According to the South Carolina Ethics Commission, as of today, April 1, 2019, Amelia McKie still owes $51,850 in fines and penalties.
According to other media stories, the amount owed increased by $10,000 on January 1, when she failed to make a payment by December 31, 2018.
The Ethics Commission attempts to collect debts itself, before turning the debt over to the South Carolina Department of Revenue (DOR). The DOR charges 22% of the amount collected, so it stands to earn $11,407, if it can squeeze the full amount out of McKie.
Other media reports indicate that another Richland 2 Board member owed $65,000 to the Ethics Commission, but he was able to bargain it down to $6,500. Now that is some bargaining, if I do say so myself. That was for a 2014 complaint.
McKie's complaint at the Ethics Commission was Complaint No. 2017-023. The complaint itself is recorded as Resolved, but the debt remains outstanding.
Should a person with an Ethics Commission debt be allowed to hold office? Please comment below.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Extent of bullying?
With state-wide and even national focus on Walterboro, South Carolina and the death of 10-year-old Raniya Wright, a fifth-grader, after a reported fight at school, one must ask what the extent of bullying is in the Richland 2 School District.
Students are supposed to be safe at school. Right?
When a student in Richland 2 reports bullying to a teacher, staff member, Principal or parent, what happens?
Parents are invited to submit their stories to this blog. If you are willing to use your name and name the school and personnel involved, all the better.
If you worry about retaliation, email your story to gusphilpott@gmail.com with your phone number. Confidentiality is assured.
Will I keep your identity safe?
When I wrote a blog in Illinois, numerous sheriff's deputies and policy officers fed me the dirt from their departments. The sheriff's attorney try to force me, under subpoena in a deputy's Federal wrongful-termination lawsuit, to reveal their names. I refused and filed a Motion pro se to quash the subpoena. The Federal judge ate up the sheriff's attorney, telling her that she was just on a "fishing expedition" (his words). I still remember the judge's words from back in 2010, "Mr. Philpott, you have won your Motion."
Students are supposed to be safe at school. Right?
When a student in Richland 2 reports bullying to a teacher, staff member, Principal or parent, what happens?
Parents are invited to submit their stories to this blog. If you are willing to use your name and name the school and personnel involved, all the better.
If you worry about retaliation, email your story to gusphilpott@gmail.com with your phone number. Confidentiality is assured.
Will I keep your identity safe?
When I wrote a blog in Illinois, numerous sheriff's deputies and policy officers fed me the dirt from their departments. The sheriff's attorney try to force me, under subpoena in a deputy's Federal wrongful-termination lawsuit, to reveal their names. I refused and filed a Motion pro se to quash the subpoena. The Federal judge ate up the sheriff's attorney, telling her that she was just on a "fishing expedition" (his words). I still remember the judge's words from back in 2010, "Mr. Philpott, you have won your Motion."
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Free Times weighs in
The freetimes weekly newspaper in Columbia has weighed in on Richland 2 again.
See the March 29, 2019 article by Al Dozier here.
On February 14th Al wrote an article that was titled "Richland 2 Chair, Vice Chair Will Keep Posts After Controversy". You can read that article here. In that article Dozier wrote about the resolution that the Board considered for authority to remove an Officer from his or her office, such as Chair Vice Chair or Secretary. The Resolution was not about removing a member from the Board.
He wrote, "The measure failed by a 4-3 vote ..." He continued, "Board members Teresa Holmes, Cheryl Caution Parker, James Shadd and McKie voted against the measure. Elkins-Johnson, James Manning and Lindsay Agostini voted for the policy."
So the vote was four against, three in favor.
BUT, when you remove the votes of two persons who are not legally on the Board (McKie and Holmes), the Resolution actually passed (3-2).
The true vote was Board members Cheryl Caution Parker and James Shadd voted against the measure. Elkins-Johnson, James Manning and Lindsay Agostini voted for the policy.
A 3-2 vote means the measure passed. This is just one of many votes that the School Board must re-visit for all eight Board meetings since November 13, 2018. When the improper votes are removed, some votes will change on student appeals and transfers and on other matters.
See the March 29, 2019 article by Al Dozier here.
On February 14th Al wrote an article that was titled "Richland 2 Chair, Vice Chair Will Keep Posts After Controversy". You can read that article here. In that article Dozier wrote about the resolution that the Board considered for authority to remove an Officer from his or her office, such as Chair Vice Chair or Secretary. The Resolution was not about removing a member from the Board.
He wrote, "The measure failed by a 4-3 vote ..." He continued, "Board members Teresa Holmes, Cheryl Caution Parker, James Shadd and McKie voted against the measure. Elkins-Johnson, James Manning and Lindsay Agostini voted for the policy."
So the vote was four against, three in favor.
BUT, when you remove the votes of two persons who are not legally on the Board (McKie and Holmes), the Resolution actually passed (3-2).
The true vote was Board members Cheryl Caution Parker and James Shadd voted against the measure. Elkins-Johnson, James Manning and Lindsay Agostini voted for the policy.
A 3-2 vote means the measure passed. This is just one of many votes that the School Board must re-visit for all eight Board meetings since November 13, 2018. When the improper votes are removed, some votes will change on student appeals and transfers and on other matters.
S.C. Ethics Commission Owed $2,612,153
The South Carolina Ethics Commission is behind on posting Minutes of its open meetings and behind on updating the Debtors' List.
You can view public information at ethics.sc.gov
The Debtors' List is dated 1/3/2019 and shows Amelia McKie's debt as $41,000. According to media reports earlier this year, that total was bumped by $10,000, when she failed to make a partial payment by December 31, 2018. The amount is now somewhere north of $51,000.
The last published Minutes of the Ethics Commission are for the November 2018 meeting. Did the Commission meet in December? January? February? March?
I called the Commission early in February and was told that the McKie matter was not on the Agenda for the February meeting but it would be heard in March. When I called earlier in March, I was told it would not be on the March Agenda.
When does the Commission meet? You'd think that would be easy to find on the website. It may meet at 9:30AM on the third Thursday, based on the Minutes of the November and September meetings. Call, if you are interested. The phone number for the Ethics Commission is 803.253.4192
To locate the Minutes of past meeting, go to ethics.sc.gov
Hover over "About Us"
Click on Commission
Scroll down and click on "Meeting Minutes"
One of the more interesting pages is the Fines and Fee Report for FY 2017. You can find it if you
Go to ethics.sc.gov
Hover over "About Us"
Click on "Reports and Policies"
Scroll all the way down, under Accountability Reports
Click on "Fines and Fee Report (PDF)"
You'll see that, in all of FY 2017, the Ethics Commission collected only $184,486.50.
Of that total the Ethics Commission itself collected $129,438.91, The S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) helped by collecting $51,643.59 under its GEAR (Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable) Program and a puny $3,404.00 under its Setoff Debt Program.
The GEAR Program includes garnishment of wages and state individual income tax refunds, use of tax liens, and levy of bank accounts.
The DOR charges a whopping 22% of the liability collected..
Is it any wonder that the debt owed the Ethics Commission totaled $2,612,153.11 on the 1/3/2019 26-page Debtor's List, which can be found via the link on the Commission's homepage?
At a quick glance,, the oldest debt is $100.00 from 1999. The largest is $212,945 from 2009 (a Richland 1 School Board candidate, Torlando R. Childress). Does anyone know where he is? Finding him could help the DOR rake in $44,000.
You can view public information at ethics.sc.gov
The Debtors' List is dated 1/3/2019 and shows Amelia McKie's debt as $41,000. According to media reports earlier this year, that total was bumped by $10,000, when she failed to make a partial payment by December 31, 2018. The amount is now somewhere north of $51,000.
The last published Minutes of the Ethics Commission are for the November 2018 meeting. Did the Commission meet in December? January? February? March?
I called the Commission early in February and was told that the McKie matter was not on the Agenda for the February meeting but it would be heard in March. When I called earlier in March, I was told it would not be on the March Agenda.
When does the Commission meet? You'd think that would be easy to find on the website. It may meet at 9:30AM on the third Thursday, based on the Minutes of the November and September meetings. Call, if you are interested. The phone number for the Ethics Commission is 803.253.4192
To locate the Minutes of past meeting, go to ethics.sc.gov
Hover over "About Us"
Click on Commission
Scroll down and click on "Meeting Minutes"
One of the more interesting pages is the Fines and Fee Report for FY 2017. You can find it if you
Go to ethics.sc.gov
Hover over "About Us"
Click on "Reports and Policies"
Scroll all the way down, under Accountability Reports
Click on "Fines and Fee Report (PDF)"
You'll see that, in all of FY 2017, the Ethics Commission collected only $184,486.50.
Of that total the Ethics Commission itself collected $129,438.91, The S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) helped by collecting $51,643.59 under its GEAR (Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable) Program and a puny $3,404.00 under its Setoff Debt Program.
The GEAR Program includes garnishment of wages and state individual income tax refunds, use of tax liens, and levy of bank accounts.
The DOR charges a whopping 22% of the liability collected..
Is it any wonder that the debt owed the Ethics Commission totaled $2,612,153.11 on the 1/3/2019 26-page Debtor's List, which can be found via the link on the Commission's homepage?
At a quick glance,, the oldest debt is $100.00 from 1999. The largest is $212,945 from 2009 (a Richland 1 School Board candidate, Torlando R. Childress). Does anyone know where he is? Finding him could help the DOR rake in $44,000.
Friday, March 29, 2019
Legal thoughts on Holmes complaint
The newspaper that starting digging into Amelia McKie's ethics violations and found other violations by Richland 2 School Board member has done more.
It was after that that I became interested and then dug into the law. If you haven't read the law yet, look at S.C. Code of Laws Section 8-13-1110(A). Scroll down to Section 8-13-1110(A). The Section is short and crystal-clear.
The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County (online and on Facebook) sought a legal opinion from the South Carolina Press Association, after it looked at a heavily-redacted copy of Teresa Holmes' harassment complaint against me.
You can read what the S.C. Press Association has to say right here.
Extracting a small portion of Attorney Jay Bender's comment, he said, in part, about a public official, "You certainly lose the right to file a criminal complaint because you don’t like what someone is saying.”
Be sure to follow this story on The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County.
Free-Times also has a long article this week.
The Voice speaks out on Richland 2 Supt.
The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County has published an extensive analysis of the compensation of local superintendents of school districts, including Baron Davis of Richland Two and J.R. Green of Fairfield County.
In addition to the compensation, you'll find information on performance.
Click here to go straight to The Voice's story by Michael Smith.
As with any job of that type, it's important for a superintendent (or any senior administrative officer of a board or corporation) to keep the majority of the Board happy. Otherwise, it's called "unemployment". Smith used a September 15, 2018 written comment by Amelia McKie, who questionably now holds the position as Chair of the Richland 2 School Board. Supt. Davis is essential to her conducting school board meetings.
McKie praised Supt. Davis last year with these words: “You have done an excellent job developing the District’s culture and creating the expectation that the District and all of our schools will be ‘premier.’ You exhibit excellence at all times, and we would like to see all departments throughout the District reflect your commitment to excellence, professionalism and customer service.”
From the wording, it appears to be a comment that McKie made to Supt. Davis. I wonder why the reporter wasn't able to reach her for his article.
The reason that I write "questionably" is that, as I have asserted frequently - both here and at School Board meetings, McKie is not a legitimate member of the Richland 2 School Board. She violated S.C. Code of Laws 8-13-1110(A) when she took the oath of office on November 13, 2018 without having filed her required Statement of Economic Interests. She did file that Statement on December 4, 2018 but she has not taken the oath of office since the filing.
If she is not a legal member of the Board, she cannot serve as Chair. Yet she does so. And the other five legal members of the seven-member Board allow her to do so.
In addition to the compensation, you'll find information on performance.
Click here to go straight to The Voice's story by Michael Smith.
As with any job of that type, it's important for a superintendent (or any senior administrative officer of a board or corporation) to keep the majority of the Board happy. Otherwise, it's called "unemployment". Smith used a September 15, 2018 written comment by Amelia McKie, who questionably now holds the position as Chair of the Richland 2 School Board. Supt. Davis is essential to her conducting school board meetings.
McKie praised Supt. Davis last year with these words: “You have done an excellent job developing the District’s culture and creating the expectation that the District and all of our schools will be ‘premier.’ You exhibit excellence at all times, and we would like to see all departments throughout the District reflect your commitment to excellence, professionalism and customer service.”
From the wording, it appears to be a comment that McKie made to Supt. Davis. I wonder why the reporter wasn't able to reach her for his article.
The reason that I write "questionably" is that, as I have asserted frequently - both here and at School Board meetings, McKie is not a legitimate member of the Richland 2 School Board. She violated S.C. Code of Laws 8-13-1110(A) when she took the oath of office on November 13, 2018 without having filed her required Statement of Economic Interests. She did file that Statement on December 4, 2018 but she has not taken the oath of office since the filing.
If she is not a legal member of the Board, she cannot serve as Chair. Yet she does so. And the other five legal members of the seven-member Board allow her to do so.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
How prevalent is bullying?
How prevalent is bullying in the Richland 2 School District?
For accurate information I'll need to hear from parents and students. If you'd like to give examples and want to remain anonymous, let me know. I can deal with confidential information given to me.
I'm interested in which school, grades, classes and what's going on.
I had first-hand experience with bullying, as a parent. No, not being bullied. And not bullying. But witnessing it. Not here in Richland 2, but before I moved here.
The Special Ed student was assigned to a private therapeutic day school for summer between 9th and 10th grade. He told me he was being bullied. Not by students, but by staff!
He blew off the school bus ride one morning, and he called me. He said he would go to school, if he could take a tape recorder and record the bullying. So I drove him to school - 30 miles! On the way there I explained that our first stop needed to be the Principal's office, so that he could ask permission to use the tape recorder. I told him that, if he couldn't get permission, then I'd need to take it with me. He agreed.
We walked into school (late) and were greeted by the Principal and the Special Ed Director. As soon as he said he had brought a tape recorder, and before he could tell them that I was going to take it with me if he couldn't have it there, both of them went down his throat. And I mean, hard! He did a pretty good job of sticking up for himself, but finally I intervened and backed them down.
He was withdrawn from the school a few days later, after an emergency IEP.
Parents, believe your kids!
For accurate information I'll need to hear from parents and students. If you'd like to give examples and want to remain anonymous, let me know. I can deal with confidential information given to me.
I'm interested in which school, grades, classes and what's going on.
I had first-hand experience with bullying, as a parent. No, not being bullied. And not bullying. But witnessing it. Not here in Richland 2, but before I moved here.
The Special Ed student was assigned to a private therapeutic day school for summer between 9th and 10th grade. He told me he was being bullied. Not by students, but by staff!
He blew off the school bus ride one morning, and he called me. He said he would go to school, if he could take a tape recorder and record the bullying. So I drove him to school - 30 miles! On the way there I explained that our first stop needed to be the Principal's office, so that he could ask permission to use the tape recorder. I told him that, if he couldn't get permission, then I'd need to take it with me. He agreed.
We walked into school (late) and were greeted by the Principal and the Special Ed Director. As soon as he said he had brought a tape recorder, and before he could tell them that I was going to take it with me if he couldn't have it there, both of them went down his throat. And I mean, hard! He did a pretty good job of sticking up for himself, but finally I intervened and backed them down.
He was withdrawn from the school a few days later, after an emergency IEP.
Parents, believe your kids!
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