R2 Board really cares - or does it?

A last-minute media release about tomorrow night's school board meeting changes the location for the board meeting. It will be in the conference center at R2's Taj Mahal, a/k/a R2i2. Frankly, there have been too many errors in announcements in the past few months, and you can expect an amendment to today's release, correcting an obvious error in the boiler-plate about signing up for public participation.

The board will meet in Executive Session from 5:00-6:30PM. At 6:30PM the board will re-convene in open session.

This morning's announcement includes: 

"Public session will resume at 6:30 p.m. at which time a Public Input Session will be held. During the input session, the public has the opportunity to share comments related to the district's plans for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services and for the spending of federal emergency relief funds (ESSER III funds)."

Now read this and spot what's wrong:

"Public Participation is on the agenda for the August 10 meeting. The Board sets aside a maximum of 30 minutes (15 minutes at the beginning and 15 minutes prior to the end of the public portion of the meeting). As each speaker is allotted three minutes, Public Participation will be limited to the first 10 people who sign up to speak (five during the first Public Participation and five during the second Public Participation). The sign-up to speak will open at 5 p.m. and close at 5:45 p.m. on August 10 in the lobby of R2i2."

The announcement is unclear. It fails to clarify that the Public Input session precedes the Public Participation segment of the meeting. How many parents will be allowed to speak during the "Public Input" period, and for how long?

Why in the world should you have to sign up between 5:00-5:45PM for a meeting that starts at 6:30PM???

And does the Board really care about what "the public" (parents!) will have to say about safe return to school? If it really cared, it would listen to more than ten people. Some school boards are having hundreds of parents show up for board meetings, such as when parents want to sound off about Critical Race Theory. 

Obviously, the boiler-plate should have been altered to close sign-ups at 6:15PM, which is 15 minutes before the scheduled resumption of the open session. But why should sign-up even close then?

The lucky first five get to speak during the first segment of public participation. Why does the board make the 6th-10th signed-up speakers wait until almost the end of the meeting which, based on recent trends, could be 2 hours (or more) later. 

If the board really cared about what parents think, it would listen to 20 or more parents in an hour, non-stop. The board could save time by calling up the next speaker and announcing the names of the next two speakers, and have them stand in waiting. Ex., "The first speaker will be John Smith, followed by Mary Jones, followed by Tim Parent."

Of course, then the board members might complain about being hammered by parents. Would that be so bad?

Why Did Manning Nominate Holmes?

On June 29, 2021 the Richland 2 School Board elected three officers for the 2021-2022 School Year.

Why did James Manning nominate Teresa Holmes for Board Chair?

Later in the meeting why did Cheryl Caution-Parker nominate Amelia McKie for Board Secretary? 

All on the board knew that the question of legitimacy of Holmes and McKie on the board has been an issue since at least February 2019.

There were several community members who began speaking about the legitimacy of Holmes and Amelia McKie on the board at the beginning of 2019. The others have tired of blowing in the wind and have given up that this serious error will ever be corrected.

And, during the Public Participation segment of the June 29th board meeting, I addressed the board in person and asked them to nominate and elect only fully-qualified board members.

The reason that Holmes and McKie are not legitimate board members is found in S.C. Code of Laws Section 8-13-1110 (A), which reads

"No public official, regardless of compensation, and no public member or public employee as designated in subsection (B) may take the oath of office or enter upon his official responsibilities unless he has filed a statement of economic interests in accordance with the provisions of this chapter with the appropriate supervisory office. If a public official, public member, or public employee referred to in this section has no economic interests to disclose, he shall nevertheless file a statement of inactivity to that effect with the appropriate supervisory office. All disclosure statements are matters of public record open to inspection upon request." [Emphasis added]

The facts are:

1. The oath of office was administered to both on November 13, 2018. Each then attended the November 13, 2018 school board meeting, including the confidential Executive Session, and voted on board Motions. The District submitted the notarized Oath of Office documents to the S.C. Secretary of State.

2. Both Holmes and McKie filed their Statements of Economic Interests with the S.C. Ethics Commission on December 4, 2018.

I think even a second-grader could figure out that Holmes and McKie took the oath of office and "entered upon official responsibilities" before filing their Statements of Economic Interests.

And neither has ever taken the oath of office legally; i.e., on or after December 4, 2018. They could have. They have been asked to. They have not.

Holmes continues to claim she hasn't done anything wrong. Isn't usurping public office "wrong"?

So, to ask again, why did James Manning nominate Teresa Holmes? 

Why did Cheryl Caution-Parker nominate Amelia McKie?

03:00 !!! and Not One Second More

                                                                      03:00

Have you ever noticed that, at Richland 2 school board meetings, members of the public get Exactly 03:00 minutes to speak during Public Participation?

Somebody (a staffer?) starts the timer, and then the speaker's time erodes as he (or she) makes his comments. For several months the timer was displayed on a screen seen by board members but behind the speaker. The District may now have figured out how to show the remaining time to the speaker, who does not have eyes in the back of his head.

But you definitely know when time is up, because the Chair will say so. And don't you dare try to exceed that time.

What happened in Pennsylvania recently when a resident of the West Chester (Pennsylvania) School District was addressing the school board on the topic of Critical Race Theory? Board president (Mr.) Chris McCune must have had his stop-watch in one hand and the gavel in the other, and he called time. Apparently, Ms. Anita Edgarian wasn't quite finished with her remarks.

McCune announced that her time was up. Then he quickly stood, left his chair, walked off the stage and over to Ms. Edgarian and ripped the microphone away from her. Then he pointed her at the exit.

It actually looked like assault and battery to me. I wonder whether she'll see it that way. Or harassment? Intimidation? Or infringing on her right to speak, even if she was past her three minutes?

You can see it all right here. Watch the video in the article. Obviously, he never should have stood or left his seat or left the stage or approached the speaker. He lost his temper. Maybe his ego was bruised.

Can you see this happening right here in Richland 2?

Why is the Richland 2 school board so attentive to the time used by a parent or community member, but allows the entire board's time to be wasted by 3-5 minute introductions of the Inspirational Moment? 

Does the board even listen to parents or community members? Or do some board members just look past the speaker and watch the countdown timer?

I think it was about two years ago that I tried to include two issues in my three-minute speaking time at Richland 2. I was cut off. When I objected, I was told my time was up. It was a good thing that I yielded and left the microphone when I did. I learned later that a deputy sheriff (extra hired security) was approaching from behind to remove me. 

Since nothing had been said to security during the meeting, he must have been cued up ahead of time. Which board member or senior staff person had set that up? As I look back on that night, I've decided it was a really good thing that I wasn't surprised by a hand on my shoulder. Might I have defended myself from physical assault?

Of course, there is nothing in Board Policy about addressing the board on more than one issue. I guess their feelings were hurt. Oh, my; the poor sensitive board members ...  Some of them should consider therapy. I can think of at least three who would benefit from it.

Do you know this name - Thomas Sowell?

If you don't, you should. Watch this 5-minute video from PragerU about Thomas Sowell. He was born in Gastonia, N.C. in 1930. Quickly now ... How old is he?

www.prageru.com/video/the-great-thomas-sowell/

As you watch it, think about where you stand. Right? Left? Far Left? What are your beliefs?

After you watch it, post your thoughts below.

Tax-free Week-end, coming up

The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs will host a webinar this week on the Tax-Free Week-end that is coming up.

Register now for this informational session and learn how you can save sales tax on certain purchases..

Register for Tax-Free Weekend Shopping Tips for Consumers, which will be presented this Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 10:30 AM EDT.

Register now at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/98253872092115984

Open Letter to McMaster, Wilson and Spearman

                                                                An Open Letter

Dear Gov. McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson and Supt. Spearman,

I have contacted you previously on this matter, and I again ask your intervention to correct a serious illegal problem involving the Richland School District Two, Columbia, South Carolina.

Two woman, Teresa Holmes and Amelia McKie, have been usurping public office since November 13, 2018. The five legal members of the School Board refuse to do anything about it.

An oath of office was administered to them on November 13, 2018, one week after the general election. Neither was eligible to take the oath of office on that date, as neither had filed her Statement of Economic Interests with the South Carolina Ethics Commission.

Upon information and belief, the November 13, 2018 oath of office forms of Holmes and McKie were filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State. 

Holmes and McKie took the oath three weeks before they became eligible to do so; therefore, the District filed the notarized form fraudulently, and the Oath forms have no legal effect.

On December 4, 2018 Holmes and McKie filed their required Statements of Economic Interest with the South Carolina Ethics Commission. On December 4, 2018 they became eligible to take the oath of office.

Neither Holmes nor McKie has taken the oath of office since December 4, 2018!

Therefore, they are usurping public office. They should be removed from office, and the District should recover all monies paid to them for salary, professional memberships, and travel expenses and other expenses.

The problem is more serious now, because on June 29, 2021 Holmes was elected as Board President and McKie was elected as Board Secretary. Because neither is a legal board member, neither can serve as a board officer. They must be removed immediately.

You may already know that McKie owes $57,100 to the South Carolina Ethics Commission. 

McKie represents Richland One and Richland Two as a Regional Director of the South Carolina School Boards Association. Because she is not a legal Richland Two board member, she cannot serve on the SCSBA Board. Yet she is allowed to.

Please take all available steps to correct this problem without further delay.

Teacher fired for personal opinions

Schaumburg (Ill.) teacher Jeanne Hedgepeth learned the hard way not to comment on her social-media page about the riots that followed George Floyd's death.

How many more teachers are worried that their employers will can them, if they speak out on their own time?

FoxNews reporter Charles Creitz ptrobably belongs over at CNN or MSNBC or ABC for describing Derek Chauvin as Floyd's "killer". And did you know, before that article, that Floyd was shot to death?

This, from the FoxNews article, "...property vandalized in response to the shooting death of George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis whose killer, Officer Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder."

I've been mistaken all this time, apparently, in thinking that Floyd's death had something to do with a police officer's knee on his back or shoulder. No doubt FoxNews will edit the article, but that's how it reads right now.

This nonsense by school boards must be stopped. Just consider the chilling effect on free speech that the school board's power to terminate 20 years of employment over a personal opinion or comment.

The riots that followed and follow Floyd's death were and are dangerous. Look at what has followed. In California thieves can brazenly enter a store and walk out with armloads of new clothing. Unchallenged. Why? Because a challenge might result in a riot!

How many teachers in Richland 2 School District are afraid to speak out against the riots following Floyd's death? How many will be accused of being racists, if they comment on anything that has to do with black crime or other dishonesty?

When you teachers take a good look at the composition of the Richland 2 School Board, you do have reason to fear. Right now the Board has two members (well, not really "members") and two board officers who aren't even legal board members. When the legal members won't do anything about it, they are as wrong as the two women who are usurping public office!

I remember the RCSD deputy sergeant who tried to sandbag me after Holmes accused me of harassing her in 2019. In an aggressive tone of voice, he said, "You just want those two women (Holmes and McKie) kicked off the board!"

I didn't take the bait. After a pause, I calmly said, "No, I just want them to take the oath of office legally." That was in 2019 - more than two years ago.