ACT - how did Richland Two students do?

Read this article on Columbia's WLTX-TV website about results of the ACT. It's about a Pennsylvania student who scored 36. "(O)nly 3,376 out of 1.34 million students who took the ACT earned a top composite score of 36."

How did Richland Two students do on the ACT? Where are these results posted for District parents and community members (and staff and teachers)?

$7,000 Annual Training/Travel Allowance

For each Trustee of the school board the District allows $7,000 for training and travel during the School Year, which is July 1 - June 30.

This $7,000 is for each Trustee slot on the Board. What happened last November was that four trustees left the board and four new trustees were elected.

How much of the $7,000 remained when each of the Core Four left the board? That's how much the new trustees have available to spend until June 30, 2023.

The District has had plenty of time to complete the calculations and inform the four new trustees how much each has available.

A FOIA request will be submitted to the District for the amounts spent in each of the four departing trustees accounts for the period July 1, 2022 - November 21, 2022, when the new trustees took office. 

Remember when Baron Davis tried to claim "confidentiality" and initially refused to agree to tell all the trustees how much each one was spending? The next day I filed a FOIA request for that information and I received it. 

Larry Smalls used to address Davis at board meetings as "the King". He nailed it.

Bonus Checks before Spring Break - terrible decision

The following email is being sent to Interim Superintendent Gregory, Dr. Harry Miley, and the Board.

Dear Supt. Gregory,

The Board made a terrible decision last night regarding its demand that the District issue certain bonus checks before Spring Break. Did they not listen to Dr. Miley when he said his department could not produce those checks before Spring Break? 

What was the urgency felt by four of the board members to get some meager funds into the hands of certain hands before Spring Break? No employee will change his/her plans for the Break, based on receiving or not receiving the check one week earlier. And no employee is going to make a career decision based on getting $1,000 extra in April.

I loved Dr. Miley's comment that all the members of his payroll team who were watching last night were probably throwing up.

I hope in the future you'll run interference for your staff and state plainly to the Board that its urgency is unfounded and that it creates an unnecessary and impossible workload on staff to meet its decision, if the team can even do so.

The 3-4 decision on the secondary motion was poorly made. It should have passed.

I hope Dr. Miley doesn't give his two weeks' notice and date it two weeks ago.

Gus Philpott

D.A.R.E. Conference approved for Scott

On the Agenda of last night's board meeting was an item to approve attendance by Vice Chair Scott at an upcoming D.A.R.E. Conference.

One of the reasons for that Item was a really stupid change in Board Policy that the Core Four jammed down the Board's throat last fall just before all four left the Board. A motion was made that the board would have to approve conference attendance for any board member, and the board majority (the departing Core Four) passed it. In effect, the departing Core Four handcuffed the new board.

Dumb; really dumb.

So Monica wants to attend a D.A.R.E. conference. If you watched last night's board meeting, you did not hear any good reasons. She even thinks SROs should attend those conferences; it sounded like she meant at District expense. Well, one SRO, representing RCSD, probably does and brings back the information to RCSD.

Did you notice that no one asked whether Monica had already spent her full $7,000 School Year allowance for training and conferences? Will that expense push her beyond the limit of that allowance? No one asked where or when the conference was or what the District's cost would be.

The Board just passed it. 

SEE the Livestream recording at 3:32:00. 

https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10813202/videos/235603761

P-Cards and Richland Two

Richland Two's loose and sloppy P-card controls were addressed by the State Inspector General in his scathing report issued just before Election Day 2022.

The public heard more during the Auditor's Report at last night's board meeting.

Where did the buck stop in Richland Two during the past few years? During the reign of Baron Davis, then-superintendent of the District!

He could have halted the abuses. He could have informed the board of the abuses and errors. Did he ever discuss the problems with any of the Board Chairs, when the Core Four ruled the Board? 

We'll never know, but the problems never got addressed in public at any board meeting.

Of course, recurring expenses, such as utilities and phone bills, should not be paid by P-Cards. Of course, Amazon purchases should be documented with receipts and exactly what was purchased.

Why did Baron allow employees to skirt the system? We'll never know that, either.

Board's insane vote on bonus checks

When a school board has members who are inexperienced in finances of large businesses and don't understand what it takes to make something happen, you get a decision like the one last night to issue bonus checks to some, but not all, employees before spring break.

Dr. Harry Miley, Richland Two's Senior Chief Officer for Finance and Operations, told the full board very clearly why the District could not produce those checks before spring break. As I heard him, the main reason is the need to work with H.R. and determine who gets the checks (and who does not). It's not a case of issuing checks to all employees!

Vice Chair Scott made a motion to issue checks before spring break. Chair Agostini made a secondary motion to issue the checks by April 25; seconded by Trustee Joe Trapp. Lindsay's motion lost 3-4. The three voting FOR that common-sense motion were Agostini, Trapp, and Porter. Those voting against it were Washington, Nash, Scott, and McFadden. Didn't they pay attention to Harry Miley?

Then Scott's motion passed 7-0.

Who heard Dr. Miley and didn't understand him??? What's the board going to do when his department does not meet the spring break deadline set by the board?

When your world experience with finances is writing checks monthly from your personal checkbook, it's hard to grasp what happens in the world of big business - the Richland Two school district. 

If I were Harry Miley, I'd either be holding my breath and hoping the Board hires the right full-time Superintendent or I'd be looking for a new job.

Lessons from Nashville

What can be learned from the horrendous shootings in Nashville at the Christian school?

First of all, if you are an untrained, unarmed, school employee, you don't run toward the shots.

Second, in view of reports that the shooter may have had mental illness, why did he (err, "she") still access to firearms?

Mental health therapists are reluctant to red-flag clients, because they fear the consequences of HIPAA. You know, that "patient confidentiality" thing.

Should school staff and teachers have the authority to arm themselves?

At the very first Richland 2 school board meeting I attended, on February 27, 2018 (two weeks after the shootings in Parkland, Florida), I urged the board to conduct a survey of parents, teachers, staff and community members on the topic of arming teachers.

Just as Lindsay Agostini explained last night to speakers, then-Chair Craig Plank said the board would not respond but a staff member would follow up.

When none did, I kept pestering until Baron Davis did call me and told me they would be no survey. Of course, I immediately recognized that the board had never considered my request. Baron Davis turned it down.

Richland 2 has been lucky. I'll tell you - all steps have NOT been taken to reduce the possibility of an in-school shooting. Every school administrator knows who is likely to be "a shooter", but they can't point fingers. They'll get accused of profiling.

Well, what do you want? An accusation of profiling or some dead kids and teachers?

Finally - an Inspirational Moment

At tonight's board meeting the wrestling team from Richland Northeast High School was recognized and praised for their past season.

I'm not familiar with the challenges they faced, but they succeeded.

I wish I hadn't heard "athaletics" and "wrassling" in the introduction.

I myself would prefer a short introduction, such as "Tonight's Inspirational Moment will be presented by the RNE wrestling team and coaches." That's all we need to hear.

Watch this segment of the board meeting. It's worth it.

Livestream: https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10813202/videos/235603761

Fast-forward to 1:24:43.

10:31PM Meerting Adjourned

For a couple of minutes, I thought the board was going to beat my estimate of a 5-hour meeting. Tonight's meeting times were 5:30-10:31PM.

They adjourned at 10:31PM, after a second executive session which was not discussed or commented on, when they re-convened at 10:24PM.

I can appreciate that they were all tired after another l-o-n-g meeting. The motion to adjourn the executive session and re-convene in public session didn't get a prompt vote, but a vote did happen. 

What did the board learn learn Thursday from Attorney Story's presentation? Anything?

Tune in on Wednesday for comments on 

-  the board's insane vote on special bonus checks before spring break;

- the Auditor's report;

- the D.A.R.E. Conference vote on Trustee Scott's attendance.

Where is the Board?

Another late start for the school board meeting!

It's 6:48PM, and the board is finally about to re-convene in public session.

The board should conclude its executive sessions, so that the public meeting can convene at the announced starting time of 6:30PM.

One look at tonight's agenda for the executive session guaranteed that they would not start the public meeting on time.

The board should conclude its executive sessions at 6:20PM and allow time for members to "freshen up" before calling the public meeting to order - on time - at 6:30PM.

When they are running late, an announcement should be made to those waiting in the audience and online, apologizing for the delay. An explanation for the delay should be given every five minutes.

Do you agree? Email the superintendent and the board and tell them what you think

Bets anyone? 3/28/23 Board Meeting - 5 hours?

Look at the agenda for the 3/28/2023 board meeting. Note that a second Executive Session already has one item in it.

I predict that the 3/28/2023 meeting will be at least five hours. The board will convene at 5:30PM, go into executive session, and then re-convene in open session at 6:30PM.

I estimate that the agenda will require the board to stay awake until 10:30PM, plus the drive home. Prove me wrong.

Not only the board will have to stay awake. The numerous staff members who are required to show up for "face time" will have to struggle to look interested. I don't know why the Chair and the Superintendent don't eliminate attendance for most of the staff. If they have an active role in the meeting, they need to be there. Or they could be available by phone for the ten minutes they are needed.

Do those staffers get overtime or compensatory time?

If they don't have a role during the meeting, then somebody could clue them in for that small portion of the meeting that pertains to their function, and they could watch that on the Livestream recording.

And then there are the deputies from the Sheriff's Department who are hired to be there, and ALL the security staff who are paid to be there. How much is that (waste) costing the District?

Any ordinary business would have all that security there only if needed. But, since Richland 2 is a school district with a huge budget and piggy bank, all that unnecessary security is there because it's your money being spent, not the money of a District employee.

$1,000,000 CrisisAlert System

At the last school board meeting I told the board that I'd prefer they spend $1,000,000 on a Crisis Prevention Program than on a Crisis Alert Program. 

At the time I did not know what they had up their sleeves.

The cat is out of the bag now. With the publication of the agenda for the March 28th board meeting, Item 9.1 is a Safety/Security Update: Centigix Crisis Alert Badges and the attachment.

You can review the pitch that the board will receive at  https://go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/files/CQ7L2Y548283/$file/Centegix_Board_March.pdf

This is Unfinished Business - No Action Requested. I haven't paid as close attention to agendas this year as before, and I don't remember a previous board discussion about this program.

Look at this Program and form your own opinion. 

Did you know? Board Retreat tonight (3/23/23)

A board retreat was scheduled for today at 4:00PM. And I just found the announcement on a Special-Called Board Meeting, when I viewed the Agenda page for board meetings.

That Special-Called Meeting was to be held at 3:00PM, with the only topic of Superintendent Search.

Neither meeting was live-streamed.

Part of the 4:00PM Retreat was a presentation of "The Role of the Board". Be sure to look at the attachment, which can be found at Item 3.2 of the agenda. The presentation is well-organized.

Examine the attachment here: https://go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/files/CQ6S3M6CDC0E/$file/The%20Role%20of%20School%20Board%20Members_Richland%202.pdf

I hope all board members were present, awake and alert. Attorney Ashley Story of White & Story, LLC was primed to present solid information to the board. Her presentation and discussion could have been "the" single topic for a full workshop.

Yet there were eight other items on the agenda under New Business - No Action Requested. Did they get to all of them? How long were they there?

I wonder why the decision was made not to live-stream that retreat. The public certainly would have been interested in Attorney Story's presentation!

Safety and I.G. Committees, March 21

I wanted to attend both meetings held on Tuesday. The Safety Committee met at 6:00PM, and the I.G. Report Committee met at 6:00PM.

I started out at the I.G. Report Committee. I was the only visitor. In addition to the three board members (Washington, Porter, Trapp) two staffers were there. 

I was immediately unimpressed with how the meeting started, so I left and went to the Safety Committee. 

Two board members (Nash, Scott) were present; McFadden was absent. Two parents had been chosen to be on the Committee, and the Teacher of the Year was there. A young woman (student?) was seated with the Committee.

I lasted 20 minutes there. 

Apparently, I define and understand "Safety" differently than the Committee.

Perhaps something productive happened after I left. I hope so.

Board Meets on Parliamentary Procedure

On Tuesday, March 21, at 4:45PM the Richland Two school board met in a public session devoted to parliamentary procedure. The invited speaker/trainer/consultant was Attorney Helen McFadden.

Attorney McFadden is a noted expert on Robert's Rules of Order. Her clients have included the Richland Two board itself (that's where I first met her; she noticed I had a copy of Robert's Rules of Order with me). She has been a parliamentarian for several public bodies, including Beaufort (S.C.) County Council (at $250/hour in 2021), the Democratic National Committee, the State legislature, and other organizations.

For an hour she led a discussion on Motions and secondary motions. I was the only visitor at yesterday's meeting. It was an official meeting of the school board, because a quorum was present.

Was that sole topic worth the cost of hiring her for that meeting?

Have the Board members taken the available online trainings on Robert's Rules of Order? Have they attended workshops at SCSBA conferences, the attendance for which costs Richland Two more than a pretty penny? Is the District getting its money's worth for those expenses?

The public should be seeing a steady increase in professionalism and organization at board meetings, starting with control over the agenda and significant steps to curtail the length of board meetings.

There are one chief (Board Chair) and six Indians. This board is acting like there are one chief and five Indians who want to be Chief. The Board is not an after-school club. It should be considered a serious business organization. It is! It's a Billion Dollar business with a $300 Million budget.

It should be a leader in efficiency and professionalism. It should understand its role.

Most of this board have only had to balance their family checkbooks. It is imperative that they learn to function as executives and leaders, not as managers or employees. Will they?

If the Indians don't like the way things are being run, on June 27, 2023 they can elect a new Chief.

Where is the Sense of Urgency?

I admit I would be a terrible committee person.

If the school building were on fire, I would not be concerned with what color the firetruck was painted or whether its paint was dry.

I'd want water on the fire and rescuers in the building.

That sense of urgency is not present with the Richland Two Safety Committee.

Why so easy on the new board?

Yesterday I received a telephone call from a community member who asked why I was being so "easy" on the new board. That person reminded me (correctly) that I had been hard on the old board.

Indeed, I had. And they deserved it.

And the caller was right that I've cut the new board some slack. Why is that? It's not because they are doing better than the old board. I explained that the reason is that I'm tired.

More than once I've thought to myself, "OK, the honeymoon is over." It's time to call it like it is.

This last election was proof that you don't need to be qualified to be a school board members. What you need is more votes than the others. 

How long will it take them to learn to function as a board? Board meetings should not be longer than 90 minutes. That's how long they were five years ago. 

If they wonder (and I doubt they do) why the public is not showing up at meetings, all they have to do is look at the clock.

Three meetings today (March 21, 2023)

Here is how the school district has announced the THREE meetings for this afternoon:

The Richland Two Board of Trustees will hold three committee meetings this week. All meetings will be held at the R2i2 Conference Center. Please see below for meeting rooms.

The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees will hold a Parliamentary Procedure Workshop on Tuesday, March 21 at 4:45 p.m. workshop will be held in the executive conference room.

Review the agenda for the March 21 Parliamentary Procedure Workshop.

*********************************************************************

The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees will hold a Safety Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 21 at 6 p.m. The safety committee meeting will be held in boardroom 1.

Review the agenda for the March 21 Safety Committee Meeting.

*********************************************************************

The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees will hold an I.G. Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 21 at 6 p.m. The committee meeting will be held in boardroom 2.

Review the agenda for the March 21 I.G. Committee Meeting.

Is the Parliamentary Procedure Workshop a meeting of the full School Board or of a yet-to-be-announced committee? Will it be structured to end on time, so that the two committees can start on time?

If you have a split-personality, then you should be able to attend both the Safety and I.G. Committee meetings. Each is important. It's unfortunate that the I.G. Committee announced its meeting for exactly the same time as that of the Safety Committee.

Why Two Meetings at the Same Time?

With many days and hours available in March for the two first committees of the school board to meet, why are they meeting at the same time on Tuesday, March 21?

The first committee to announce March 21 at 6:00PM was the Safety Committee of the school board.

Then the Inspector General Recommendations Committee picked exactly the same date and time for its March meeting!

This demonstrates very poor regard for the public and even for the committee members of the other committee who might wish to sit in on the other's meeting.

Of course, should even one of them decide to attend, that would create a quorum under State law and present a legal problem for the School Board.

Although Richland 2 decided that quorum is five board members (for the purpose of terminating a superintendent), there is still that pesky South Carolina statute that says a quorum is four.

Scheduling the meetings on the same date and at the same time prevents a member of the community, parent, teacher, staff member, or student from attending both meetings. Let's hope this does not happen again!

Ilya Shapiro for R2 Superintendent

Credit - Fox News Digital

Should Richland 2 quickly contact Ilya Shapiro and consider him for the job of Superintendent?

Read this FoxNews article about Professor Shapiro, who commented on the stupidity (my term) of the Stanford Law students when they interfered with a speaking engagement that invited Federal Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan to campus.

The woke crowd at Stanford shouted him down. Worse, DEI associate dean Tirien Steinbach supported them and further disrespected Judge Duncan.

Read what Prof. Shapiro, formerly with Georgetown Law, has to say.

What if Richland 2 had a leader like Prof. Shapiro? Would he correct the years of DEI leanings in Richland 2?

Who is Lily Bou?

No one had every heard of Lily Bou. Now everyone can know her name.

Lily Bou is a Stanford Law student who apparently thinks it is all right to disrupt a meeting and shout down a Federal Judge, but then she takes offense when a newspaper prints her name.

See this FoxNews article about the bravery of the Washington Free Beacon newspaper, whose journalist said, "You can't make it up." Some would have said it slightly differently.

U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan had been invited to speak to Stanford Law students on March 9th but was interrupted, shouted down, and prevented from speaking.

Don't miss the part about the associate dean of DEI.

Don't you just love it, when kiddies want their way and then whine after the tables are turned on them?

Lily, BOO! (Pass the tissues to her.)

Violation of Board Policy GBEB - Staff Conduct

Did a violation of Board Policy GBEB - Staff Conduct occur during the March 14, 2023 board meeting?

Read this Board Policy. Start at the District's website, click on EXPLORE; click on School Board; click on BOARD POLICIES; CLICK ON "G - PERSONNEL"; click on "Policy GBEB - Staff Conduct.

The District's website doesn't permit copy-and-paste. So look for these words:

- setting a good example.

- set the kind of example (to students)

- conduct ... attitude ...professionalism

- mutual respect 

- treat each other with respect

Now go to the recording of the 3/14/2023 school board meeting at   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10797768/videos/235427364 and fast-forward to 2:56:18. 

That's where you will see long-time (28+ years) Blythewood High School teacher, Pamela Davis, snub five board members during the ceremony to recognize Certified Teachers.

Should the District investigate these violations?

Did the same teacher violate Policy GBEB on January 25, 2022?

- will not use profanity

- lying or providing false information

- disrupting the educational environment

- using obscene language

A complaint about that teacher's conduct was made and, to my knowledge, it was never investigated or acted upon. 

The State Inspector General's Report on Richland 2 referred to problems with the process of handling complaints. I can certainly agree with that.

I made numerous other complaints, which were ignored by the District and the Board (the board that existed at that time). 

A New Record? 6 1/3 Hours!!!

The Richland 2 school board may have set a new record on Tuesday, March 14th. 

The board convened at 4:00PM, went to Executive Session, re-convened at 6:30PM, went to Executive Session 2 at about 10:00PM, re-convened in public session at 10:17PM, and then adjourned at about 10:20PM.

That's SIX HOURS 20 MINUTES.

The six trustees present had to exhausted, so perhaps the careless errors made right at the end of the meeting can be excused.

Who among readers and other members of the public is going to watch the Livestream recording of that meeting? Which board member, wanting to review who said what, will watch that recording?

Wouldn't it be nice if the District prepared a summary of the Livestream recording, indicating which agenda item started at what point in the video-recording?

Ex., if a viewer wanted to watch Pamela Davis snub five trustees on 3/14/2023, he could advance the counter to 2:56:18. (OK, so the District would probably not put that one on the Index.)

Ex., if the viewer wanted to watch 3/14/2023 Public Participation, he could advance the timer to 3:00:00.

Minutes of I.G. Committee - worthless

I've been monitoring the District's website for the Minutes of the January and February meetings of the I.G. Recommendations Committee. Finally, they have been posted.

If you read them, you will not have a clue as to what happened during those two meetings. If you weren't there, you won't know, because the meetings were not livestreamed.

Did anything happen?

Go to the Minutes, which are posted on the District's website. Click on EXPLORE, then on School Board, then on COMMITTEE MINUTES. Then click on each link.

There is no information about what was discussed!

Where is the written record of discussion about different sections of the IG's Report that were discussed. Where are the comments of Committee members about those sections?

So much for transparency!!!

Ditch the Dive

This image is still projected in the board room before school board meetings.

Richland 2 received some kind of award from an organization that seemed to me to have some political leanings or ideological positions.

I say it is time to Ditch the Dive and post something current in the board room, even it is just the Richland 2 "flame".

Pamela Davis snubs five Board members

 Pam Davis ignores Dr. Scott's extended hand

At last night's school board meeting the District's nationally-certified teachers were recognized. All were respectful toward the board members EXCEPT ONE.

Trustees were lined up to greet those being recognized and to shake hands with each teacher.

When Pamela Davis' name was called, she walked right past Trustees Trapp, McFadden, Washington, Scott, and Nash without any acknowledgement and did not shake hands with them.

Davis shook hands only with Interim Supt. Gregory and Trustee Porter.

Chair Agostini was absent from the meeting but attended by telephone. Would Davis have shaken hands with her? (Will the sun come up in the west tomorrow morning?)

It's too bad that Mrs. Agostini couldn't find her way through the telephone connection to trip Davis. I thought about boo-ing or hissing. Maybe I should have stood up and shouted, "YOU MISSED FOUR TRUSTEES!" After all, she had shouted at me a year ago.

You can see this clearly on the livestream recording. Move the timer to 2:56:18, so you can see this disgraceful act of disrespect.

Davis should be disciplined by the District for conduct unbecoming a teacher. I hope the superintendent or an employee will file a complaint against her.

I'll take the liberty of apologizing to the snubbed trustees on behalf of the public in Richland 2. 

It's Pi Day

π

Do Richland 2 students learn what pi is? Even the math students - do they?

How many digits of pi can you name? Do you know many digits of pi there are?

Here's a starter. To 39 places, pi is 

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197

But many people just think of it as 3.14. Or today, March 14.

4:00PM Opening of 3/14/23 Board Meeting

The school board convened in Regular Session at 4:00PM. Vice Chair Monica Scott chaired the opening session, because Chair Lindsay Agostini was not attending in-person; she attended by telephone.

Niki Porter objected to the agenda item for the executive session that included discussion of the hiring of a superintendent in closed session. A hand vote was taken (4 (Scott, Agostini, Nash, Trapp) -2 (Porter, Washington) -0-1 (Not Present)), and the motion passed.

The board then voted 6-0-0-1 (Not Present) to enter executive session.

Normally, sound goes silent at that point. Today, however, a male voice could be heard, saying, "I am now ending the phone call of this meeting, so that you guys can go make executive session. Miss [sic] Agostini, please stay connected if you could."

Being picky, I wondered how he was going to end the phone call and not disconnect Trustee Agostini.

The public session reconvenes at 6:30PM.

Are you an informed voter?

What do you know about the $1.7T bill that was passed in December?

Watch U.S. House Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) take off on the 4,100-page bill that the U.S. Senate passed on the same day it got it, and then sent it to the House.

He names the 18 U.S Senators who voted for it? They are Blunt, Boozman, Capito, Collins, Cornyn, Cotton, Graham, Inhofe, McConnell, Moran, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Rounds, Shelby, Thune, Wicker, and Young

Too bad that the U.S. House of Representatives doesn't have 434 more Representatives and 50 Senators just like Chip Roy.

Whom Do You Believe?

How many times have you been lied to? By one or a few media sources? When do you begin to question what you are hearing?

This PragerU video, by podcaster Tim Pool, is worth five minutes of your time.

He has great advice for deciding what, and whom, to believe.

Click on this link for a quick five-minute lesson.

https://www.prageru.com/video/lying-liars?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6369329

Attend March 14 and speak up

The next school board meeting is March 14. That's this Tuesday. A good time to arrive at R2i2 is 6:20PM.

The board will go into executive session shortly after 4:00PM.You can watch that from home or office or on your smart phone. View at https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10797768

Parents, community members, teachers, staff and students: show up in person and plan to speak up during Public Participation. BUT you must sign up in advance to speak. 

To sign up electronically, go to www.Richland2.org. Then click on EXPLORE; then on School Board; then on PUBLIC PARTICIPATION; then on the green button under the fourth paragraph. 

Or click here.

You can register to speak in person at the meeting before 6:15PM.

Remember, you do not have to avoid mentioning any board member or school district employee by name. Board Policy BEDH only prohibits any expression of personal complaints about an employee or board member; it does not prohibit your mentioning them by name.

Prediction - 6-7-hour board meeting

Take a look at the agenda for the March 14th board meeting. I predict a six-hour meeting; maybe longer. You'll find it here.

The executive session is scheduled to start at 4:00PM. There are seven items listed, including a discussion "of Employment Matter Regarding Hiring of Superintendent".

The Regular Session starts at 6:30PM. Just look at the length of that portion of the agenda!

The Board is set to vote on four revisions to Board Policies.

Previous comments have included board member complaints about the delays in hiring teachers. Can you spot what is wrong with this proposed change to Board Policy BDD?

The superintendent will recommend all administrative candidates for approval by the board. The board authorizes the superintendent to execute the preliminary employment of certified teachers on a temporary basis, subject to final approval by the board. The board further authorizes the superintendent to execute the employment of all other candidates on the board’s behalf.

Is a clerk or a secretary considered an "administrative candidate"? Or are Administrators (whoever they are) those candidates to be approved by the Board?

Why in the world is the Board involved in hiring certified teachers? That's the superintendent's job. Why is the Board meddling in that part of the hiring process? No wonder there is delay. And what teacher will accept employment on a temporary basis, subject to the board's blessing?

Then look at the proposed revision to Board Policy DBJ. Why is the Board meddling with budget transfers of $25,000? How does a typo ("vandilism") slip into a proposed revision?

I remember a typo in a sign on an office display in the lobby of the Sears headquarters, where I worked from 1996-2002. The glaring typo appeared on four of the five signs. When I finished laughing, I said, somewhat loudly, "This is what happens when you ask too few people to do too much work in too short a time." 

Who can get across to this Board what the role of a Trustee is?

Members of two R2 Committees

The Richland 2 school board chair created two committees of the board. I haven't found anywhere on the District's website where the committee members are listed, so here they are.

Safety Committee *

Angela Nash, chair

Lashonda McFadden

Monica Scott

Inspector General (I.G.) Recommendations Committee

Tamika Washington, chair

Niki Porter

Joe Trapp

If you wish to communicate with any of the Committee members, you can find their contact information of the District's page for Board Members.

* It appears that persons have been identified to represent segments of the Richland 2 community on the Safety Committee and that they are now part of that Committee. I'm inquiring who those persons are.

3/14/23 Board Meeting: 4:00PM/6:30PM

The next Regular Meeting of the Richland 2 school board will be Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

Note the special starting time for the Executive Session: 4:00PM.

The Regular Meeting will re-convene at 6:30PM.

The Agenda has not yet been published. What's up with a 2½-hour Executive Session?

The Agenda must be published by Monday, March 13, 4:00PM, but it will likely be available online at the end of the day today (Thursday (3/9)) or Friday (3/10).

March 10 Board Meeting - Planning Session

The Richland 2 Board of Trustees will hold a Strategic Planning Work Session tomorrow, Friday, March 10, 2023, at 9:00AM.

How will you know about this?

It is announced on the School Board's "Agenda" page on the District's website. That's down several clicks into the website. A place where you might not easily find to look for upcoming meetings.

Where is it not published?

It is not on the listing of Upcoming Events on the District's homepage.

It is not on the page of upcoming livestreamed meetings on livestream.com/richland2.

Has this public meeting of the Board been properly announced ("noticed"), in according with FOIA and Open Meetings laws? The Agenda fails to disclose the location of this meeting.

Many will guess, perhaps correctly, that it is at R2i2. But the Notice needs to disclose the location.

How long will the meeting last? No ending time is included in the agenda. Will the meeting be conducted expeditiously? Will "Parkinson's Law" prevail?

Safety Committee Meeting - March 21

 A meeting of the Safety Committee of the Richland 2 School Board has been posted for Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 6:00PM. Watch the R2 website for the location, which will likely be R2i2.

The posting was found under the School Board category on the District's website. From the homepage, click on EXPLORE (top right), then click on School Board, then click on COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

On the right side of that webpage, see the green button for COMMITTEE MINUTES.

The Safety Committee hasn't met yet, so there are no Minutes to be posted.

The IG Recommendations Committee met on January 18 and February 21, but no Minutes are posted. 

Each Committee has three Board Members on it. But who are they? Why aren't their names on the District's website?

[Edited 3/9/23 8:50AM - this meeting now appears on the District's homepage.]

100,000 Pageviews - Thank you!

Within the past few days the counter on this blog rolled over 100,000 pageviews. Thanks to all the readers and those who have called me with tips.

If you like an article, share it with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Share the link for the article, or simply click on the M in the box at the end of the article and type in your friend's email address. I never see that email address or your use of it. It remains private.

At this point I am mostly interested in the safety and security issues.

Will they be solved by the people who have been charged for years with solving them (and who haven't)?

Should more parents, community members, teachers, staff, and students be involved?

Personally, I think the BeSMART program is meaningless, and Richland Two should separate itself from the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that Baron Davis touted so heavily. 

BeSMART is part of MOMs Demand Action and Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety. They are left-wing, anti-gun groups. Passing out gun locks will not stop the gun violence in Richland Two schools.

I have requested the schedule for meetings of the Richland Two Board's Safety & Security Committee. When (if?) I get it, I'll post it. I missed the last meeting due to a conflict, but there should be 100-200 parents and community members there.

What are your concerns with safety and security? Post them in Comments below.

If you are hesitant or fearful about posting comments, email them to me at gusphilpott@gmail.com  I'll post them, as written, and without your name or email address. Confidentiality is assured.

Safe and Secure PSA - Thoughts?

Watch the new, short Safe and Secure PSA on the District's website. It's  production of Richland 2. 

And that's exactly what it is - a "production". 

Do you think it will stop one kid from taking a gun or a knife to school?

I am writing to the Trustees today to ditch that ineffective BeSMART M.O.U. that Baron Davis put together and to get serious about a plan and a program to make Richland 2 schools safe.

It's not metal detectors at every door. It's not drug K-9s sniffing their way through the halls. It's not dumb, "professional", glitzy PSAs like the one currently on the District's website.

"Another... another... another..." Whose idea was that???

Watch the PSA. Email your opinions to the school board and the interim superintendent.

The 2/28/2023 board meeting. Were you there?

Or did you watch it online?

Budget transfers under Board Policy DBF are discussed, beginning at 2:01:12 on the 2/28/24 livestream. Here.

Frankly, it's painful to watch.

I sent the following email to the Board, Mrs. Gregory, and Dr. Miley:

Board members,

There must be a better way to conduct business than trying to revise a Policy (DBJ) on the fly. 

Trustee Trapp's proposed revision should have been projected on the screen for all to see, read and follow during his proposal. He could have presented it briefly and generally, since this was a No-Action-Requested item. If it made sense to a majority of the trustees, it could have been included in the draft for the next meeting. At the next meeting, it could be fine-tuned, then adopted or rejected.

I urge the board to retain a consultant to explain how to function as a board, so that business flows smoothly, rapidly, clearly, and in accordance with generally-accepted business procedures.

I appreciate that everyone is "trying", but it certainly is painful to watch.

You are micro-managing the District with the proposed revision to DBJ. I agree with Chair Agostini that DBJ is fine just the way it is. No one on the board has hands-on experience in dealing with millions of dollars. You either trust Mr. Miley and the superintendent, or you don't. He has earned the trust of the District, and I hope you won't drive him away.

It appears that you have other micro-managing revisions on the way. 

Gus Philpott

Teachers' union president meltdown

This is what is leading teachers in the United States now. 

Watch this FoxNews clip of Randi Weingarten as she earned her pay, ranting and raving about the Supreme Court's pending decision on blowing Biden's student-loan pay-off out of the water. 

And, of course, that is exactly what the SCOTUS ought to do.

She didn't die in the saddle yesterday, but she certainly appears headed for a heart attack. Will that be a line-of-duty death, with a huge pay-off from the American Federation of Teachers?

Her gross salary in 2020-2021 was over $426,000 in 2020-2021, according to the union's Federal LM-2 filing. Not bad for a gay Democrat. What do you suppose she really does to earn that amount of money, besides mail out dues notices to lots of teachers? I wonder how all those $30,000/year teachers feel about her pay. 

Time to cancel her?