Meal Debt Collection - Part 1

The school board held a special-called meeting last night on the Meal Debt Collection topic.

It was a waste of everyone's time.

Trustee Agostini asked how high the debt was. There was no specific answer. Maybe $100,000.

She asked how many students owed money. No specific answer.

Aren't those the first two reports that should have been run Wednesday morning, after the special-called meeting was announced at the regular board meeting the night before.

What did not make sense to me:

The District is worried about a $100,000 debt, and a trustee-elect who owes $57,100 to the S.C. Ethics Commission is one of the decision-makers???

The $100,000 debt includes money owed from previous years. So the District spends about $2,500 to assemble the trustees for the first meeting.

How many $80,000/year administrators will be spending time to resolve a $100,000 debt, most of which is likely uncollectable?

This is why voters had better elect some school board members in November with common sense and business experience!

Equity Grading - at Richland 2?

Does Richland 2 allow, or require, "equity grading"?

What is equity grading? It is giving a student a higher grade on a paper, assignment, test, etc, than he earned.

Let's say a student doesn't show up for a test or takes a test and answers every question incorrectly. What should his grade be? Zero. F.

But under an equity grading scheme, that student might be given a 40 or a 50. Still an F, but not a zero.

See today's article on FoxNews.com titled "Teachers weigh in on grading policies, debate 'no-zero' trend: 'Patently idiotic idea' " To read that article, just click on the title.

What does a kid learn, when he gets a 50, instead of a 0, for no work. Nothing. He hasn't learned to read, understand, repeat, test, etc. He hasn't learned anything except that he got a hand-out.

And what happens later in life, when the hand-outs stop? Rough waters, when there is no one there to bail him out.

So, is equity grading a "patently idiotic idea"? Yes, indeed.

Teachers and staff at Richland 2, let me know if it is in play at Richland 2. Is it in writing anywhere that you must follow such an idiotic policy?

Kudos for Agostini's closing comment

Near the end of last night's marathon board meeting, when Board and Superintendent Comments were begun, Trustee Agostini led the way with, "Good night".

It's too bad everyone else didn't follow her lead.

Especially Teresa Holmes. I lost track at how many times she said "political" and then made snide comments clearly favoring her buddies on The Squad.

Hopefully, Chair Manning will cut off any future politicking by Holmes from her seat on the board. Remember - she still has never taken the oath-of-office legally.

The rest of the board should have forced her to step away from the board or take the oath-of-office legally, after she filed her SEI on December 4, 2018.

Free Lunch? Special Meeting 8/25/22

Yes, Virginia, there is a free lunch.

Whoever said there is  no such thing as a free lunch?

If you stuck around to the end of last night's board meeting and heard what the superintendent had to say in his closing remarks (starting at 3:43:25), you heard him say, among other, usual, elaborate remarks that he has a plan to provide free lunch from the General Fund to students who don't qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.

The superintendent continues to be a man who, if something can be said in a few words, will take a few hundred words to say it.

There will be a Special-Called Board Meeting on Thursday, August 25th, at 5:30PM to discuss meal funding. Chair Manning said he will allow for public input. The agenda provides for Public Participation.

What will that meeting cost the District? Six trustees at $340 and one chair at $400, plus staff? Looks like $2,440 plus dinner plus employee and security time. For a deal that the superintendent should be figuring out and just presenting to the board for a decision. Sheesh!!!

Manning thanked the staff. How many were there last night? Twenty? For what reason?

What a waste of resources to have so many Richland 2 staff at board meetings? Why isn't any board member addressing that waste?

Employee Grievance - how resolved?

On the agenda for last night's board meeting (8/23/2022) was Item 16.2 Employee Grievance, which was to be heard in Executive Session 2.

At 3:33:40 on the Livestream recording of the meeting, Chair Manning said "Item 17.1 is not needed. We were able to resolve that without a vote". 

Slight error there. Item 16.1 is the Grievance, scheduled for Executive Session 2. If Manning knew at the beginning of the meeting that the Grievance had been resolved, then the Agenda for the meeting should have been amended to remove that item.

To state merely that the item was no longer needed is a failure in transparency.

A second item (16.3) Superintendent Evaluation Process was on the agenda for Executive Session 2. Manning blew right by that without mentioning it. What happened to that item?

Why did no Trustee question that?

McKie Ethics Debt - Still $57,100

Why hasn't Amelia McKie been paying off her $57,100 debt to the South Carolina Ethics Commission?

Does she think that "running out the clock" on her term-of-office will impact the debt?

According to the Ethics Commission, she still owes $57,100.

A judgment was filed in the Richland County Common Pleas Court on July 10, 2019. That's more than three years ago. The State's collection agent is the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR). 

What grade has it earned for collecting this debt?    F

Why hasn't the DOR taken action? Hasn't there been ANY collection attempt? Hasn't it collected even $50 or $100?

Amelia appears to have money. She looks presentable at board meetings. Hair done. Clothing looks new. Jewelry in place.

When she doesn't look up during public participation, is she writing out her budget plan for paying off her ethics debt?

SUPERINTENDANT ??? Seriously?

August 9, 2022 Convocation. 

Livestream.com - Not Available

YouTube.com - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_C77Dwrl8

Supt. Davis (at 1:00) "Public education is under attack."

There is no "A" in Superintendent. A "Premier" school district. Right? And Richland 2 can't spell "Superintendent"?

The District had from August 9th to August 19th to review that video and correct it, while it withheld it from the public. Or was it embedded on August 9 as the superintendent spoke?

Well, is there any reason it should not be? There he stands. At a podium. In front of a red curtain. To the side of a projected image on a screen that cries out

Protecting the Brand

Achievement

Culture / Environment

Talent

Supt. Davis continued, "Public education teachers are under attack. Administrators are under attack." 

Referring to the logo of the Richland 2 flame, "2. That logo is under attack."

Didn't anyone proof the video?

Listen to his comments about the "world stage". Replay the video and note on the very first slide. The Mission is to "develop global citizens of tomorrow."

Shouldn't the mission be to develop students who can read, write, spell, add and subtract, and who know how to learn?

Was the superintendent practicing for a Ted Talk?