What message yesterday at Summit Parkway M.S.?

When students returned to Summit Parkway Middle School yesterday after the Memorial Day week-end and the shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton on Sunday night, what was the message to them from their Principal?

I don't know, because no one has told me. Of course, I wasn't there to hear the message.

If I had been the Principal, I would have offered a moment of silence in memory of Cyrus.

AND I would have admonished all the students to THINK before they act. And not to do stupid stuff.

And I would have been fired before noon.

Why was a 14-year-old carrying a gun? And why, when he went shopping in a convenience store while visiting in the neighborhood eight miles south of his school and home? The location doesn't matter. Why did he have the gun, at all? (And yes, he did have a gun.)

Did he have the gun when he got a ride there? Did he get the gun after he got there?

Whose gun was it? Where did it come from? Had he ever carried it before? Who knew about it?

I'm sorry for the hell that Cyrus' family is going through. 

Stakeholder Survey Report

Most readers here have no experience of newsboys' standing on street corners, shouting "Read all about it!"

Here it is, without going out to the street corner. Published today on the Richland Two School District website is the Stakeholder Survey Results report that the consultant from McPherson & Jacobson last week told the board they probably wouldn't like.

She chose her words carefully on May 23, throwing softball sentences at them. After all, she was hired by them to identify candidates for the job of Superintendent, starting in July.

Click here for the Results. It is a 110-page report.

What happened to the rest of it? Last Tuesday the consultant told the board it might be up to 150 pages. Were parts of it too ugly to put in print?

A blank page follows the title page, so already it's not a 110-page report.

Read the Executive Summary first, especially the third section. Be sure to notice the DEI slant in the last two words, "therefore inequitable".

Browse through the report. Which board members do you think will read it? All of it? Some of it? None of it?

Why did Cyrus run?

 I'm sure (well, hopeful, at least) that the deputies figured this out before I thought of it.

Why did Cyrus run out of the Shell station Sunday evening after he was suspected of attempted shoplifting? If he had a gun in his pocket, he would not have wanted to be there when the sheriff's deputies arrived. 

They would have searched him and found it.

Why did 14-year-old Cyrus have a gun? Did he? Will RCSD find his DNA and fingerprints on the gun and on the ammo? 

In one of her comments online, WIS' Judi Gatson referred to "shots". Was more than one round fired by anyone? The Coroner mentioned only one wound.

Had that gun been fired? Will there be GSR on Cyrus' hand?

Guilty until found Innocent

Reading the news stories of Sheriff Lott's statement by WIS, WACH, and WLTX about the shooting of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, 14, a Summit Parkway Middle School Student, just about anyone will conclude that Rick Chow murdered Cyrus.

I don't.

In the minds of many, it is heresy to raise any questions about the shooting of a black "child". Comments on Facebook are over-the-top. If I drive by that Shell station today, I expect to see it burned to the ground.

In the online article of WLTX, Sheriff Lott called the "crime 'senseless' ". So he had already decided that a crime occurred, when Chow shot Cyrus. And calling it "senseless" inflames the public, which is already looking for the next "Michael Brown" excuse. You know, an "innocent" black being gunned down by a white person.

Lott denies that Cyrus was shoplifting bottles of water, because he had put them back in the cooler. It sounds to me like Cyrus' shoplifting was interrupted by the owner. The crime of shoplifting did not occur, because Cyrus put the bottles back after "touching" them. He didn't carry them out of the store.

WLTX says Cyrus "left the store". Another media report says he ran from the store. Which is it?

The owner's son (name and age not given) chased Cyrus, with Chow following. Chow was armed. In that neighborhood, if I were a business owner, I'd be armed, too. Wouldn't you?

Cyrus fell and got up. Chow's son tells his father that Cyrus had a gun. Chow shot Cyrus. That leaves a huge hole in the story. "Why?"

In a Facebook comment, WIS' Judi Gatson referred to "shots". Really? Plural? The Coroner refers to only one wound.

RCSD found a gun near Cyrus' body. Will RCSD find Cyrus' fingerprints and DNA on the gun? How soon will the sheriff release that information? What is a 14-year-old doing with a gun??? (Hello, Richland 2 Safety Committee and BeSmart!!!)

Now comes the statement in the article that "investigators determined the gun was not pointed at the men (Chow and his son)." They mean, when they found it. Finding an inanimate object (gun) on the ground tells them absolutely nothing about any direction in which it might have been pointed!

The WLTX article says the sheriff said "there's been a lot of misinformation". Now there is an honest statement. And, to me, it looks like a lot of it came from the sheriff.

For the sheriff to call this "tragic" and "one of these things were [sic] you just stand up and shake your head" and "There's no reason for this to happen" instills a bias in the mind of the public. Law enforcement is supposed to be neutral. Isn't it?

14 y/o with gun shot

WLTX reports today that 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton died after being shot. The article says he was a Summit Parkway Middle School student.

Sheriff Lott announced that a convenience store owner has been charged with murder.

It was just last Monday that Richland Two's Board Safety Committee sponsored a Summer Safety meeting. And BeSmart is supposed to be ending gun violence.

A summary of the article.

The store owner thought the kid was shop-lifting. An argument followed in the store. The kid ran off. The store owner and the owner's son chased him. The kid fell down, got up, and continued running. The owner's son told his dad that the kid had a gun. The store owner shot the kid, hitting him in the back.

Sheriff's investigators found a gun near the kid's body.

Last week I admonished students' preparing for the summer, "Don't do stupid stuff."

The convenience store is at Parklane Road and Springtree Drive. That is eight miles from the school. Did the kid live near the Shell convenience store? Is that why he was in there about 8:00PM yesterday (Sunday)?

There are holes in the story in the paper. Did the kid point the gun back over his shoulder as he ran from the owner?

OK, so the owner shouldn't have chased him, once he left the store without merchandise that had not been paid for. 

The article says that Richland 2 issued a statement, saying, "The Richland 2 family is devastated ..." and "....students, teachers and school staff are grieving ..." 

Not true. Few even know about it yet.

Sheriff Lott says, "People [sic] pray for this family."

Right, people. Pray that families will teach their kids not to do stupid stuff!

Maine school district refuses to rent to church

In Maine a school district refused to rent a high school auditorium to a church. Read this article in The Daily Signal, a communication of the Heritage Foundation.

The Pines Church in Bangor, Maine, outgrew its space and wanted to lease space for worship services.

The superintendent and a board member, Chris McLaughlin (a subscriber to use of personal pronouns) wanted answers to questions about DEI, same-sex marriages, abortion, conversion therapy, sex education, etc. Read McLaughlin's request to the superintendent in the article.

Since "Chris" might be the first name of either a man or woman, he could simply display his email signature line as (Mr.) Chris McLaughlin, and skip the personal-pronoun stupidity.

The only proper questions for the church would have been whether anything illegal would be done on the premises and whether the premises would be left in the same (or better) condition than found.

Are there any churches meeting in Richland 2 spaces?

5/23/23 Public Participation

Westwood High School sophomore Ethan Lopez offered important comments to the board about in-school experience with safety issues. 

After the McPherson & Jacobson consultant told the board about the negative comments about the board during the stakeholder interviews, I offered some advice to the board that I had received from a neighbor, whose employment history includes organizational management.

He had written the following to me.

“Without guidelines, people start doing each other's work. That causes a lot of confusion and disruption. 

For starters, assume that an organization such as the Richland - 2 School District has five distinct roles:

STRATEGIC, LEADERSHIP, SUPERVISORY, OPERATIONAL, and EXECUTION. 

STRATEGIC is the work reserved for the Board. It looks far out into the future, establishes policy and audits the processes.

LEADERSHIP is the work of the Superintendent and her/his administrative staff, who implement policy.

SUPERVISORY is the work of the School Principals.

OPERATIONAL is the work of the Department Heads leading the day-to-day sessions.

EXECUTION  is the work of the classroom teachers who deliver the established daily contacts with students.

When there is transgression into others' roles, confusion and 9-hour Board meetings result. Think of the concept as driving lanes. Stay in your own lane and do the work you are assigned to do. The trip will be much smoother!!!!”    

My comments during Public Participation followed Ethan's.

Unfortunately, many of the current board members have a very difficult time staying in their lanes. That's because they lack experience in serving as executives. 

Blistering Report coming from "Mac & Jake"

At the school board meeting on May 23, the consultant from the superintendent-search firm of McPherson & Jacobson LLC in Omaha informed the board that a lengthy report is being compiled for the District that is not entirely complimentary of the board. The report summarizes stakeholder feedback that was gathered in surveys.

The consultant tried to soften the punch that the board will feel when they read the report. Watch her in action here.

The board may have received its copy today or will receive it tomorrow. The report, expected to be in the 150-page range, will be published on the District's website on Tuesday (May 30). Well, we'll see about that.

The consultant mentioned that issues of conflict and dysfunction exist on the board. No kidding!

She mentioned other areas for improvement: That the board should govern, not manage. There is a lack of trust among board members. Low morale of staff. 

The poor audio connection with the second consultant, who was apparently in his Omaha office, occurred when a make-do arrangement for audio varied from the steps that Richland 2 had set up. When the audio didn't make it from Omaha on the Zoom call, a cell phone connection was established and the Richland 2 sound technician had to hold the cell phone to a microphone, contributing to the poor audio and an echo. This was not the fault of Richland 2. 

Did Monica Scott really say a representative from "Mac & Jake Law Firm" was there to present information? I replayed her introduction 4-5 times, and that is how it sounded to me. If you hear it differently, please let me know what you think she said.

Permanent Expulsion - only for Murder?

At tonight's School Board Meeting (5/23/2023) Item 8.3 on the agenda was Student Permanent Expulsion. The student, of course, was not identified.

After the Motion and Second. Trustee Monica Scott launched into how anyone can make a mistake. She said, basically, that no student should be permanently expelled - except maybe for Murder. Her defense of the student starts here: At 1:59:30 on   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10860996/videos/236321838

You know, everyone makes mistakes. And the board shouldn't sit there in Judgment.

Well, that's was a board does. It makes decisions. She has a teaching and an administrative background. Her defense of students' making mistakes is the reason that crime continues on school campuses. It's why teachers get assaulted, and students get beaten up and bullied.

Because students have learned that there aren't any REAL consequences. 

If Monica doesn't want to "sit in judgment" when a student commits a serious crime on campus, then she ought to resign from the board! Tomorrow!

I started to stand and leave several times, while she was speaking. Finally I did. I wish others had stood and walked out while she was speaking. 

I'll take a wild guess that it was the Ridge View High School stabber who was being expelled tonight. But I don't know. It could have been one of the kids who took a pistol to school. 

I'm tired of hearing about illegal aliens who have been deported many times and return to the U.S. and commit heinous crimes. I'm tired of reading about inmates of prisons and jails being released, only to then murder someone. 

Every principal could write a list of kids in his school who have committed serious offenses and still in school. 

It's too bad the District will not identify the student who was permanently expelled last night. 

R2 should ditch BeSmart

A representative of BeSmart got in the last word at last night's too-long Stay Safe meeting. 

BeSmart led off the program with its boiler-plate information and a less-than-forceful presentation. At the end, after Angela Nash ended the meeting, a rep ran to the front to thank Richland Two for "what they do as a partner with BeSmart". She thanked Richland 2 for "getting information out about BeSmart to the media", etc. 

She got it backwards. It is BeSmart that partnered with Richland 2. It's a tiny cog in the big wheel that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was supposed to be. Richland 2 should drop out of that MOU.

Has BeSmart been effective in helping reduce gun and other violence in Richland 2? Who really knows, since the public is not informed of results.

I'm not a fan of BeSmart, because of its close alignment with Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety and MOMs Demand Action.

Guns are not the problem. Mis-use of guns IS the problem.

What's the difference between 70 years ago and now? 

Then kids had guns and didn't shoot each other.

Now? Kids steal guns and shoot others to resolve disagreements and settle scores. 

That is the problem! What's BeSmart doing about that? Gun locks will not solve that problem.

The DEI Disaster

 

Watch this October 2022 5-minute video from PragerU.

Christian Watson, host of Pensive Politics, tells us exactly what is going on in Richland Two. Learn what DEI used to mean, and what it means today.

Will the new superintendent call a screeching halt to "DEI" in Richland 2? Will he (or she) disband the DEI department?

Post your thoughts in Comments.

R2 Safety Summit - why?

On Monday, May 22, there will be a Richland 2 Safety Summit. 6:00PM at R2i2.

You can see the topics:

- Gun Safety

- Community Safety

- Trafficking Awareness

- Cyber Security

Is a meeting really needed for one simple message?

Don't do stupid stuff!

For "Gun Safety", have there been any classes or instruction in gun "safety"; you know, safe gun handling, use, shooting straight, when to shoot (and when not to), cleaning, storage? Of course not. "People are good. Guns are bad." That's the message from those who are indoctrinating students (and adults).

BeSmart says "gun locks". Did those kids who took guns to schools have gun locks? Of course not.

For "Community Safety", don't go to parks after hours and hang out in large groups, who are likely to become rowdy or attract troublemakers. Don't treat malls like playgrounds. They are shopping centers. Shop; then leave.

For "Trafficking Awareness", stay away from drugs. Don't run away. Don't "slip out" at night. Don't get in cars with people you don't know or don't trust.

For "Cyber Security", don't bully; report all attempts by someone to bully you. 

It all boils down to Don't Do Stupid Stuff.

If the kids don't know that already, a 6:00PM Monday night meeting at R2i2 won't get through to them.

Why is the Board-directed Safety Committee sponsoring this? This is completely outside its scope of authority. The Safety Committee should be receiving suggestions, requests, and recommendations from Administration for improving safety in the schools and then making recommendations to the Board for action. Instead, the Committee, led by three board members, is meddling in school operations.

Clicking off the board meetings

Richland Two Board Policy limits the number of paid school board meetings.

After I heard a rumor this week about one board member who might bail when the board hits that number (after all, who wants to work for free?), I wondered how that Policy reads and also how many meetings the board has already had this year.

I didn't have to look far to find the Policy; it's on the agenda for the May 23 board meeting. Board Policy BID is Item 9.1 on the agenda.

Board members are paid $384 per board meeting, and the chair is paid $480. The limit of paid meetings is 30 in a calendar year (not to confused with the School Year).

By my count there have been 9 Regular board meetings and 11 Special-Called Meetings, including a workshop and a retreat. Approximately 38% of the calendar year has passed. Ten paid board meetings remain between now and December 31.

The board will obviously continue on an accelerated pace, because of the need to hire a superintendent. My guess is they will hit that 30-meeting limit about the time the School Year ends on June 30 and the optimistic hiring date for the new superintendent is reached.

There are 13 more Regular Meetings, including the Summer Retreat, already on the 2023 Schedule of Meetings, and the board no doubt add more Special-Called Meetings.

Previously, board members were paid a stipend of $800/month (and $1,000 for the chair), until the District woke up and realized it was out-of-compliance with state law when it paid a stipend, rather than a per diem. When the old board majority had to fix it, they set the current per diem rates in Board Policy.

Board income, whether stipend of per diem, is reportable to IRS and taxed as ordinary income.

Hiring Guideline assures failure

Be sure to read carefully the advertised position for Richland Two's new superintendent.

It's your typical HR blather. Notice how general it is. 

The Board is three months behind on a serious start of its search. They lost February, March, and April.

And then they blew it by not figuring out that Baron Davis would very likely to be joining the recruiter's business. McPherson & Jacobson LLC obviously knew it was in discussions with Davis and failed to disclose that to the board, "Oops, sorry" is not good enough.

The Search Timeline almost guarantees failure.

Search Timeline:

Closing date for applications: May 31, 2023 (11:30 p.m. central time)

Board of Education selects finalists to interview: June 12, 2023

Interviews with the Board of Education: Week of June 19, 2023

Selection of new Superintendent: June 27, 2023

Start date: July 3, 2023

 

Why will it take from June 1 to June 12 to select finalists? The initial ranking could be done on June 1. Then only one week for interviews? Will all the best candidates be available? And one more week to make an offer? And then expect the new superintendent to start a week later? Will the new guy hold out for more than the $240,000 (plus benefits) that the District paid Davis?

Doesn't this mean that the pool of candidates will be all unemployed superintendents? Or those willing to quit jobs on short noticee? Will Richland 2 end up with the dregs from the coffee pot?

And, just because I'm picky, why does M&J state the closing time for applications as May 31, 2023, 11:59PM (Central Standard Time). Isn't almost all of the U.S. on Central Daylight Time?

Parliamentarian?

Whatever happened after the board's discussion of getting a Parliamentarian?

Nothing happened.

When the Chair calls for a Motion, why do all the board members sit there as if they have been struck dumb?

Why does the Chair then have to make the Motion?

And why isn't there a quick Second?

Does the Board have any idea how hard it is making it to attract a new superintendent? He (or she) will be watching board meetings and just shaking his head. Who will want to walk into such a snake pit?

Was there a problem tonight with the Agenda for the executive session? Item 4.6 was "A Contractual Matter Regarding the Leasing and Purchasing of Properties."

When it was time to vote during the public session, the Motion was explained as Due Diligence, not a contract. 

Trustee Scott said she was not going to support the Motion (and she didn't). I didn't understand her comment about not wanting to saddle a new superintendent with something decided on by the board before he was hired. She was apparently thinking of the actions of the previous board majority to hamstring the new board with travel and training restrictions.

A board decision on property leasing or purchase is different. The superintendent is to carry out the decisions of the board. He'll do what he is told.

Inspirational Moments

 Could we just have an inspirational moment?

Is it really necessary to give an extended introduction?

Are we hearing a commercial tonight by the man who is speaking?

How about something inspirational?

Consultants' meeting with board 5/8/23

This morning I continued watching last night's board meeting with the consultants from McPherson & Jacobson.

This is too slow and painful. It was a typical round-robin approach. Board members were asked to write down what qualities and characteristics each board member wanted. That could have been done before the meeting.

Then each board member recited one from his list. Each consultant wrote down long-winded answers on poster board. I was surprised that not one board member spoke up and said, "Let's move this along faster. We'll be here all night."

"Someone who is competent" was one of the responses. Seriously? 

At 58:10 on the Livestream recording I gave up. Two hours to go.

How can I get the Cliff Notes' version of the next two hours of the meeting, without having to endure the pain of slogging through it?

Why didn't M&J show up with a list of qualities and characteristics to suggest to the board? They should have done their homework on this school board, and they should have learned of the level of (in)experience in making executive decisions.

Surprise! Open Meeting; no Executive Session

When tonight's board meeting (May 8, 2023) started (scheduled starting time of 4:30PM), the chair asked for a motion to approve the agenda.

Trustee Trapp made the motion. Trustee Nash, instead of seconding the motion, wanted to amend the primary motion to have the meeting in the open, rather than in executive session.

Hello? Protocol! Chair Agostini explained there was a motion on the floor that needed a second. After the second, Trustee Nash made her secondary motion and it was approved 6-0-1; that's One Not Present. Trustee Washington was absent.

Then the primary motion was approved as amended.

Trustee Scott was called on. She explained that Trustee Washington would be arriving late, and then she introduced "Mac and Jake", the consulting firm for the superintendent search.

The name of the search firm is McPherson & Jacobson LLC, not "Mac and Jake". Their internet domain is "macnjake.com" which, to me, sounds more like a burger joint.

That introduction occurred at 18:15 on the recording at   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10850332/videos/236139017. 

The recording ends at 3:21:16. 

For me it is 9:30PM now, and I can't imagine what took three (3) hours to discuss. The consulting firm should have shown up with recommendations; maybe it did. If it did and this meeting still took three hours, by now they'll know they are going to lose money on the Richland Two superintendent search. 

Gender equity - coming soon?

Check out this PragerU Kids video titled "When Equity Removes the Words 'Boy' and 'Girl' from 5th Grade Lessons".

Jill Simonian does a great job of ripping Essex Westford School District, in Essex Junction, Vermont, for its April letter to fifth-grade parents and caregivers, in which the school district informed them of new terms to be used in the fifth-grade sex-ed class.

The new terms?

"Person who produces sperm" in place of boy, male, and assigned male at birth.

"Person who produces eggs" in place of girl, female, and assigned female at birth.

Is any of this nonsense going on in Richland 2?

Lawsuit really filed?

Last week there was a big hoop-dee-lah about a lawsuit being filed by Attorney John Mobley on behalf of one of the students stabbed (allegedly) by 17-year-old Ridge View High School student Tony Abrams.

That lawsuit does not appear yet in the Public Index of the Richland County Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Mobley would not reveal the name of his client. Will it be shown in the court records?

Wouldn't it be nice if the Public Index was sortable by Name or Filed Date? And if it was kept up to date with Next Court Date? I guess that's too much to ask of a government agency.

Safety Committee Meeting 5/2/2023

The Safety Committee of the Richland 2 School District met yesterday (Tuesday, May 2, 2023). 

Five Committee members in attendance were Angela Nash, chair; Lashonda McFadden, board member; McGee Moody, parent participant, Marq Claxton, R2 director of safety & security; Capt. Verlon Rhodes, RCSD liaison.

Four Committee members were absent, judging by the empty chairs and places set: Monica Scott, board member (she apparently was attending by telephone but did not speak up until 37:45); female parent participant, whose name is unknown; teacher-of-the year (name?); ; and an unknown fourth person. (Three places were set to the left of the head table.)

The committee heard a presentation about metal detectors by Will Anderson, R2 Chief Operations Officer. His presentation begins at 5:00 on https://livestream.com/richland2/5:00events/10847395/videos/236055739

In 26 random (pop-up) screenings since February 2, 2023 there were 21,796 students screened. 21,756/26 = 856 students per school (average). What percentage of students attending those schools was screened?

The following were found: 1 gun, 1 taser, 1 pocket knife, 1 screwdriver, 1 ½-pair of scissors, 1 sharp edge weapon, 9 keychain mace; also, vapes, drugs, marijuna [sic], alcohol.

Staffing required for those 26 pop-ups were 241 school personnel; 111 contracted security; 181 R2 (security) Officers.

Only the direct cost for contracted security personnel was disclosed: $21,805.48. $21,805.48/111= $196.12 average for each contracted security person. $21,805.48/26= $838 average for contracted security per screening.

The indirect costs for 241 school personnel and 181 R2 Officers was not estimated; nor was the cost for the equipment, transportation, etc. HOW MUCH WAS THAT?

See the estimate of costs at 10:57 on the livestream recording. For five high schools (only), $2,601,576 for 2023/2024 school year.

At about 37:45 Trustee Scott was recognized with a question, and the committee chair said she was attending by phone. About time! She stated emphatically that teachers will not be asked to "man" the metal detectors. She referred to conversations she has had with teachers and said they are "very fearful" they will be asked to do so.

My response to that is that many teachers will be ready to man metal detectors. We have to stop living in fear! 

Board makes Statement about new search firm

I believe the Richland 2 school board was shocked to learn that Baron Davis is a consultant with the superintendent-search firm that the board selected.

McPherson & Jacobson LLC, of Omaha, Nebraska, was selected last Tuesday (April 25) at the Special-Called Board Meeting.

Trustee McFadden made a statement at the end of tonight's Special-Called Board Meeting that the board will NOT be working with any South Carolina consultant of the search firm.

When the selection of that firm was announced in local media today, I examined its website and was horrified to see Baron Davis listed as its S.C. consultant. I wondered why Richland 2 would ever select that firm.

When did Baron contract with McPherson & Jacobson?

Maybe he called them yesterday and told them he'd like to hook up with them. And today? Voilà! He's on board and some speedy I.T. person pasted his name up on their website?

If you believe that, call me. I'll still got that bridge in New York I'd love to sell you.

It takes a few days to put together a deal like that. A business ought to be curious why an applicant or potential contractor left his last position. Did he leave on good terms? Is he eligible for re-hire?

A young HR person in Denver told me in 1975 that the one question he would ask a former employer was, "Was there a great sigh of relief when that person left your organization?"

What would the answer be at Richland 2?

Should McPherson & Jacobson have informed the Richland 2 board that it was in negotiations with Davis?  Of course they should have! It might have cost them the Richland 2 deal. And it might not have.

But, in my book, McPherson & Jacobson gets low marks for integrity. In fact, the mark is so low that there won't be any mark at all!

Search Firm hired yet?

Has the Richland 2 School Board/District retained a search firm yet to identify candidates for consideration for the new permanent superintendent?

So far, there have been many Executive Sessions but no announcement.

Does the Board know how to hire a superintendent?

Did they contact other districts to find out whom they interviewed but didn't hire?

What will a search cost? And how quickly will it commence? (Hint: it should have commenced in February.)

I recall investigating a job in 1987 for an executive director of a chamber of commerce in eastern Oregon. A member of the board's search committee responded to my resume and asked me a few questions. Then he asked if I'd pay my own expenses to come there for an interview. I was in Kansas City at the time.

I asked how many candidates they planned to interview. Nine. I told him I would pay my own expenses 1) if I were one of two final candidates for the position and 2) if they would reimburse me if they hired me.

I never received any questions, and I never followed up to learn whom they hired. I also realized that I never wanted to be an Executive Director of a chamber. Can you imagine having 15 "bosses" (on the Board of Directors) and trying to keep eight of them happy?

[Edited. Richland 2 has hired McPherson & Jacobson LLC, according to ABC in Columbia earlier today. The firm is located in Omaha, Nebraska. Its website is https://macnjake.com/ 

Guess who is listed on their website as a member of their consultant team for South Carolina: "Dr. Baron Davis". And the Richland 2 Board picked that firm???

Read that firm's "Equity Policy". 

WOKE - all the way.

Role of the R2 Board - forgotten? never known?

Only a month ago (March 23, 2023) the Richland 2 school board heard a presentation by Attorney Ashley Story on the Role of the Board.

Unfortunately, that meeting was not livestreamed, but the excellent presentation by Attorney Story can be viewed here:

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

Did the Board learn anything from that presentation? If they did, how did they forget it so quickly?

Most of the board members seem not to know that their roles are 1) direction and 2) oversight. They are not "do-ers".

One of the reasons for 4-5-6-hour board meetings is that board members have inserted themselves too deeply into operations and management of the District. That is not their role. They are Trustees. They are supposed to be decision-makers. They are not management employees of the District.

It could be that the only way to fix this will be in the next two elections.

Rather than attending to all the minutiae, the board should focus on hiring a permanent superintendent. What "face" are they presenting? Do they think that candidates aren't watching the board meetings?