Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Reinstate Committee of the Whole

The following email has been sent to Chair James Manning and Supt. Davis, with copies to all board members.


Chair Manning and Supt. Davis,

Pursuant to Board Policy BEDH Public Participation at Meetings, particularly Agenda Items, which reads "Citizens wanting an item to be placed on the agenda..."

I, Gus Philpott, of 39 Barony Place Circle and resident of Richland School District Two, hereby make this request on September 20, 2022, which is more than three days before the next regular school board meeting on September 27, 2022, and request an Agenda Item for the September 27, 2022 regular board meeting for discussion of Chair James Manning's unilateral disbanding of the Committee of the Whole on Safety & Security.

Specifically, I request a full, fair, transparent discussion of the reason(s) that the Chair announced the dissolution of the Committee outside of a board meeting and without discussion or consultation with the Chair of that Committee.

I request that the board direct the Chair to reinstate the Committee because of the extreme importance of addressing the safety and security problems in the District and involving the participation of community members, parents, teachers, staff, and students. 

Because requests from the public are often disregarded and not approved by a board chair and the superintendent, I request board members also to request this item to be added to the Agenda for the next meeting. If it is not, please address during Board & Superintendent Comments or at another time during the September 27th board meeting.

Sincerely,

Gus Philpott

Departing Trustees about to waste District Money

The following email has been sent to Chair James Manning and Supt. Davis, with copies to the other board members, the State Inspector General, and media.

A similar request was made for the agenda for the September 13th board meeting. Neither Manning and Davis responded to my request.

Should there be repercussions for waste of public monies?


Chair Manning and Supt. Davis, 

Pursuant to Board Policy BEDH Public Participation at Meetings, particularly Agenda Items, which reads "Citizens wanting an item to be placed on the agenda..." 

I, Gus Philpott, of 39 Barony Place Circle and resident of Richland School District Two, hereby make this request on September 20, 2022, which is more than three days before the next regular school board meeting on September 27, 2022, and request an Agenda Item for the September 27, 2022 regular board meeting for discussion of Chair James Manning's unilateral disbanding of the Committee of the Whole on Safety & Security. 

Specifically, I request a full, fair, transparent discussion of the reason(s) that the Chair announced the dissolution of the Committee outside of a board meeting and without discussion or consultation with the Chair of that Committee. 

I request that the board direct the Chair to reinstate the Committee because of the extreme importance of addressing the safety and security problems in the District and involving the participation of community members, parents, teachers, staff, and students.  

Because requests from the public are often disregarded and not approved by a board chair and the superintendent, I request board members also to request this item to be added to the Agenda for the next meeting. If it is not, please address during Board & Superintendent Comments or at another time during the September 27th board meeting. 

Sincerely,

Gus Philpott


One Day - Two Security Events

Yesterday was a busy day for Richland 2 security.

All schools were locked down while RCSD deputies searched the area (not the schools) for two miscreants. They were later taken into custody.

Perhaps Supt. Davis will be kind enough to explain why ALL schools were locked down ...

And a 14-year-old girl had a knife at RNE. 

What is really happening at Richland 2 schools? Maybe, out of 28,000 students, a few incidents are not abnormal. You know; just another day at the office.

This problem isn't going away by being addressed in the superintendent's office or at school board meetings. Where it needs to be addressed is at the school classroom level. 

Does Richland 2 have a master list of the students most likely to bring weapons to school? to start fights? to bully? to be bullied? Would that be profiling? Yes? So what?

According to information received yesterday, there are 38 SROs used by Richland 2. I'm awaiting the balance of information I requested; How much do SROs cost Richland 2?

A while back I thought I heard the figure of $150,000/year for a SRO, his patrol car, gun(s), uniform, equipment, etc. Is RCSD charging Richland 2 $5,700,000 annually.

When a SRO is tied up with a student with a gun or a knife or dealing with a fight or some other criminal problem, does that then leave the school defenseless? How quickly does the SRO turn over the errant student to another RCSD deputy, so he can get back to his duty to the entire school?

There are 32 elementary, middle, and high schools. Add R2i2, Blythewood Academy, W.R. Rogers and other facilities. Are there two SROs at each high school?

Who covers when an SRO is transporting a detained student? is on leave? is sick or injured? I was told (unofficially) that each of the five high schools had two SROs. That's not possible, if there are 38 SROs. 

McKie Campaign Fund $4540

When Amelia McKie leaves office in November, what will she do with the $4,540.87 balance in her Campaign Fund?

The balance hasn't changed since the Third Quarter 2019 Report.

One of the things she cannot do with the money is pay down her $57,100 debt to the Ethics Commission. And she can't spend it on her "vacation" to Miami at the end of this month, when the taxpayers will pay her way to her final National School Boards Association CUBE Conference.

Let's just say that more than a few people think she should not be attending that conference at School District expense, since she leaves the board about a month later. The District will derive absolutely no value for that cost. Nor will it for Mannng's attendance at the same meeting.

McKie's last two school board meetings will be October 11 and October 25.

The term-of-office for the new school board members will start about November 17, and a Special-Called board meeting is planned for November 18 to swear in four board members and seat them.