UNC-Chapel Hill : no mo' woke

Check out this FoxNews article on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

University of North Carolina moves to ban ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ statements in anti-woke backlash

Ah, if only Richland 2 would follow suit.

Read the article here.

Whew!!! $615,000 to Baron Davis!!!

I spotted the termination agreement between Baron Davis and Richland 2 on Facebook, before I saw that the District had emailed its FOIA response to me at 4:06PM today.

What did it cost Richland 2 to "accept" Davis' resignation? $615,000.

$415,518.68, less normal payroll deductions; plus

$124,481.32 for 97.75 days of unused sick leave and 22 vacation days, less normal payroll deductions; plus

$  75,000.00 to settle all disputed claims. 

$615,000

That's about one-half of what he could have gotten, had he held out for 100% of his contract. It was a great deal for him. A $615,000 payday and no fight about it.

Is there any doubt that the bottom drawer of his desk at home was filled with job offers? 

Now Richland 2 has to deal with the mess from the S.C. Inspector General's Report.

Remember, that Report was generated for the time that Davis was Superintendent and that the Board was dominated by four trustees who are no longer there. 

The new board has to deal with the fall-out of that Report and the costs associated with the clean-up.

 

Read the termination agreement. How many hours were required to negotiate, write and execute that Agreement? What did that cost Richland 2? Did they pay the whole freight or did Davis, since he "resigned", pay for it?

Dangerous? Demented?

 Am I a dangerous and demented individual?

Remember that school board meeting when I complained about too many SROs at school board meetings and too much money being wasted hiring deputies to be at school board meetings.

I think I also said that, if I saw anyone attempting to threaten or harm any member of the school board, I'd be right there to protect them - any of them!

There has not been even one Richland 2 school board meeting where trustees have had any reason to be concerned about their safety.

There was one (February 8, 2022), when school board members should have been concerned for the safety of the public - the audience. Remember that one? Remember the threats made toward the white men in the audience and toward me, even though I was not in the audience?

How did the board handle that? Not a peep out of any of them. No interruption of the speaker by the Board Chair (Holmes) or by then-Supt. Davis or by Security or by RCSD. Holmes even thanked the speaker at the end of his three-minute rant.

If you've forgotten that (or don't know about it), go to the February 8, 2022 school board meeting here and advance the timer to 1:46:03

Black History Month - more important than I.G.'s Report?

Is Black History Month more important in Richland 2 than the Inspector General's Report?

Based on use of livestream.com by Richland 2, I say it is.

Last Tuesday there was an important meeting of a school board committee on the I.G.'s Report. Livestreaming of it had been requested. And not approved. So, if you weren't there, you don't know what happened.

But Black History Month's celebration is to be broadcast on Livestream by Richland 2. 

Re Black History Month, I encourage you to watch this PragerU video, featuring Pastor Dumisani Washington. The title of this video is "How Twisting History Has Hurt Young Black Men".

I.G. Report Committee Meeting - Today, 6:00PM

Why isn't this February 21st committee meeting being livestreamed?

Many community members are interested in the work of this committee. How simple it would be to livestream it, so that the community could either view it live or watch the recording at their own convenience?

Perhaps at the next board meeting someone on the committee will explain to the public why it wasn't livestreamed.

If you haven't read the Report yet, or wish to read it again, click here: 

https://oig.sc.gov/sites/oig/files/Documents/Reports/2022/Inspector_General's_Investigation_of_Richland_School_District_Two.pdf

At every school?

As I arrived at R2i2 last night for the school board meeting, three small flags greeted me. Are these at every school in the Richland 2 school district?

Were they placed with permission? Who paid for them?

I wondered whether there is a Board Policy or Administrative Rule (AR) about such displays. 

Frankly, I've wondered how Black History Month ever got its start - and why. History should include information about the successes and failures of men and women, regardless of color. Why is there an entire month to focus just on black history?

What if there is a Board Policy or AR at Richland 2 that prohibits such flags or other displays? Of what is "Black History Month" a symbol? Is this about color or race? Does a month for black history increase or decrease the racial divide in the United States?

Is there a White History Month? Brown History Month? Red History Month? Yellow History Month?

Comments, anyone?

In their closing comments last night, several board members mentioned Black History Month. You can listen to their comments near the end of the recording of the meeting.

The Voice Covers Jan. 19th

There is an interesting article about me in this week's The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County that I recommend to your reading. Just click on the title of the article "Restraining Order Ruled for Philpott".

As you read the article, ask yourself a few questions:

Can a defendant in Magistrate's Court get a fair trial if he can't hear what is being said?

If the Magistrate knows that the defendant cannot hear, should he pause the hearing until a court clerk or deputy can fetch a hearing-assistance device (which is available in the court building)?

If a person who is testifying swears to tell the truth, should only the truth be spoken?

I considered filing a Motion for Mistrial, but it had to be filed within five days, and I didn't get the recording of the hearing (and learn what was said against me until the fourth day). Such a Motion probably would have cost me $5,000 in legal fees to file.

An appeal of the finding by Magistrate Byrd was estimated by an attorney to cost me $10,-15,000, and it had to be filed in the Circuit Court within ten days.

Those estimates reinforced my belief about "justice" in the U.S.A. You can get just about all the justice that you can afford. I knew I hadn't done the things of which I was accused, and I knew I wouldn't do any of the things prohibited by the Restraining Order. 

Please comment on the article here and at the end of the article on www.blythewoodonline.com.