Update on the School Board

For some unknown reason the Richland 2 School Board has been willing to allow two persons to serve illegally on the school board. The following is a summary of allegations that have been made monthly, beginning in February 2019.

Who are the two persons?

The persons are Amelia McKie and Teresa Holmes. At this time they are Trustees-elect of the School Board, but they are not duly-constituted Trustees.

In what way are they serving illegally?

McKie and Holmes were elected on November 6, 2018. Each took the oath of office (illegally) on November 13, 2018 without having filed her Statement of Economic Interests Report with the South Carolina Ethics Commission. Each filed her Report on December 4, 2018. Each has been eligible to take the oath of office since December 4, 2018. Neither has taken the oath of office (legally).

Why is this a problem?

McKie and Holmes are being allowed to participate in Board matters, attend Executive Sessions where confidential District and student matters are discussed, vote on Board motions, receive compensation that is normally only paid to Trustees and benefit from expenses paid by the District for professional memberships, conferences, travel, etc.

What are the laws?

The first law of importance is S.C. Code of Laws Section 8-13-1110 (A). This law says that a person may not take the oath of office or enter upon official responsibilities without filing the Statement of Economic Interests. (Note the exact order of the words.)

The second law of importance is S.C. Code of Laws Section 15-63-60 (1). This law pertains to the person who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises any public office.

FIRST. CLEAR VIOLATION

Trustees-elect McKie and Holmes clearly violated the law on November 13, 2018. They took the oath of office on November 13, 2018, and their notarized Oaths have been filed. They filed the Statements of Economic Interests on December 4, 2018. Those are public records and can be viewed on the website of the South Carolina Ethics Commission.

SECOND. KNOWLEDGE

McKie and Holmes know by now (and have known since February 2019) that they clearly violated the law by taking the oath of office without having filed their Statements of Economic Interests. It doesn't matter that they might not have known the requirement on November 13, 2018. They should have known it; they were expected to know it. But they certainly have known since February 2019.

THIRD. INTENT

McKie and Holmes have continued to violate Section 15-63-60 (usurping public office) by attending Board meetings and pretending to serve as Trustees when they are, in fact, only Trustees-elect.

They can become full-fledged Trustees only by taking the oath of office legally. They could have done this at any time after December 4, 2018.

The big question is why have they not taken the oath of office legally?

Why has the Board tolerated their illegal participation?

To compound matters, Trustee-elect McKie was allowed to serve as Board Chair from November 13, 2018 until June 30, 2019. She was not a legal Board member and, thus, could not serve as legal Board Chair. During that period of time she signed legal documents related to a $26,000,000 sale of Bond Anticipation Notes.

At the end of June, Trustee-elect Holmes was elected as an officer of the Board (Board Vice Chair). Since she is not legally a Board member, she cannot serve legally as Vice Chair.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Contact any or all of the Board members and tell them that you want them to correct this important legal problem without further delay.

Right now the Board has five legal members. A quorum for conducting Richland 2 business is five. If any one of the legal five members is not present, that meeting cannot be held as a official meeting. If one of the legal five arrives late, the meeting cannot start without him or her. If one of the five leaves early, no further action can be officially taken.

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