Tuesday, January 4, 2022

McKie files Amended SEI with Ethics Commission

Trustee-elect Amelia McKie filed an amended report with the South Carolina Ethics Commission on December 23, 2021, finally reporting her 2020 income from the Richland 2 School District.

When she filed the original Statement of Economic Interests Report (SEI) on January 12, 2021, she omitted her School District income of the $9,600 stipend (paid monthly at $800) for the Year 2020. She reported only that she had private consulting income from NLLC (whatever that is).

The purpose of the SEI is to reveal any potential conflicts-of-interest. What is NLLC?  It is impossible to know what NLLC is, when the Ethics Commission allows identifying a business only by initials. The amount of personal income is not required to be disclosed.

She also failed to report any Private Income for Immediate Family Members on either the original or amended SEI for the Year 2020. McKie was addressed at several board meetings as Mrs. McKie. Was she married for any part of 2020? If so, she should have reported the source (but not the amount) of any private income received by a family member.

McKie, who has never taken the oath-of-office legally since filing her SEI on December 4, 2018, served as Board Chair from November 2018 until June 30, 2019. Since she wasn't a legal board member, she should not have continued to serve as chair after November 6, 2018.

On June 29, 2020 she was elected Board Secretary, after Trustee Caution-Parker nominated her. That was the board meeting at which I beseeched the board to nominate and elect only fully-qualified board members.

When the elections began that evening, James Manning immediately nominated Teresa Holmes, the other illegitimate board member (same reason; Holmes has never taken the oath-of-office after filing her own SEI on December 4, 2018).

McKie has had problems with the Ethics Commission in the past, resulting in her now owing $57,100 to the S.C. Ethics Commission, including a judgment for $51.700 filed in the Richland County Common Pleas Court on July 10, 2019.

This is the officer of the school board elected as Secretary and with the fiduciary responsbility for attesting to the proper and legal signature of the Board Chair on bond documents and other legal instruments requiring board signatures.

Are you feeling nice and secure, knowing that two important officers of the board are not legitimate board members?