Vaccine administered IN schools?

Do you realize that your child might be asked to get vaccinated in Richland 2 schools without his parents' knowledge or permission?

What kind of pressure will be brought to bear to influence a student, away from his parent(s) and in the care of the school for the day, to take the jab?

The video isn't exactly clear about whether a 16-year-old can get vaccinated at school or a child older than 16. The doctor, a professor at the U of South Carolina, says "over 16" for the Pfizer drug.

I can already hear the uproar at the next school board meeting about the school district trying to usurp the authority of a parent. Don't miss the next meeting. It's October 26.

The video is labeled on YouTube as the "BHS Informational Video on the COVID-19 Vaccine". The interviewer is Sophie (last name unintelligible), Student Body President. Is this an official Richland 2 or official Blythewood High School production?

I wonder if the school board knows about it.

Caution-Parker said WHAT?

As Board member Cheryl Caution-Parker left R2i2 on Tuesday night, Oct. 12, and walked through the crowd of parents gathered just outside the front doors, several parents thought they heard an inappropriate utterance from her. I heard parents ask "Why did she just say?", but I did not personally hear Caution-Parker's words. 

More than one parent was recording video, and one exclaimed about what she had just heard.

Did Caution-Parker really say what the parents heard?

I'd reach out to her for a comment, but I have several reasons for not doing so.

First, I doubt she would reply.

Secondly, no matter how politely and professionally my inquiry would be worded, she'd probably find something wrong with it. I don't need to defend myself from a reckless and false claim, as was mounted against me by another board member back in March 2019.

But the parents heard it. 

Remember when Caution-Parker echoed Holmes during the meeting about "the children"? Well, the "children" are watching. Parents are sitting their older children down and showing them the recording of the chaotic October 12 board meeting. Then they are trying to explain to their children why certain behaviors were being demonstrated.

During the Board and Superintendent Comments near the end of the meeting, Caution-Parker ran out her "40 years of experience" one more time. Should she be proud of how she is winding up those 40 years? 

Will Teresa Holmes Listen to ANYONE?

If you attended or watched any of the board meetings in September and this month, you know how they have disintegrated. The problem is with how the meetings are being run.

Is there anyone to whom Teresa Holmes will listen and accept advice?

She surely isn't going to listen to anything I say. She won't listen to Trustees Agostini, Scott or McFadden. It won't do any good to listen to Caution-Parker, McKie or Manning. The superintendent will be very careful about any suggestions he makes. No staff member at Richland 2 would dare to offer advice or suggestions.

If Holmes is to have any hope at all of continuing as board chair and completing her term as chair, which ends on June 30, 2022, she must get help in understanding the effect and impact she is having on board meetings. And she must get some training and coaching in how to be an effective chair of a meeting.

There are consultants available. She should avail herself of them - and at her own expense. It would be wrong for the District to expend any funds to help her improve her ability to serve as board chair.

To whom should she turn?

First step should be a counselor or therapist to help her understand, quickly, that she runs roughshod over people. If a therapist watched portions of the September 14th and October 12th board meetings, he or she would get a clear picture of Holmes in action.

Is Holmes to accept counseling, advice, training?

If not, she should resign as Chair and seriously consider withdrawing from the board, where she is not even a legal member of the board.

If she is willing to accept counseling, advice and training, then first she should take the oath of office (she first became eligible to take the oath on December 4, 2018) and become a legitimate member of the board.

Then the board should hold an election of officers and properly elect a legitimate Board Chair and a legitimate Board Secretary.

If McKie also steps up and takes the oath (she too first became eligible to take it on December 4, 2018), then she will become a legitimate board member and eligible to hold a position as an officer.

The key is whether Holmes is willing to make a 180º turn and change how she interacts with the other board members. Continuing to act as a bully will not work.

If she continuues to put on a Bully hat at meetings, three board members are very likely to walk out of meetings, halting business. "The Three" will tolerate being out-voted, but they won't tolerate a bully.

Does she have any friends she'll listen to? Preachers? Lawyers? Anyone?

New Job at Richland 2 - Report to the Board Chair

Richland 2 has a job opening posted - internally, only!

When I saw this, my very first question was, "Is there battle pay?"

I would have added one more item, either at the top or at the bottom. "Interested candidates must watch the October 12, 2021 school board meeting in its entirety. That's the person you'll be working for initially." That'll kill off the internal pool. 

Hiring a full-time employee as support staff to a part-time, temporary employee is a serious mistake. Who thought up that one? 

Most executive assistants have bosses who have a good grasp on corporate mission, goals and operations. When I was in the business world and looked at job postings like this one, I always wondered how many employees would be needed to get those duties covered. Certainly, one would not be enough.

New position posted

Position: Special Assistant to the Board  

Under limited supervision, the Special Assistant to the Board performs a variety of complex administrative duties to maintain effective and efficient school board office operations and to assist and support the school system.

Reports to the school board chairman. 

This position is only open to internal applicants.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
    •    Attends all board meetings, taking accurate minutes using an electronic board management system.

    •    Ensures the timely preparation and distribution of materials (i.e., agendas, schedules, notices, resolutions, etc.) for board meetings, consistent with board policy using an electronic board management system.

    •    Keeps all official records of board activities (i.e., meeting packets, minutes, resolutions, etc.) as required by law and directed by the board ensuring they are available externally as appropriate.

    •    Coordinates arrangements for school board meetings and conferences, including scheduling of meeting sites, travel plans, food service, media, meeting packets, and special invitation preparations.

    •    Assists the board in the negotiation of facilities contracts for outside services that may be needed by the board.

    •    Serves as liaison for the board to district personnel and school community as directed by the board.

    •    Develops monthly board calendar and coordinates schedules of individual board members and maintains a log of all regular and called meetings.
Keeps abreast of developments in education and school board governance through publications, research, workshops, and keeps the board informed of pertinent issues.

    •    Facilitates and manages services with outside consultants as directed by the board. Evaluates, designs, and recommends implementation of procedures as directed by the board.

    •    Monitors and tracks educational legislation in the General Assembly and other local governing entities and reports updates to the board to assist in the formation of the board's legislative agenda. Does not include lobbying.

    •    Serves as liaison with the staff members of the National and State School Board Associations on issues pertaining to the board. Provides updates to the board.

    •    Coordinates internally with the superintendent and district executive staff on matters pertaining to the board.

    •    Plans and coordinates with the board an annual board retreat for board development and assessment of the implementation of the district's strategic plan.

    •    Works as part of a collaborative district office team.

    •    Performs related duties as required by the board.

Job Number - 10271
Salary Range - $44,083-$46,334

McKie Debt to Ethics Commission

How much does Amelia McKie, trustee-elect of the Richland 2 school board, owe the South Carolina Ethics Commission?

As of October 11, 2021, her balance is $57,100. It's still $57,100.

If she paid $1,000/month, it would take her 57 months to pay it off. That's almost five years. But apparently she is not paying anything per month, because her balance is not going down. At $100/month it would take her 571 months to pay it off. That's 47½ years!

Two months ago, on August 14th, the Post and Courier published an article with this headline: 

South Carolina politicians blow off their ethics fines with few consequences

Just click on the headline to read the article.

In the article, just below a paragraph title reading "Thumbing their noses", you'll see McKie's photo. She told a reporter that she “will continue to comply with the Commission by continuing to chip away at the late fees."

Why do the six other members of the Richland 2 School Board tolerate McKie's "thumbing her nose" at this fine?

What does "chipping away" mean to McKie? Anything? Does that mean, if she has some spare change after pulling away from Starbuck's, she might drop it in the cup at the Ethics Commission?

Is McKie working? According to her 2021 Statement of Economic Interests Report filed on January 12, 2021, her sole source of income is from NLLC, whatever that is. The Ethics Commission allows use of initials, and it is impossible to tell what that company is and whether there is any conflict-of-interest with her position on the School Board, which isn't even a legitimate position, since she has never taken the oath of office legally. Does she work for the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation? That's one of the results of a Google search for NLLC.

McKie didn't even report her stipend/salary from Richland 2 on her 2021 SEI.

The South Carolina Secretary of State website indicates the NLLC is available as a business name. There is no business in South Carolina by that name. Why does the Ethics Commission allow McKie to report NLLC as source of private income, rather than requiring a full business name?

Who terrorized whom on 10/12/21?

I think T. Holmes doesn't understand that the U.S. Attorney General is saying that he is worried about school boards and how parents might be "domestic terrorists".

Tuesday night it was the People who were worried about the school board, in the form of the chair. That's the person who was out-of-control at the meeting. I'm still worried about that poor desk that took such a beating from her gavel.

Did you hear the gasp when she called Security while I was trying to use my three minutes?

The thing you have to know about me is that I don't worry when Security gets called. If I am illegally detained or arrested, my pay day will be on the way. 

Teresa learned what happened when she cried "Harassment" in March 2019. Nothing. The Sheriff's Department investigated. Thank goodness it was in the hands of the Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations. I believe the investigating sergeant thought I would be intimidated, when he met me at the front door and escorted me to the DC's office. 

After I had read the complaint filed by Holmes and explained that it was full of false statements, the sergeant said, in a rather angry voice, "You just want those two women kicked off the board."

I imagine he thought I'd swallow the bait and respond in-kind.

Instead, I paused and calmly said, "No, I just want them (Holmes and McKie) to take the oath of office and become legal board members."

By the way, they still haven't.