On January 3, 2022 I filed a FOIA Request with Richland 2 school district for information about the "gag order" that the superintendent threw at Trustee Lashonda McFadden. McFadden had spoken out at a board meeting about being prohibited from speaking with the superintendent.
What kind of absurd control is that by a school superintendent to try to stifle a school board member???
South Carolina Code of Laws is very clear about the timeline during which a public body, such as a school district, has to respond.
§30-4-30. 30-4-30 (C) Each public body, upon written request for records made under this chapter, shall within ten days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of its determination and the reasons for it; (C) Each public body, upon written request for records made under this chapter, shall within ten days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of its determination and the reasons for it;
Ten business days from January 3rd was January 18th.
On January 24 I emailed the District a follow-up and received a reply the same day that the goal was to have it to me by the end of the week.
Of course, that department's workload blew up on Tuesday night.
No doubt the lawyers are figuring out how to avoid giving me the details of just what the communications with Lashonda have been and the communications between the superintendent and the other board members have been about the attempt, if any, to block Lashonda from communicating with the superintendent outside of board meetings.
The Board Winter Retreat is back on the District's calendar (homepage) for February 4. I had thought the Retreat was planned around Robert's Rules of Order and the introduction of a Parliamentarian, who would presumably keep future board meetings from running off the rails. I have since learned that the Retreat may be more for the purpose of trying to eliminate (or, at least, reduce) the chaos, disharmony and conflict between board members.
The Retreat on Friday is a public meeting. The public can attend. I urge you to show up. Take your recorders and cameras. More information to follow on time and location. I am planning to attend, since the District has failed to follow up with any written Trespass Notice.
Teresa Holmes whined to WIS-TV on January 28th that there is no chaos on the board. There are only three chaotic members on the board. Seriously? Has just her body been at board meetings, but not her brain? (Don't answer that.)
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