The Richland 2 School Board has received at least one request to rescind its suspension of Board Policy BEDH.
The request was submitted to the entire board, asking a board member to make a motion at a meeting to add an item to the next agenda for discussion and vote to rescind the suspension. (The public lost its privilege to request agenda items on May 12, 2020.)
It will be interesting to learn what the Board's response is to the request and whether it will acknowledge the request at all..
Do YOU believe the public should be able to speak at Board meetings, as it has for years?
If so, email the Board now. To make your voice heard more loudly, send a bcc to gusphilpott@gmail.com
No public mention will be made of your name. There will be no attribution, but the public will be able to know of the number of requests made. A FOIA request may be made to the District in the future for the number of requests received.
Send your request to the entire board. To ease the pain of finding all their email addresses, here they are:
jamesmanning@richland2.org, lindsayagostini@richland2.org, cherylcautionparker@richland2.org, puttingstudentsfirst2012@gmail.com, docholmesschoolboard2@gmail.com, ameliamckie@richland2.org, jamesshadd@richland2.org
If you wish to copy the superintendent, here is his email address: badavis@richland2.org
McKie and Holmes are included, even though they are not yet legitimate members of the board. I address them as Trustees-elect. As soon as they take the oath of office legally (now that they have filed their Statement of Economic Interests Reports), they will become Trustees.
Holmes and Elkins-Johnson use personal email addresses, although the District should require all trustees to use the "@richland2.org" email address. The District may face an insurmountable problem in the future, should a FOIA Request be made that includes official emails to and from Holmes and Elkins-Johnson, especially after they leave the board.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Board Policy BEDH - Suspended
On May 12, 2020 the Richland 2 School Board voted 6-1 to suspend Board Policy BEDH. Trustee Lindsay Agostini was the sole No vote on the motion to suspend BEDH.
BEDH is the policy that applies to public participation at meetings. When the Board suspended this policy, it axed the public's ability to address the board at meetings. In other words, the Board no longer wishes to hear from the public at meetings. In public. Out in the open. Where others can know how the public feels.
The Board seems to think that the public's sending an email to someone in the District is the same as speaking out at meetngs.
It. Is. Not.
The vote on the Motion to Suspend BEDH, which was made by Eklins-Johnson and seconded by Shadd, can be viewed at 27:40 on the May 12th video. The vote was 6-1. But the video producer failed to show the screen with the result of the vote, so most will not know that it was Trustee Lindsay Agostini who stood up against the board and represented the People by voting as the sole No vote.
Furthermore, the District has not yet changed the Policy on its website. Why not?
Since Policy BEDH is no longer in effect, why hasn't the District so notated on the District's website? If you go to the website today (May 20), you will believe that the public still has the privilege to speak at board meetings.
Who or what controls the publication of Board Policies on the District's website?
Isn't this handled within Richland 2? Or does the Scouth Carolina School Boards Assn. have its nose in District business at this level?
BEDH is the policy that applies to public participation at meetings. When the Board suspended this policy, it axed the public's ability to address the board at meetings. In other words, the Board no longer wishes to hear from the public at meetings. In public. Out in the open. Where others can know how the public feels.
The Board seems to think that the public's sending an email to someone in the District is the same as speaking out at meetngs.
It. Is. Not.
The vote on the Motion to Suspend BEDH, which was made by Eklins-Johnson and seconded by Shadd, can be viewed at 27:40 on the May 12th video. The vote was 6-1. But the video producer failed to show the screen with the result of the vote, so most will not know that it was Trustee Lindsay Agostini who stood up against the board and represented the People by voting as the sole No vote.
Furthermore, the District has not yet changed the Policy on its website. Why not?
Since Policy BEDH is no longer in effect, why hasn't the District so notated on the District's website? If you go to the website today (May 20), you will believe that the public still has the privilege to speak at board meetings.
Who or what controls the publication of Board Policies on the District's website?
Isn't this handled within Richland 2? Or does the Scouth Carolina School Boards Assn. have its nose in District business at this level?
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Robert's Rules of Order
In a number of Regular Meetings of the school board, when the board returns from Executive Session, the Chair describes a vote in Executive Session to end it and return to open session.
NO votes are allowed in Executive Session, even if later disclosed. A vote to end Executive Session is not allowed and is not needed; they just stop talking and move back to the public setting and then they re-convene. They "re-convene" because they had to first convene in open session before they could go into Executive Session.
If any vote at the beginning of the re-convened session should be taken, it would be to re-convene. There is no need to describe returning from Executive Session or what transpired there, since they are precluded from talking about what happened in Executive Session.
Later in the Regular Meeting is an agenda item for voting on any matters from the Executive Session that need action.
This Board should hire the Robert's Rules of Order expert, Helen McFadden. She attended a board meeting several months ago, and interest was expressed by at least one board member that she be invited back.
NO votes are allowed in Executive Session, even if later disclosed. A vote to end Executive Session is not allowed and is not needed; they just stop talking and move back to the public setting and then they re-convene. They "re-convene" because they had to first convene in open session before they could go into Executive Session.
If any vote at the beginning of the re-convened session should be taken, it would be to re-convene. There is no need to describe returning from Executive Session or what transpired there, since they are precluded from talking about what happened in Executive Session.
Later in the Regular Meeting is an agenda item for voting on any matters from the Executive Session that need action.
This Board should hire the Robert's Rules of Order expert, Helen McFadden. She attended a board meeting several months ago, and interest was expressed by at least one board member that she be invited back.
Livestream Training Needed for Board
The Richland 2 School Board needs training in professional conduct at Livestream Board Meetings.
What's wrong?
One board member's little yapping dog barks.
Keep your hands out of your hair during meetings.
Position your camera so that it faces you directly at eye-level.
Don't fidget.
Keep your hands off the camera.
Present slides from a computer so that the wording can be read.
Train board members on background and lighting.
Board members dressed professionally in business attire for in-person board meetings. Is there any reason that has changed?
What's wrong?
One board member's little yapping dog barks.
Keep your hands out of your hair during meetings.
Position your camera so that it faces you directly at eye-level.
Don't fidget.
Keep your hands off the camera.
Present slides from a computer so that the wording can be read.
Train board members on background and lighting.
Board members dressed professionally in business attire for in-person board meetings. Is there any reason that has changed?
2020-2021 Budget Meeting
The Richland 2 School Board held a 20-minute special-called meeting today to discuss the 2020-2021 budget. The meeting was live-streamed.
It was shocking to see that there were only 11-13 people attending this meeting. The counter in the upper left never exceeded 13. Did that include seven on the board, plus Supt. Davis, Libby Roof, Harry Miley and the woman from his department, to whom Dr. Miley gave credit for the report? And me? And one more?
Or was the number (13) those who were attending (excluding the board and staff) and viewing the livestream meeting?
Where were all the teachers who ought to be concerned about whether they are going to get paid or have jobs?
Maybe they were still teaching at 5:00PM. Reports to me indicate that they are having very long days.
Where were the parents and taxpayers who ought to be wondering whether their taxes will be going up?
The District should email survey (SurveyMonkey.com?) after meetings and ask questions, such as:
Did you know about the meeting?
Did you attend the meeting?
Did you plan to attend the meeting but missed it?
Will you watch the replay on YouTube or Livestream?
What would help you attend future board meetings?
- Email reminder?
- RoboCall?
Should the District create a Public Portal like the City of Columbia?
Should the rescind the suspension of Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings?
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being High), how important do you feel your voice is to the School Board?
Electronic surveys are dirt-cheap. But does the Board really want to know what parents, taxpayers and voters think?
It was shocking to see that there were only 11-13 people attending this meeting. The counter in the upper left never exceeded 13. Did that include seven on the board, plus Supt. Davis, Libby Roof, Harry Miley and the woman from his department, to whom Dr. Miley gave credit for the report? And me? And one more?
Or was the number (13) those who were attending (excluding the board and staff) and viewing the livestream meeting?
Where were all the teachers who ought to be concerned about whether they are going to get paid or have jobs?
Maybe they were still teaching at 5:00PM. Reports to me indicate that they are having very long days.
Where were the parents and taxpayers who ought to be wondering whether their taxes will be going up?
The District should email survey (SurveyMonkey.com?) after meetings and ask questions, such as:
Did you know about the meeting?
Did you attend the meeting?
Did you plan to attend the meeting but missed it?
Will you watch the replay on YouTube or Livestream?
What would help you attend future board meetings?
- Email reminder?
- RoboCall?
Should the District create a Public Portal like the City of Columbia?
Should the rescind the suspension of Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings?
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being High), how important do you feel your voice is to the School Board?
Electronic surveys are dirt-cheap. But does the Board really want to know what parents, taxpayers and voters think?
Monday, May 18, 2020
Agenda updated for 5/19/20 Special-Called Board Meeting
The agenda for the May 19, 2020 Special-Called Meeting has been updated to include a link to the 2020-2021 Budget. The title slide for the attachment is Budget Workshop.
Tomorrow's meeting starts at 5:00PM. View the meeting here: http://www.richland2.org/livestream
You will NOT have any opportunity to speak or participate!
A Budget Workshop has traditionally been the opportunity for the public to examine and comment on the budget for the coming school year.
Last week the Board suspended Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings. It didn't just suspend it temporarily, as Amelia McKie claimed so emphatically. Her wording was false and deceiving, and her statement should have been corrected by the Board Secretary or the Board Chair before the vote was taken.
There was nothing in the Motion about a "temporary" suspension. The Board suspended the public's opportunity to address the board at meetings. In other words, squelched, squashed, silenced. The board should be embarrassed about its vote. The vote was 6-0.
Only Trustee Lindsay Agostini voted NO on the Motion to suspend BEDH.
If you care to look at the proposed budget, it's here. Warning: what is "here" is the link posted by the District at this moment (5/19;/20 10:20AM). It can be changed at any time before today at 5:00PM.
If you have a comment on the budget, email your comments to board members, whose email addresses are here. Or phone them.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Letter to the Editor, The Voice
The following Letter to the Editor has been sent to The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County. Be sure to read The Voice often. Remember, it is the paper that discovered that Amelia McKie and Teresa Holmes had failed to file the Statements of Economic Interest Reports with the S.C. Ethics Commission before taking the oath of office. It also reported extensively of McKie's $51,750 debt to the S.C. Ethics Commission for four years' worth of failure regarding required reporting.
The Richland 2 School Board stuck it to the voters, taxpayers, parents, staff and students on May 12, when it voted to suspend Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings. Not suspend it temporarily, as Amelia McKie explained. There was no "temporarily" about it. They voted 6-1 to suspend it. That means it is no longer in effect.
The Richland 2 School Board stuck it to the voters, taxpayers, parents, staff and students on May 12, when it voted to suspend Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings. Not suspend it temporarily, as Amelia McKie explained. There was no "temporarily" about it. They voted 6-1 to suspend it. That means it is no longer in effect.
Is the suspension of BEDH a First Amendment violation? An infringement on free speech? After all, the school board is a public body. Meetings are (supposed to be) open. Trustee Agostini explained the "meeting portal" (https://columbiacitysc.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx) that the City of Columbia has opened.
BEDH allowed the public to speak at board meetings. No more. BEDH allowed the public to suggest items for board consideration. No more. The Richland 2 Board suspended BEDH at the suggestion and encouragement of the S.C. School Boards Assn. Who runs the Richland 2 District? The SCSBA? No, the elected school board does. At least, it ought to.
When "temporary" was not part of the Motion, why would McKie say the suspension is temporary? Was that an attempt to mislead the public? Why didn't the Chairman clarify before the vote that the suspension would NOT be temporary?
Trustee Elkins-Johnson wanted the suspension only through the end of the summer, but she gave up easily when she wasn't supported. Trustee Lindsay Agostini was the only school member to vote NO. Thank you, Lindsay, for sticking up for the voters and taxpayers.
Gus Philpott
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