Passive-Aggressive Behavior at board meeting

I missed the first part of this afternoon's board meeting, because I drove a neighbor to the ER at the V.A. Hospital.

By the time I could join the Zoom meeting, it was about 5:35PM and the agenda item about suspending Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings was underway. There was a motion pending to approve the suspension, and Trustee Lindsay Agostini was making a secondary motion to put a time-limit on the suspension.

Her motion needed a second, but Trustee-Elect (and Board Vice-Chair) Holmes was recognized and stated that the state-of-emergency was over. Finally, the Chair, James Manning, interrupted her and said he was waiting for a second to Agostini's secondary motion.

Manning should have cut Holmes off immediately with a Point-of-Order, but he didn't. He let her say what she wanted to say.

Then he asked again for a second to Agostini's motion. A second to her motion would have opened up discussion on her secondary motion.

What response did Manning get to his request for a second?

The Board Vice-Chair (Trustee-elect Holmes) ,who had spoken out of order, said nothing.
The Board Secretary, Caution-Parker, said nothing.
James Shadd said nothing.
Monica Elkins-Johnson said nothing.
Trustee-elect McKie said nothing.
Even the Board Chair (James Manning), who could have seconded the motion, said nothing.

So the secondary motion died for lack of a second.

This is one worthless board. The secondary motion should have received a second, so that it could be discussed. And this is not the first time that Mrs. Agostini has made a motion and failed to hear a second.

Later on, McKie was vociferous in her ongoing praise for the superintendent. You'd think she worked for him. She can talk and talk and say nothing. She has been on the board for 5½ years and even served a year as Board Chair, and still she won't support another board member with a simple "Second".

Certain of the board members (McKie, Holmes, Caution-Parker, Shadd) are blind followers of any that the S.C. School Boards Assn. suggests. The suspension of BEDH was recommended by the SCSBA. As elected school board members in this district, they are responsible to this district, not to the SCSBA.

Then the primary motion - to suspend BEDH indefinitely - was voted on. The vote was 6-1.

Such an agenda item, with its resulting vote, is TOTALLY against the best interests of the school district. Now you, the public, cannot speak at board meetings. You cannot suggest items for the board to consider. Just sit there, keep your mouths shut, pay your taxes and be good little boys and girls.

That is what your school board told you tonight.

What can you do about it? Contact the board members. Tell them you do NOT approve. Demand that they vote again and, next time, rescind their decision to suspend the Public Participation at Meetings decision.