4/28/20 Meeting Time Corrected

The District's announcement regarding the April 28, 2020 Regular Meeting of the school board has been corrected pertaining to the starting time. The Executive Session will begin shortly after 6:00PM and the Regular meeting will resume at 6:30PM.

The location of the Regular Meeting is not shown in the April 28th updated press release, nor is it shown on the Agenda. The Board apparently plans to meet only via Zoom, effectively eliminating the public and the press from attending the open meeting.

While the announcement states that the meeting will be conducted via Zoom, it does not state that the meeting will not be held in the open and at the regular meeting location, which is at R2i2. Very likely, it will be held entirely remotely, with each board member "attending" from his or her remote location.

The announcement by the District reads, "Due to the restrictions on public gatherings, the meeting will be held using the “Zoom” online meeting platform. The public will be able to view the meeting at http://www.richland2.org/livestream."

The District has failed to explain the "restrictions on public gatherings". Exactly what are they?

When the South Carolina Governor imposed restrictions on groups of more than three people, here is what he had in mind. According to The State newspaper on March 23, 2020,

“It would apply to parties on the beach, to boisterous gatherings or concerts, to spontaneous gatherings or unruly gatherings in shopping centers, parking lots,” McMaster said. “Those are the kinds of things and we have all seen them.

The order does not apply to is [sic] law-abiding businesses or employers, McMaster said."

NOTE: "The order does not apply to is (sic) law-abiding businesses or employers, McMaster said." (emphasis added)

Richland 2 School Board could meet in Open Meetings at R2i2 and employ seating with social-distancing. But it chooses not to. This violates State law.

And, by meeting remotely, the District also violates the requirement that a quorum be present. For Richland 2, a quorum is five. (There are only five legitimate board members; Trustees-elect McKie and Holmes have never legally taken the oath of office.) While the law apparently does not say that a quorum must be present in person, it does not say that it need not. And that's important! It is understood that the quorum must be present in person.

Except that Richland 2 School Board chooses to "interpret" the law, rather than follow it.

Should Richland 2 be following the law - exactly?