6½ months) and $1,180,000.
What does an Interim Superintendent do?
It's a temporary position. Very temporary.
Nancy Gregory is the INTERIM Supt. She's not there to do anything but turn the lights on and off and try to keep RSD2 from running further off the rails, until the Board can hire a new full-time Supt.
Does she have the skill set to run a business with $1 Billion in Assets and a $300,000,000 annual budget?
Didn't Baron Davis create any management depth to the Administration? Every major position should have a back-up ready to go, in the event of a resignation, firing, retirement, disability, or death.
In his side-gig, The Noegenesis Group, wouldn't he train businesses to do that? Did he do it in the business that paid him more than $240,000, while he maintained several outside income streams?
His 2022 Statement of Economic Interests, available at ethics.sc.gov, discloses his $241,191 income from Richland 2 in 2021, plus his $18,000 car allowance. The value of perks, such as life, health and disability insurance, expense account, and retirement plan contributions, are not disclosed. And it reveals his side jobs:
The Noegenesis Group (his own private consulting business), which 14 months ago could be found at www.noegenesisgroup.com;
University of the Cumberlands;
University of South Carolina ($14,000).
Read this article about the 1st-Grader who shot his teacher in Virginia.
Read what the teachers said.
How much of that is going on right here in Richland 2?
https://www.aol.com/news/anger-grows-virginia-city-where-195809849.html
The starting time for the special-called meeting is announced as 5:20PM EST. The meeting will be broadcast at https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10746230
The agenda has not yet been published but will be by 5:20PM EST today.
My guess is that the board will appoint an Acting Superintendent.
[Edited 1/18/2023 5:13PM]
The agenda provides the purpose of the Executive Session: "Receipt of Legal Advice Regarding Acting/Interim Superintendent".
Let's hope the motion can be made clearly, correctly and briefly, "I move that we enter Executive Session for the purpose of receiving legal advice regarding an Acting/Interim superintendent."
How big will the technical problem be, if they do more than "receive" legal advice? What if they discuss structuring and offering a position? The lawyer won't tell them whom to appoint as Acting/Interim Superintendent, how to conduct a search for the successor to Baron Davis, and all those details. Does all that fit neatly under "receiving legal advice" or is the Board entering a minefield by limiting the purpose of the Executive Session?
