What happened one year ago? 11/13/2018

What happened on November 13, 2018? And why is it important today?

On November 13, 2018 two trustee-elect (Amelia McKie and Teresa Holmes) were sworn in as Trustees of the Richland 2 School District.

Their term of office had not started yet, because it officially was to start one week after the election was certified. The November 6 election was not certified until November 9, so the term of office legally began November 16, 2018.

BUT the School Board held an official Regular Meeting on November 13, 2018. Prior to the meeting McKie and Holmes took the oath of office. They sat (illegally) at the Board desks on November 13, 2018, attended Executive Session, heard confidential student matters, then voted on student matters during the open session. And, I presume, got paid about $450 each for attending that meeting.

The problem?

Their term-of-office didn't begin until November 16 - three days later!

Most important, McKie and Holmes were not eligible to take the oath of office on November 13. They took it illegally. S.C. Code of Laws 8-13-1110(A) says you cannot take the oath of office unless you have filed the Statement of Economic Interests.

They had not filed those statements!

They finally filed them on December 4, 2018, after The Independent Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County contacted them and revealed to the world that McKie and Holmes had not filed the required reports.

So, on December 4, 2018, McKie and Holmes first became eligible to take the oath of office and, upon doing so, would have become legal members of the board.

But they have not done so. They are still trustees-elect. And they should not be sitting on the Board or attending Executive Sessions or voting on student matters or other District business or collecting a paycheck for doing so.

McKie should not have signed the documents as Board Chair for the $26,000,000 sale of Bond Anticipation Notes. Her posiiton as Board Chair, to which she was elected in June 2018, ended on November 6, 2018.

Why won't the School Board insist that this error be corrected? The Board has conducted business with only five legal trustees for the past 12 months!