WHERE IS THE RECORDING???

The Richland 2 School Board met last night (November 16, 2021), and the District has not posted the video-recording of the meeting as of 10:57AM today.

Recordings are normally posted shortly after the end of the meeting.

During the Public Participation segment of the meeting a parent addressed the board about an incident that had occurred at the Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School. Those in the conference room were shocked by his statements. 

One member of the public received this reply from Libby Roof, identified on the District's website as the chief communications officer: 

"Based on the advice of the district’s Director of Safety and Security, the availability of the livestream video from the meeting is currently restricted to protect the identity of a minor involved in an investigation. The district is exercising as much caution as possible during this ongoing investigation.

"During Public Participation, an individual spoke about an alleged incident that was reported in an email to the district office on Sunday, 11-14-21.  Those from the district's HR office responded to the school Monday morning, 11-15-21 to begin an investigation. Following board policy, the employee named in the report was placed on admin leave. LE began an investigation on Monday as well, and school and district administrators are fully cooperating with the investigators from the RCSD.

"I will let you know when we are able to make the video public."

I wonder why the District is hanging its Director of Safety and Security out to dry on this one. The buck stops right at the top - at the superintendent's desk. Safety and Security is responsible for the multitude of Richland 2 security officers who protect the public from the school board on meeting nights and who are regularly thanked for doing their duty in such a friendly manner.

One member of the public was ejected last night, when he rose to his feet and protested politely to the board following the parent's remarks.

This morning I sent the following email to Libby Roof, the full board, the superintendent, the in-house general counsel, and the outside attorney for the District.

Good morning, Mrs. Roof,

I notice that the recording of  last evening's board meeting has not yet been posted. Please post the recording in full without delay.

I understand the District may have some concern about the remarks of one parent. Those remarks are part of the public record and cannot be legally redacted from the recording. Should the District alter the public record by redacting all or a portion of that speaker's remarks, I am quite sure that the District can expect a very public lawsuit.

It was inexcusable that the chair or the superintendent had absolutely nothing to say after that parent's remarks. At the very least, the superintendent should have directed a staff person to speak with that parent before he left the meeting. That happened at a recent board meeting after parents expressed concerns of a less-serious matter.

Please post the full recording by 12:00PM today.

If the parent wanted his identity or the identity of his child protected, he would not have spoken in public about what had happened. The purpose of the District's action is clear to all for what it is.

A number of us spoke with the parent in the courtyard of R2i2 after the Public Participation segment, while the meeting continued. There were many offers of support to the family. We are outraged by what the parent had reported.

Speak up now. Email the Board and the superintendent and tell them it is too late to run for cover.

Why Teachers are Leaving...

Just got home from the Richland 2 school board meeting and came across this. Watch this teacher's rant. She is right on. 

Judicial Watch on Critical Race Theory

Watch Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, take off on Critical Race Theory and Antiracist Baby. I've been a supporting member of Judicial Watch for several years, and it is doing great work on many fronts.

Watch this video now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG2BTrKKkr8

This November 2021 video is germane to issues being addressed by Richland 2 right now. If you have time to watch this before the November 16 board meeting, please do.

Here's another video for more information about Ibram Kendi's Antiracist Baby:

Grab Your Wallets - Policy BID under "Review"

At the November 16, 2021 board meeting Board Policy BID is up for review. This policy is Board Member Compensation and Expenses. Grab your wallets and purses, folks.

Of course, you know what the board members will really do, don't you?

They will reduce their monthly stipend (salary) from $800 to $400-500. Or maybe they'll change it to $100/meeting. Not likely.

And those expenses? 

I remember Teresa Holmes' photos on her Facebook page when she attended a national meeting of the National School Boards Association in Washington, DC in January 2019, only two months after being elected to the Richland 2 School Board on November 6, 2018. And BEFORE she ever took the oath of office as a board member legally.

Need I mention one more time that Holmes has never taken the oath of office legally? Nor has Amelia McKie.

How many more NSBA meetings has she attended at Richland 2 expense? How many SCSBA meetings has she attended? She has never taken the oath of office legally and, therefore, is still NOT a legitimate member of the Richland 2 school board. How much has Richland 2 spent on expenses for her?

How much does Richland 2 budget for board of trustees expenses? How much does Richland 2 actually pay for trustees' expenses?

Is anyone foolish enough to think that the board will be reducing its own allowance?

If the District does reimburse a trustee for expenses, the trustee should have to provide documentation and confirmation that s/he actually attended general and workshop sessions and didn't just go to the meeting to party.

The public deserves to know what the numbers are.

Also, Board Policy BID should be amended state that no increase in stipend/per diem or expenses will be effective during the current term of any board member. In other words, they can't vote themselves a raise.

Please spread the word

Please spread the word about this blog throughout the Richland 2 world and beyond.

It's easy to do. Just ask friends, coworkers, neighbors, family to visit www.Richland2.info

If you want to share a specific article, you'll see at the bottom of each article a row of small boxes. The left box, "M", will open a new page on which you can enter your name, your friend's email address, and a message. Try it now.

If you wish, you can send to more than one email address. 

If you send to multiple email addresses, the recipient will receive only his own copy and not see the other email addresses.

Check that you aren't a robot and then hit Send Email.

No record is kept of your name, your friend's email address or your message. I don't see it. It's a one-time use only, and only by you.

THANK YOU.

View the CRT presentation for Nov. 16; then

The presentation about the difference(s) between Critical Race Theory and Richland 2's Culturally Relevant Teaching is available for your inspection on the Richland 2 website.

Parents and others may read, review, study and learn it (and about it) before Tuesday's board meeting on November 16 at 6:30PM.

Study it now and email the questions that you would like board members to ask Mrs. Helen Grant and her team.

What a shame and waste of time it will be, if Mrs. Grant is just allowed to read the PowerPoint presentation to the board and the audience. Presumably, the board members will have read and familiarized themselves with the presentation before the meeting. Some of them will; some of them won't. 

The trustees should use Tuesday night's time with Mrs. Grant to ask her specific questions and get clear, complete answers from her. There should be no "I'll get back to you with that" responses.

Where will you find the presentation? 

Go to the District's website. www.richland2.org

At the upper right, click on EXPLORE.

Click on School Board

Click on AGENDA

Click on Regular Board Meeting

Click on View the Agenda

On the left side, scroll down to Item 10.5

Click on Item 10.5

Click on the link for Board Presentation

Scroll down through the 28 PowerPoint slides

Know where to find the email addresses for the school board?

Click here:  https://www.richland2.org/School-Board/Members

Or just paste the following email addresses into the To: field of your email:

docholmesschoolboard2@gmail.com, jamesmanning@richland2.org, ameliamckie@richland2.org, cherylcautionparker@richland2.org, lashondamcfadden@richland2.org, lindsayagostini@richland2.org, puttingstudentsfirst2012@gmail.com, 

Open Letter to Board about 11/16 board meeting

The following email has been sent to the Richland 2 School Board Ms. Holmes and Ms. McKie are addressed as trustees-elect because they have never taken the oath of office legally. Because they have not, they have never become legitimate members of the school board. 

Good morning, Board Members and trustees-elect Holmes and McKie,

At the board meeting on this Tuesday, November 16, Mrs. Grant will entertain you with Item 10.5, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, a 28-page presentation apparently intended to respond to the Board's request for information about the July 22nd In-service Training for staff on the difference between Culturally Relevant Teaching and Critical Race Theory.

Hopefully, Mrs. Grant does not intend to read all 28 pages to you. You'll notice on Slide 1 that Mrs. Grant has a new title, even though the District's website has not been updated. Her titles are key evidence of the presence of Critical Race Theory right here in Richland 2.

May I encourage you to take a couple of hours to read and study carefully this presentation? To save your time, print the 28 pages. Put a big X across the irrelevant pages. As you study it, continually ask yourself if you are seeing the differences between Culturally Relevant Teaching and Critical Race Theory. Write YES or NO on each page.

Please prepare your questions. When Mrs. Grant begins her presentation, cut her short and start asking questions, so that her long presentation doesn't consume all the agenda time that the chair and superintendent may have allocated to that Item.

Slide 2 is worded to mislead you and to re-direct your attention from Critical Race Theory. The Culturally Relevant Pedagogy of Gloria Boutte and the superintendent's preference for a face at the front of the room that looks like the faces in the classroom seats (i.e., black) is what you want to examine. Many pages have nothing to do with CRT1 vs. CRT2. Don't be misled.

One of your first questions might be: "What do you mean by 'intentional focus on providing an equitable education for all of our students'. Explain 'equitable'."

Ask "What is the District's Mission?" and "What is the District's Vision?" Those should be short, but important, answers.   https://www.richland2.org/About/About-Us  Is this the truth? Is it achievable? Is it correct?

Ask what and where the videos are that in-service attendees were required to watch during break-out sessions.

Ask the titles of the break-out sessions.

Ask where the hand-outs for the break-out sessions are.

Ask if the break-out sessions were recorded and where the recordings are.

Were attendance sheets for each break-out session kept?

Otherwise, you will be spoon-fed a carefully-prepared presentation designed to give you what Administration wants you to see, which may not be what you have asked for.

An R2 teacher called me this week and told me that everything I have written on my blog is 100% accurate. I was told that teachers are afraid to speak up. Are R2 students being indoctrinated, as suspected by an increasing number of parents? Your job is to root that out and return R2 to the business of Education.

Example, Page 3 Equity. Richland 2 has 28,000+ students. It is impossible to deliver on that statement of opportunities and supports. Richland 2 is not a Montessori school or a private institution with unlimited funding.

Slide 18. Saying it does not make it so.

If you study the presentation carefully, do you understand the differences? Since almost no information is provided about Critical Race Theory, how can you understand the differences?

Respectfuly,

Gus Philpott

www.Richland2.info