Today's fight at Ridge View H.S.

Media are reporting a fight today at Ridge View High School (RVHS) that including stabbing of two students. The suspect, a 17-year-old high school student, fled and was later apprehended by RCSD.

Congratulations to the deputies for locating him quickly and grabbing him.

What's it going to take to put a stop to this nonsense? Does the Principal at RVHS have control?

Does she have a long list of students who are trouble-makers and who are likely to get in fights? Or who are bullies? Or who are using or selling drugs? Or is such a list against the DEI baloney so prevalent in Richland 2?

When she says, "Jump!", do the students ask "How high?" Or do they flip her off and keep doing what they are doing?

Do the administrators or teachers have any control?

Are the inmates running the asylum?

It is the mind-set that has to change. Then metal detectors won't be needed. SROs won't be needed.

Media reports indicate the kid will be charged as an adult. Then we should see his name and photo in the news.

Safety Committee Meeting - 4/17/23 - Maddening

I shall never get through the recording of that meeting!

I watched a few minutes of the meeting on April 17; and I have tried to watch more of it 2-3 times.

The Safety Committee is meddling in the arena that the Office of the Superintendent controls. Why?

Because they haven't learned to distinguish oversight from management. There are three trustees on the Committee and some others. As trustees of the board, their role is making decisions.

Not nit-picking the badge operation of the new Million-Dollar alert system.

Not trying to micro-manage the deployment of metal detectors. 

Not going to schools in other districts to learn how they use metal detectors and solve the manpower problem.

I made it to the 50-minute mark, and I'm done with it. I've never know what happened in the final 40 minutes.

How pervasive is DEI?

Read this article about Larry Arnn's talk at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Leadership Summit last Friday. Arnn is the president of Hillsdale College.

Arnn considers DEI programs as "massively destructive".

Now, what was announced by Richland 2 last Friday? 

"The Richland School District Two Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is inviting the public to attend a Community Conversation on the Importance of Inclusion in Schools and the Community. The event is taking place Wednesday, May 3 at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richland Library Sandhills location at 763 Fashion Drive in Columbia."

Panelists will be Dr. Doyle Stevick, Executive Director of the University of South Carolina’s Anne Frank Center and professor in the College of Education; Katherine Webster, Blythewood High School student and member of the No Place For Hate Initiative; Ms. Maddie Coffman, teacher, Richland School District Two; and Mrs. Katinia Davis, Chief Special Education Officer, Richland School District Two. 

Will this be a "community conversation" or is the panel going to tell you what you must believe?

As parents, teachers, staff, and community members, are you interested in learning about the "importance" of Inclusion? In order to fight your (DEI) enemy effectively, you have to know the enemy. Here's one chance to do that.

Expect New Meeting Record

The Richland 2 school board will hold two meetings tomorrow. I expect a new record for meeting length.

The first meeting is a Special-Called Meeting. It starts at 3:00PM (Tuesday, April 25) and will likely consist only of an executive session. The listed topic is "Contractual Matter Regarding the Superintendent Search".

Personally, I doubt that description is sufficient to meet to requirements of the South Carolina FOIA Act. Exactly what is it about a "Contractual Matter" that they are going to discuss? Are they dealing with a search firm? Are they considering candidates? Are they about to offer employment? 

South Carolina Public Records Law is in the statutes at Title 30 Public Records, Chapter 4 Freedom of Information Act. Section 30-4-70 deals with matters that can be addressed in confidential Executive Sessions. 

§30-4-70(b) reads, in part, the Chair "...shall announce the specific purpose of the executive session. As used in this subsection, "specific purpose" means a description of the matter to be discussed..."

Merely announcing the topic may not be sufficient to announce the purpose of the Executive Session. What will they discuss for 2½ hours?

At 5:30PM the Regular Board Meeting is to start. The board will again enter Executive Session. Look at the length of the agenda for that executive session! Will the Regular Session re-convene at 6:30PM?

Next look at the agenda for the Regular Meeting! 

Will the Trustees recess for coffee? A comfort break? A nap?

The length of that agenda is absurd. When will the Board hire a public meeting consultant?

Safety Committee - 4/17/23 - Livestream ADDED

I was looking for the agenda for Tuesday's Special-Called Board Meeting today when I found, instead, the agenda for the Safety Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, April 17, 6:00PM.

I have seen no other announcement of this meeting. Why hsn't there been one? 

It's not mentioned on the homepage of the school district. It is not posted on the District's April Calendar. Does the committee not want the public to know what's going on?

The only way to know what is going on is to show up AT committee meetings. Meetings of the Safety Committee are not live-streamed or fully reporting in any Minutes of the meetings. 

[Edited: 4/17/2023 Livestream has now been added!]

The agenda for the Special-Called Board Meeting on Tuesday must be published on the District's website by Monday, April 17, 4:30PM, if it is to meet the S.C. FOIA laws.

Waiting for "Superman"

Just watched a great documentary released in 2010 titled "Waiting for 'Superman' ". Prominent in the story is Michelle Rhee, who was school chancellor in the Washington, DC schools from 2007-10. She then founded StudentsFirst, a political lobbying organization for school reform. This documentary was mentioned in Betsy DeVos' book, Hostages No More.

My copy came from Netfix DVD service. Amazon Prime has it for $3.99 (rental). Richland Library has it on its streaming service. Put your library card to good use.

The producers offered some "interesting" comments about tenure and the two national teachers' unions.

As I watched it, I found myself thinking of one particular, long-time teacher in the Richland Two schools, and I wondered what that teacher's Report Card would look like.

Sure glad the school board got a good cleansing last November. Two long-term "educators", as they often described themselves, are gone. 

There was a popular question when I was a salesman years ago. When a person said he had 35 or 40 years' experience, did he grow throughout that experience or did he really have one year of experience 35-40 times?

Don't miss this video

This is a great PragerU video. Every student and parent in Richland Two should watch it and discuss it. 

A former BLM activist, he set out to debunk PragerU videos. Instead, he heard their real message and because a Conservative.

Imagine that!