Public Participation - June 29, 2021

Be sure to watch the public participation portion of the June 29, 2021 school board meeting. It is found at www.richland2.org/livestream. Look for the date of the meeting and be sure to click the Play arrow. Then fast-forward (drag the counter) to 13:48.

Several parents presented very forceful remarks against the teaching of "anti-racism" and of gender. It is the parents' role to teach their children about gender.

Two pointed out that "anti-racism' is a higher priority for Richland 2 than discipline. One man said that anti-racism is nothing more than bait-and-switch. Bravo!

Watch and listen carefully to the remarks of these parents.Start showing up at board meetings and speak out. If you don't, then the board will go right on its merry way and pursue the path it is on. It is up to the board to direct and guide the superintendent and the staff on the path ordered by those who have elected them.

When enough parents show up and speak out, the board will begin to get the message. 

A good example to follow is that of the parents in Loudoun County, Virginia. They are loud and they are in the news. That should be happening here.

Awaiting FOIA Request re oath by McKie, Holmes

After Tuesday night's board meeting I submitted a new FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to Richland 2 for copies of the most-recent oath of office taken by Teresa Holmes and Amelia McKie.

Previously, the District provided me with copies of the oath of office administered on November 13, 2018.

Have they ever taken the oath of office after December 4, 2018? 

More than once, I requested the District to inform me of any administration of the oath after December 4, 2018 to McKie and Holmes, and I have never been so informed.

There are several problems with the oath that was administered on November 13, 2018.

McKie and Holmes were not eligible to take the oath on November 13, 2018. Neither had filed her Statement of Economic Interests Report (SEI) with the South Carolina Ethics Commission. That SEI must be filed before a newly-elected (or re-elected) person can take the oath and assume the duties of the office.

They repeated the words of the oath on November 13, 2018, but those words had, and have, no legal effect. The Oath form was notarized, and it is meaningless - legally. Presumably, it was submitted to the State of South Carolina, as required. Again, all meaningless.

Another reason the oath on November 13, 2018 is meaningless is that the November 6, 2018 election of McKie and Holmes had not yet been certified by the Richland County Board of Elections. That  certification happened on November 9, 2018. The earliest that McKie and Holmes could have legally taken the oath (if they had already filed their SEIs (which they hadn't)) was November 16, 2018.

The District had been swearing in new trustees improperly (early, before the election was certified) for about ten years. They'd still be doing so, if I hadn't called their attention to the law.

Why is this a big deal?

It was bad enough that McKie and Holmes were allowed to sit at the board and participate in board decisions by voting. And drawing a Trustee's salary and benefits.

But now Holmes and McKie are officers of the board.

If you aren't a legal board member, you can't be a legal board officer. 

If they haven't taken the oath of office since December 4, 2018, they should be removed. All monies paid to or for them should be recovered by the District. All board decisions swayed by their votes should be reviewed and changed to include only votes by legal board members.

I'll let you know how the District responds to my FOIA Request.

R2 Board Elects 2 ineligible Officers!

Tonight the Richland 2 school board elected two officers who are not eligible to hold office! Teresa Holmes was elected as Chair in a 5-2 vote, and Amelia McKie was elected as Secretary in a 4-3 vote. James Manning was elected Vice-Chair in a 5-2 vote.

Voting was by secret ballot because there was more than one nominee for each office.

During the public participation segment of the meeting I addressed board andthe  urged them to allow only fully-qualified persons to be nominated. They all knew I was referring to McKie and Holmes. Fully-qualified meant they had to have taken the oath of office legally! I asked the board to deny an illegible nominee.

Since February 2019 I have complained that McKie and Holmes are not legitimate members of the board. Tonight I reminded the board that two of the people have never taken the oath of office legally.

And so, what happened when the agenda reached the time for election of officers. The superintendent runs the election, and he called for nominations for Chair.

Mr. Manning led the pack in jumping right in with his nomination of Teresa Holmes for Chair. Right out of the box! 

The superintendent should have raised the issue of legitimacy. Another board member should have called a Point-of-Order.

Manning KNOWS that Holmes is not a legitimate board member. Holmes has never taken the oath of office legally. Yet Manning quickly spoke up to noiminate her. The Squad lined right up with Manning, and the vote was 5-2.

For Vice-Chair, Manning was nominated, and the vote again was 5-2.

For Secretary, Amelia McKie was nominated. The Squad lined up again, and she won with a 4-3 vote. McKie is not only not a legal board member, she is not eligible to be a board officer. And she also is not eligible to the the District's nominee to the South Carolina School Boards Association for Regional Director. But there she is.

Last year I contacted the Richland County Sheriff's Department and SLED about McKie and Holmes. SLED investigators interviewed me at the S.C. Attorney General's office. For a while it really looked like the A.G. was going to file charges. And then he didn't. 

However, now it's a new story. This Board cannot function with two illegitimate officers. The taxpayers must demand that only duly-qualified board members should serve as Officers. And ALL board members should fully qualified, which McKie and Holmes are not.

The Chair and the superintendent set the direction of the District, because they control the agenda. 

Get ready, folks. The District 2 ship is setting sail for even more dangerous waters.

CRT - Two Hours of Public Comments

No, not in Richland 2, of course. The Richland 2 board is willing to listen only to (up to) 10 members of the public at a board meeting, and for not more than 30 minutes.

So, where was there a two-hour public lambasting of the board? Douglas County, Colorado - just southeast of Denver and not far from where I lived.

Check out this article in the June 22nd edition of The Daily Signal, a publication of the Heritage Foundation. The title?

Is Your School Hiding Its Critical Race Theory Teaching? Here Are 5 Things to Ask About

I recently submitted a FOIA request to Richland 2 for documentation of teaching of Critical Race Theory. The reply was that there was no "documentation" responsive to my request. So I knew I hadn't ask the right question(s).

Read this article, which was originally published in The Denver Gazette.

Publication Participation

Why does Richland 2 require those wishing to speak during Public Participation to sign up not later than 15 minutes before the re-convening of the Regular meeting?

Is this just a case of "Because we said so"?

Tuesday's meeting starts at 4:30PM, and the board will quickly enter Executive Session (for food, beverages, and some confidential business). Watch when they come out of Executive Session. Some of them will be carrying extra meals to take home, if past meetings are any indication of what will happen this Tuesday.

There are two Public Participation segments during Regular Board Meetings. One 15-minute segment is held early in the meeting, and the second is held late in the meeting, AFTER the board has conducted its business and voted on agenda items.

HOWEVER, you must sign up to speak before 5:45PM. And you don't get a choice about speaking at the first or second segment.

Speakers get three minutes to sound off, so only five will speak at the first segment. If you are Number 6 to sign up, and each of the others takes his full three minutes, then you get to cool your heels until nearly the end of the meeting. If you wanted to comment on an item the board will consider and vote on, Tough Luck!

Why doesn't the board hold a 30-minute segment and give the public an opportunity to speak up before they take care of business?

What if a "Loudoun County" Night occurred and 200 people showed up to bark at the board about Critical Race Theory (or Richland 2's version, Culturally Relevant Theory (or Pedagogy))?

Would the board listen? Not likely. Instead, RCSD deputies would get a work-out, because they will be instructed to remove many members of the public.

Even though the State of South Carolina has removed COVIC-19 restrictions, the Richland 2 board continues to restrict attendance at board meetings to 30 members of the public. It is past time to open the public meetings to larger attendance.

June 29th Board Meeting - special hours

The June 29th school board meeting will convene at 4:30PM*, according to the notes with the published Agenda. This is an hour earlier than normal. See the Agenda for items to be discussed out of public hearing. A longer-than-usual Executive Session is planned. 

At 6:00PM the Regular Meeting will re-convene. 

However, an email to media indicated that the board meeting will start at 5:30PM, with the budget hearing and Regular Meeting at 6:00PM, after the Executive Session.

* NOTE: Check on the District's website for any correction to the starting time.

EDIT at 6:28PM 

An amended announcement was mailed out by Richland 2 that the correct starting time of the board meeting is 4:30PM.

At 10:39AM the District sent out it first announcement to media, with the starting time as 5:30PM.

At 10:51AM I emailed the District to ask the correct starting time; 4:30PM or 5:30PM. 

At 11:10AM the District issued a correction of the starting time to 4:30PM.

Still waiting for the District to say "Thanks".

CRT: Joy Reid vs. Chris Rufo

For a discussion of the interview between Joy Reid (MSNBC mouthpiece) and Christopher Rufo, Manhattan Institute senior fellow, see this FoxNews article: https://www.foxnews.com/media/christopher-rufo-msnbc-joy-reid-critical-race-theory

Do you know these terms?

"intersectionality, critical whiteness studies, ethnic studies, and critical pedagogy"

Pay close attention, when you hear any of these words in Richland 2 School District. 

Robin DiAngelo is mentioned in the article. I tried to read her book but quickly gave up. I have a strong stomach, but it's not strong enough to digest her drivel.

In all (well, some) fairness to Joy Reid, I would not know her from Godzilla's mother, if both were standing in front of me.