Candidates' Forum - Replay

 If you missed the October 20th Richland 2 Candidates' Forum and want to know more about their positions, go to richland2.org/livestream and watch the replay.

You say you've already voted? Your mind is made up? You don't care?

Well, I say you'd better care.

The forum was sponsored by the Richland Two Teachers' Association and the League of Women Voters. Patrick Kelly, a Richland 2 teacher, served as Moderator. The LWV was nowhere in sight.

As I watched, I was reminded of a Presidential debate where Pres. Trump found himself facing a Democratic Party moderator. Kelly did a good job of reading the questions to each of the candidates, but I had a strong feeling that too many of the questions were teacher-based; i.e., if you are elected, what are you going to do for us?

The School Board should be composed of stewards who look fairly at all the interests to be represented. Teachers are only one slice of that pie. But they want an ever-increasing share of the money pie. Too much time last night was spent playing the tune sung by the teachers.

But, worse than that, was the tone of most of the candidates. Richland 2 is already leaning far left; i.e., in the progressive direction. One of the candidates was even quite outspoken about it. If you want a progressive candidate, vote for me.

"Culture" was mentioned many times last night. The USA has gone nuts with focus on cultural, diversity, race, sensitivity, privilege. This has got to stop. Teach the subjects that students need to learn to get ahead in the world.

Too many parents and too many voters are not paying attention to the progressive leanings of the district, of the Board, of the Administration, and of the teachers. Students should be educated, not indoctrinated.

More than one candidate mentioned the Premier 100 Men-of-Color program of the superintendent. I'll bet not one of them realizes that the Premier 100 Men-of-Color program is NOT a Richland Two Board-approved program. It is a pet project of the superintendent. Recently, the superintendent even acknowledged at a school board meeting that it is not a project on which he is evaluated. It is his project; it is not a District project.

Why does the current board let him get away with it? Because the majority on the board will let him have anything he wants.

This District's goal should be to hire the best 100 teachers it can - male, female (ignoring the other 51 genders), black, white, brown, yellow, red, who can be hired for what Richland 2 will be paying.

One candidate said the student body is 70% black. Well, the USA is 13% black. Unless all Richland 2 graduates are planning to stay in Columbia, they should learn skills that will enable them to get along in the country and in the world.

Last spring an attorney gave me some great advice. He said, "You ought to run for the school board, because you would have a larger platform for saying what is wrong with the district. But you don't want to win." And he was right! 

Who was it last night who took a poke at dissenting board members? There is a Board Policy that all board members are supposed to toe the line, once a policy is approved. Right now, Richland County's own "Squad" makes the rules in Richland 2, because it has the majority. This does not bode well for Richland 2.

Critical Race Theory & other wacko ideas

How many politicians do we have in the United States with the wisdom of British MP (Tory) Kemi Badenoch? Any idea who she is? Do you know what "MP" is? On which side of the aisle a Tory sits?

Read The Daily Wire for its October 20th article headlined "WATCH: Black British Member Of Parliament Blisters Schools Teaching Critical Race Theory, Supporting BLM Movement".

She calls out people for " 'pretending' that Black Lives Matter is a 'completely wholesome anti-racist organization'." In her spoken words in the video, she refers to Black Lives Matter as an anti-capitalist group.

How does she define Critical Race Theory? "...an idea that sees my blackness as victimhood and their whiteness as oppression."

She added, "We do not want to see teachers teaching their white pupils about white privilege and inherited racial guilt."

MP Badenoch said (7:19 in the video) her daughter had come home from school and told her, "We're learning black history month, because every other month is about white history." She said, "This is wrong."

Why I am posting this on the Richland 2 Unofficial Blog?

I watched the candidates' forum last night. After it ended, I just shook my head and decided that I was not going to comment. After all, I've already voted. However, after reading this article about MP Badenoch, I have decided that staying silent is wrong.

Who is stealing signs?

About three weeks ago I put out 60 signs for one of the candidates for the Richland 2 school board. Today I put out another 50.

I noticed that some of the previous signs were gone and at least one was torn into 5-6 pieces that were left on the roadside. 

If you see anyone tampering with, defacing or removing signs, call the Sheriff's Department. Get a description of the car and a license plate, and try to get a good look at the driver and passengers. 

While I was out, I stood up another candidate's signs that had been pulled out of the ground and reported to one candidate for State Senate that three of his signs by Rice Creek Elementary School were pulled out of their metal frames and left on the ground. The frames were taken.

Since there are only two candidates on the ballot for State Senate 22, gee, I wonder whose friends or campaign workers damaged Lee Blatt's signs!!!

Be sure to vote for Lee Blatt!!!

And here's an idea for the school board race. If you really only like one, vote only for that one. Then two other candidates won't have higher totals that might bump your favorite candidate.

Remember 2018?

Here's what happened in the Richland 2 School District election on November 6, 2018.

In the November 3, 2020 election there are ten candidates.

Candidate's Forum - when?

Is the school board candidates' forum still scheduled for October 20? Time? Still at R2i2 in-person?

I wonder how concerned the candidates might be about the lack of publicity? 

Is the forum the best-kept secret in Richland County?

The forum is being coordinated by the League of Women Voters (Columbia) and the Richland 2 Teachers Association. The last I heard was that it is scheduled for October 20 at R2i2. I cannot find any mention of it on the Richland 2 website (homepage Calendar) or the Library's website or the League of Women Voters website.

If you search on Google, note that the result is for 2018, not for 2020.

EDITED: Thanks to candidate Lashonda McFadden, who informed me that Richland 2 School Disgtrict tweeted on 10/12/20 that the candidates' forum will be a virtual event on October 20, 2020, at 6:30PM. Go to richland2.org/livestream

EDITED (10/18/20 10:53AM) An announcement of the candidates' forum is now posted on the Richland 2 homepage. Many thanks to Mrs. Libby Roof for her week-end posting.

I wonder if Richland 2 is aware that not everyone reads tweets. And then there are those of us in Twitter Jail who refuse to knuckle under to Twitter's censors. I'll be serving a Life sentence, because I am not going to recant my tweet to Smerconish on 6/6/2020 that looters ought to be shot.

Thanks, Lashonda!

A question of ethics

When a school board member is running for re-election, is it appropriate (ethical? legal? fair?) to wear a polo shirt denoting a current position on the Richland 2 School Board while campaigning?

Was the shirt paid for with public money and provided by the School Board to the trustee? (Hint - I don't ask a question to which I don't already know the answer.)

Could this shirt be worn within 200 feet of a polling place by a candidate on the ballot?

Could a facemask bearing any campaign message be worn within 200 feet of a polling entrance?

A quick check with the S.C. Department of Revenue State Tax Lien Registry today reveals that Shadd still owes $45,880 in unpaid income taxes on five personal income tax liens dating back to 2014. One lien was filed in 2014, one in 2017, two in 2019, and one in 2020. 

EDITED 10/19/20. I heard that some payment had been made but, according to https://dor.sc.gov/liens today, the total due on five liens is $46,255.85.

According to SC BIZ NEWS, "The Revenue Department said it exhausted efforts to collect the debts before the names were published, sending letters and making personal contact to attempt to get delinquent taxpayers to comply.   https://scbiznews.com/news/government/77984/

Well, that's a joke. If the State DOR cannot collect monies owed to the State, then get out of the way and turn collection efforts over to private enterprise.

Shadd was elected Board Chair on June 30, 2020. Why would the Board have a tax debtor as Trustee, much less the Board Chair?

What, Me Worry? Look at the Numbers!

Friday's DHEC report of new COVID-19 cases in schools, as reported by The State newspaper, listed these Richland 2 schools:

RICHLAND 2

• Catawba Trail Elementary School has less than five faculty cases.
• Forest Lake Elementary School has less than five faculty cases.
• L.B. Nelson Elementary School has less than five student cases.
• Muller Road Middle School has less than five faculty cases.
• North Springs Elementary School has less than five faculty cases.
• Richland Northeast High School has less than five student cases.
• Spring Valley High School has less than five student cases and less than five faculty cases.
• Windsor Elementary School has less than five student cases.

Stated another way:

RICHLAND 2

• Catawba Trail Elementary School has 1-4 faculty cases.
• Forest Lake Elementary School has 1-4 faculty cases.
• L.B. Nelson Elementary School has 1-4 student cases.
• Muller Road Middle School has 1-4 faculty cases.
• North Springs Elementary School has 1-4 faculty cases.
• Richland Northeast High School has 1-4 student cases.
• Spring Valley High School has 1-4 student cases and 1-4 faculty cases.
• Windsor Elementary School has 1-4 student cases.

In summary,

Five schools reported 1-4 faculty cases (why "faculty", not employee?)

Four schools reported 1-4 student cases.

Wouldn't exact numbers be more helpful?

There could have been 5-20 faculty cases last week.

There could have been 4-16 student cases last week. 

Out of 27,800 students!

Four cases? 0.014% of student body.

Sixteen cases? 0.057% of student body.

Like Alfred E. Newman said, "What, Me Worry?"