Which is correct? 18.4 or 18.5

After the school board meeting on May 31, WLTX reported that Richland 2 had approved a millage rate of 18.5.

That's not correct. The Board voted to ask Richland County for 18.4.

The Voice newspaper reported 18.5 after checking with Libby Roof and one trustee. They apparently said that Manning "misspoke" when he made the motion for 18.4. No, he didn't misspeak. He asked for 18.4. It's clear as day.

[Edited 6/6/2022] Libby Roof did not tell The Voice that Trustee Manning misspoke.]

And the Minutes for the board meeting support that. Here's how the Minutes read:

I move that we approve an 18.4 mill increase for 22-23 school year budget.

Motion by James Manning, second by Amelia McKie.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Cheryl Caution-Parker, James Manning, Amelia McKie, Teresa Holmes

No: Lindsay Agostini, Monica E Scott, Lashonda McFadden

Click on the link and hear what Manning said. Go to livestream.com/richland2, select the May 31, 2022 meeting and fast-forward to 1:54:40.

If the District sent a request for 18.5 to County Council, the Council should dump it in the round file and consider that Richland 2 submitted no valid request. Richland 2 was already late. Did it err?

[Edited 6/6/2022] Richland 2 requested an 18.4 millage increase to the millage cap.]

People around Richland County know how I operate. Words count. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

The School Board approved 18.4. If the District asked for more, then it doesn't get anything.

What's the truth here?

Next safety Committee Meeting

The next meeting of the Committee of the Whole on Safety & Security will be Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 3:30PM. It will be held at R2i2, before the Board meets. A request has been made to livestream the meeting.

Does the Committee just meet, talk and go away? Or are assignments made for Committee members to actually do something before the next meeting?

Since you have to be there to know what is happening, who really knows? There seem to be no Minutes of the Committee meetings, and there apparently is no dedicated webpage on the District's website.

Having a meeting from 3:30-5:00PM likely means few parents, community members or business people will attend.

I won't be at that meeting, because Director of Safety & Security Marq Claxton denies my requests for permission to attend. 

The Trespass Notices that are issued by the District are a joke. 

The Notice reads, in part, "... 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."

What the Notice fails to inform the recipient is that the Director will not authorize access in most cases.