Why does Richland 2 Lie?

As a result of Pamela Davis' meltdown at the January 25, 2022 board meeting, I was placed on Trespass Notice by Director of Safety and Security Marq Claxton. Even though it was Pamela Davis who shouted and became disruptive, I was the one who was ordered out of the meeting room and off the R2i2 property.

On February 5th the District's letter (dated January 26th) was delivered. It began with

"This letter is to inform you that you are excluded from any and ALL [emphasis in the original] Richland School District Two properties, facilities, campuses and buildings for the 2021-2022 school year as a result of the following conduct which occurred on 1/25/22 at R2i2 [emphasis in the original]:

- Disruptive Behavior

"As of this notice, access to any Richland School District Two property must be requested at least 24 hours in advance AND you MUST receive access authorization from the Director of Safety & Security or the Director's designee."

Now, what are the lies?

Marq Claxton apparently never approves a request for access.

He denied my request to attend a press conference at R2i2. He denied my request to use the public library. 

The library intervened and got approval for my using the drive-up window, but I wanted access to the inside library.

Claxton also exceeded his authority when he sent a letter “excluding” me from ALL property. Administrative Rule KI-R allows the exclusion from “the” property; i.e., the one property where an incident occurred.

I have filed complaints with the Board. So far, no board member to whom I submitted a complaint has acknowledged it. Under Board Policy KE a Board member who receives a complaint from the public must submit it to the superintendent. Did they? 

Did the superintendent log each complaint? Is he investigating? Will he respond? Will his response be satisfactory?

If it's not, then I will complain further to the board under existing Board Policy KE and expect a grievance to be scheduled and heard.

The majority of the board will quite likely stick together and approve a revision to Board Policy KE on March 22. Attend (or watch) the meeting and see how they handle Item 8.3 on the agenda. Will they kowtow to the South Carolina School Boards Association and gut Policy KE in favor of the superintendent?

Richland 2 Student Fatally Shot

On March 7, 2022 a Richland 2 student was fatally shot about two blocks northwest of Richland North East High School. This happened off school property and after school hours.

There has been virtually nothing in the news. WIS-TV wrote a story and, in a second story, interviewed Sheriff Lott. WACH-TV published one story, and the next day removed it. 

Trevion Fuller, 14, died by gun shots on March 7, 2022. He was a Richland North East High School student who had been transferred to Blythewood Academy.

Often, when a student dies, a school will make some type of announcement (press release) and indicate whether counseling will be offered to students. If Richland 2 has made a peep, I haven't seen it. Have you?

Richland County deputies arrested a 16-year-old a short time after Trevion was found, and that boy is in jail (juvenile detention). His identity has not been released. 

Why am I writing a story, when mainstream media did not cover this shooting in depth? Because it is news. Richland 2 made a big splash on December 9, 2021 with a photo op at R2i2, attended by officials of several school districts and law-enforcement agencies. The Richland 2 led a big signing ceremony. Has anything happened since?

Should Richland 2 have done more after I addressed the school board in February 2018, two weeks after the shootings in Parkland, Florida? Is the association with BeSMART going to be more than just one more program of "All Talk and No Walk"? Were the start-up steps already in place on December 9, 2021?

There is a GoFundMe to help with final expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/f/trevions-funeral-expenses?qid=ea9404fbf873b6686b94a9c2aa2ec67c  It's close to its goal. May I encourage you to kick in today? Few families are prepared to meet sudden expenses of this type. I had donated to the original GFM that had been mentioned in the WACH-TV article, but that one was withdrawn when current one was organized.

I urge you to demand that the Trustees direct the superintendent to report to the Board on exactly what is happening with the BeSMART initiative and what can be expected from it. I can assure you that "talk and gun locks" are not going to solve the gun violence problems in Richland County and Columbia. The solution is going to be to get right down at the ground-zero level and deal with the issues at the very core of gun violence.