Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Legal action against public body? Ex., SCSBA

Should legal action be taken against a public body or a non-profit corporation, when it knowingly violates South Carolina statutes or its own By-Laws? 

Should a private citizen have to pursue such legal action at personal expense or should there be a public agent, such as the Attorney General or the Solicitor of the S.C. Secretary of State, who would take on the investigation and prosecution of these violations.

One of three organizations that come to mind is the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA), which is being presented with the nomination of Amelia McKie as its Region 8 Director (representing Richland 1 and Richland 2 School Districts). The SCSBA is a South Carolina non-profit corporation.

It's my understanding that a Regional Director must be a member of a school board in the district being represented. If McKie were a legal member of the Richland 2 School District, she would be eligible to be nominated and to serve the SCSBA.

BUT, she is not legal school board member, because she has never taken the oath of office legally.

At a Richland 2 school board meeting in February or March 2019 I proposed an easy remedy. Just administer the oath of office to her. She became eligible to take the oath of office on December 4, 2018, when she filed her Statement of Economic Interests with the South Carolina Ethics Commission.

The oath that she took on November 13, 2018 was invalid and meaningless, because she was not eligible to take the oath on that date. (S.C. Code of Laws 8-13-1110(A))

McKie has been nominated by Richland 2 to the SCSBA. The Richland 2 Board never should have nominated her.

The SCSBA should refuse to appoint her to the Region 8 District Director position.

If it does so, then legal action against the SCSBA should begin.

Every single person in the Richland 2 School District should ask Amelia McKie to explain why she will not take the oath of office legally.

While you are at tit, ask the Richland 2 School District to explain why they allow her (and Teresa Holmes, who also has never taken the oath of office legally) to serve on the school board.