Public Participation - June 29, 2021

Be sure to watch the public participation portion of the June 29, 2021 school board meeting. It is found at www.richland2.org/livestream. Look for the date of the meeting and be sure to click the Play arrow. Then fast-forward (drag the counter) to 13:48.

Several parents presented very forceful remarks against the teaching of "anti-racism" and of gender. It is the parents' role to teach their children about gender.

Two pointed out that "anti-racism' is a higher priority for Richland 2 than discipline. One man said that anti-racism is nothing more than bait-and-switch. Bravo!

Watch and listen carefully to the remarks of these parents.Start showing up at board meetings and speak out. If you don't, then the board will go right on its merry way and pursue the path it is on. It is up to the board to direct and guide the superintendent and the staff on the path ordered by those who have elected them.

When enough parents show up and speak out, the board will begin to get the message. 

A good example to follow is that of the parents in Loudoun County, Virginia. They are loud and they are in the news. That should be happening here.

Awaiting FOIA Request re oath by McKie, Holmes

After Tuesday night's board meeting I submitted a new FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to Richland 2 for copies of the most-recent oath of office taken by Teresa Holmes and Amelia McKie.

Previously, the District provided me with copies of the oath of office administered on November 13, 2018.

Have they ever taken the oath of office after December 4, 2018? 

More than once, I requested the District to inform me of any administration of the oath after December 4, 2018 to McKie and Holmes, and I have never been so informed.

There are several problems with the oath that was administered on November 13, 2018.

McKie and Holmes were not eligible to take the oath on November 13, 2018. Neither had filed her Statement of Economic Interests Report (SEI) with the South Carolina Ethics Commission. That SEI must be filed before a newly-elected (or re-elected) person can take the oath and assume the duties of the office.

They repeated the words of the oath on November 13, 2018, but those words had, and have, no legal effect. The Oath form was notarized, and it is meaningless - legally. Presumably, it was submitted to the State of South Carolina, as required. Again, all meaningless.

Another reason the oath on November 13, 2018 is meaningless is that the November 6, 2018 election of McKie and Holmes had not yet been certified by the Richland County Board of Elections. That  certification happened on November 9, 2018. The earliest that McKie and Holmes could have legally taken the oath (if they had already filed their SEIs (which they hadn't)) was November 16, 2018.

The District had been swearing in new trustees improperly (early, before the election was certified) for about ten years. They'd still be doing so, if I hadn't called their attention to the law.

Why is this a big deal?

It was bad enough that McKie and Holmes were allowed to sit at the board and participate in board decisions by voting. And drawing a Trustee's salary and benefits.

But now Holmes and McKie are officers of the board.

If you aren't a legal board member, you can't be a legal board officer. 

If they haven't taken the oath of office since December 4, 2018, they should be removed. All monies paid to or for them should be recovered by the District. All board decisions swayed by their votes should be reviewed and changed to include only votes by legal board members.

I'll let you know how the District responds to my FOIA Request.