The agenda for the May 26, 2020 Board meeting has been published. The Board will convene at 4:30PM, adjourn to Executive Session, and re-convene in open session at 5:00PM. The meeting will be electronic via Zoom (Livestream?).
[EDIT: At 6:30PM the District emailed a "correction" of time (which it wasn't) and the link for Tuesday's meeting. http://www.richland2.org/livestream ]
The Board again violates the South Carolina FOIA laws by failing to provide a link to the electronic meeting. The meeting is not available to the public on Zoom, as the agenda states. The meeting will probably be shown via Livestream, although that information is not on the District's website as of 4:25PM today, Friday, May 22.
The video on May 19, 2020 Special-Called Board Meeting is on YouTube but NOT yet on District website.
When the Chair called for a Motion to approve the agenda of the May 19th meeting, Teresa Holmes said, "I would like to make a Motion ..."
The correct response from the Chair would have been, "Thank you. I understand that you would like to make the Motion. Please make the Motion."
And when the Chair called for a voice vote, why did some trustees raise their hands? (Hint: they weren't listening.) In a Zoom meeting, the correct call would be for a hand vote, which is visible to and by all. If several participants signify their votes simultaneously by voice, the Chair will not really know who is voting.
There was a significant audio glitch at the beginning of the meeting, when a recorded loop of voices played during the meeting. The sound technician was called to correct it. Also, just before the start of the meeting, a woman's voice could be heard giving a countdown to the start of the meeting.
Is District Two going to figure out how to conduct a Zoom meeting professionally?
Friday, May 22, 2020
When will McKie pay?
Amelia McKie owes $51,750 to the South Carolina Ethics Commission.
A judgment was filed with the Richland County Common Pleas Court on July 10, 2019, and the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) should be collecting it. But is the DOR really doing anything? In ten months the only entries of record at the Court are on July 10, 2019. Nothing since!
Combine that with her failure to take the oath of office as Trustee after she became eligible to do so on December 4, 2018.
She did take an oath of office on November 13, 2018, but there were two reasons why that oath was not valid. McKie had not filed her Statement of Economic Interests Report with the S.C. Ethics Commission and one week had not passed after the Richland County Elections Commission certified the November 6, 2018 election. The election was certified on November 9, 2018, and this meant that the earliest date when McKie could take the oath of office, if she were eligible (which she was not) would have been November 16, 2018.
I wonder why the other Trustees don't have a little "sit-down" with her and tell her get her act together or resign from the School Board. McKie has been eligible to take the oath of office since December 4, 2018 but has not done so.
How can Richland School District Two have a premier school board with a person having these two problems?
McKie is not the only person on the board illegitimately.
When McKie and Teresa Holmes finally do take the oath of office, the School District will have to review all the board votes since November 13, 2018 and change all the decisions in which the votes by McKie and Holmes swayed the decision. There are many of them.
A judgment was filed with the Richland County Common Pleas Court on July 10, 2019, and the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) should be collecting it. But is the DOR really doing anything? In ten months the only entries of record at the Court are on July 10, 2019. Nothing since!
Combine that with her failure to take the oath of office as Trustee after she became eligible to do so on December 4, 2018.
She did take an oath of office on November 13, 2018, but there were two reasons why that oath was not valid. McKie had not filed her Statement of Economic Interests Report with the S.C. Ethics Commission and one week had not passed after the Richland County Elections Commission certified the November 6, 2018 election. The election was certified on November 9, 2018, and this meant that the earliest date when McKie could take the oath of office, if she were eligible (which she was not) would have been November 16, 2018.
I wonder why the other Trustees don't have a little "sit-down" with her and tell her get her act together or resign from the School Board. McKie has been eligible to take the oath of office since December 4, 2018 but has not done so.
How can Richland School District Two have a premier school board with a person having these two problems?
McKie is not the only person on the board illegitimately.
When McKie and Teresa Holmes finally do take the oath of office, the School District will have to review all the board votes since November 13, 2018 and change all the decisions in which the votes by McKie and Holmes swayed the decision. There are many of them.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Rescind Suspension of BEDH - You can help
The Richland 2 School Board has received at least one request to rescind its suspension of Board Policy BEDH.
The request was submitted to the entire board, asking a board member to make a motion at a meeting to add an item to the next agenda for discussion and vote to rescind the suspension. (The public lost its privilege to request agenda items on May 12, 2020.)
It will be interesting to learn what the Board's response is to the request and whether it will acknowledge the request at all..
Do YOU believe the public should be able to speak at Board meetings, as it has for years?
If so, email the Board now. To make your voice heard more loudly, send a bcc to gusphilpott@gmail.com
No public mention will be made of your name. There will be no attribution, but the public will be able to know of the number of requests made. A FOIA request may be made to the District in the future for the number of requests received.
Send your request to the entire board. To ease the pain of finding all their email addresses, here they are:
jamesmanning@richland2.org, lindsayagostini@richland2.org, cherylcautionparker@richland2.org, puttingstudentsfirst2012@gmail.com, docholmesschoolboard2@gmail.com, ameliamckie@richland2.org, jamesshadd@richland2.org
If you wish to copy the superintendent, here is his email address: badavis@richland2.org
McKie and Holmes are included, even though they are not yet legitimate members of the board. I address them as Trustees-elect. As soon as they take the oath of office legally (now that they have filed their Statement of Economic Interests Reports), they will become Trustees.
Holmes and Elkins-Johnson use personal email addresses, although the District should require all trustees to use the "@richland2.org" email address. The District may face an insurmountable problem in the future, should a FOIA Request be made that includes official emails to and from Holmes and Elkins-Johnson, especially after they leave the board.
The request was submitted to the entire board, asking a board member to make a motion at a meeting to add an item to the next agenda for discussion and vote to rescind the suspension. (The public lost its privilege to request agenda items on May 12, 2020.)
It will be interesting to learn what the Board's response is to the request and whether it will acknowledge the request at all..
Do YOU believe the public should be able to speak at Board meetings, as it has for years?
If so, email the Board now. To make your voice heard more loudly, send a bcc to gusphilpott@gmail.com
No public mention will be made of your name. There will be no attribution, but the public will be able to know of the number of requests made. A FOIA request may be made to the District in the future for the number of requests received.
Send your request to the entire board. To ease the pain of finding all their email addresses, here they are:
jamesmanning@richland2.org, lindsayagostini@richland2.org, cherylcautionparker@richland2.org, puttingstudentsfirst2012@gmail.com, docholmesschoolboard2@gmail.com, ameliamckie@richland2.org, jamesshadd@richland2.org
If you wish to copy the superintendent, here is his email address: badavis@richland2.org
McKie and Holmes are included, even though they are not yet legitimate members of the board. I address them as Trustees-elect. As soon as they take the oath of office legally (now that they have filed their Statement of Economic Interests Reports), they will become Trustees.
Holmes and Elkins-Johnson use personal email addresses, although the District should require all trustees to use the "@richland2.org" email address. The District may face an insurmountable problem in the future, should a FOIA Request be made that includes official emails to and from Holmes and Elkins-Johnson, especially after they leave the board.
Board Policy BEDH - Suspended
On May 12, 2020 the Richland 2 School Board voted 6-1 to suspend Board Policy BEDH. Trustee Lindsay Agostini was the sole No vote on the motion to suspend BEDH.
BEDH is the policy that applies to public participation at meetings. When the Board suspended this policy, it axed the public's ability to address the board at meetings. In other words, the Board no longer wishes to hear from the public at meetings. In public. Out in the open. Where others can know how the public feels.
The Board seems to think that the public's sending an email to someone in the District is the same as speaking out at meetngs.
It. Is. Not.
The vote on the Motion to Suspend BEDH, which was made by Eklins-Johnson and seconded by Shadd, can be viewed at 27:40 on the May 12th video. The vote was 6-1. But the video producer failed to show the screen with the result of the vote, so most will not know that it was Trustee Lindsay Agostini who stood up against the board and represented the People by voting as the sole No vote.
Furthermore, the District has not yet changed the Policy on its website. Why not?
Since Policy BEDH is no longer in effect, why hasn't the District so notated on the District's website? If you go to the website today (May 20), you will believe that the public still has the privilege to speak at board meetings.
Who or what controls the publication of Board Policies on the District's website?
Isn't this handled within Richland 2? Or does the Scouth Carolina School Boards Assn. have its nose in District business at this level?
BEDH is the policy that applies to public participation at meetings. When the Board suspended this policy, it axed the public's ability to address the board at meetings. In other words, the Board no longer wishes to hear from the public at meetings. In public. Out in the open. Where others can know how the public feels.
The Board seems to think that the public's sending an email to someone in the District is the same as speaking out at meetngs.
It. Is. Not.
The vote on the Motion to Suspend BEDH, which was made by Eklins-Johnson and seconded by Shadd, can be viewed at 27:40 on the May 12th video. The vote was 6-1. But the video producer failed to show the screen with the result of the vote, so most will not know that it was Trustee Lindsay Agostini who stood up against the board and represented the People by voting as the sole No vote.
Furthermore, the District has not yet changed the Policy on its website. Why not?
Since Policy BEDH is no longer in effect, why hasn't the District so notated on the District's website? If you go to the website today (May 20), you will believe that the public still has the privilege to speak at board meetings.
Who or what controls the publication of Board Policies on the District's website?
Isn't this handled within Richland 2? Or does the Scouth Carolina School Boards Assn. have its nose in District business at this level?
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Robert's Rules of Order
In a number of Regular Meetings of the school board, when the board returns from Executive Session, the Chair describes a vote in Executive Session to end it and return to open session.
NO votes are allowed in Executive Session, even if later disclosed. A vote to end Executive Session is not allowed and is not needed; they just stop talking and move back to the public setting and then they re-convene. They "re-convene" because they had to first convene in open session before they could go into Executive Session.
If any vote at the beginning of the re-convened session should be taken, it would be to re-convene. There is no need to describe returning from Executive Session or what transpired there, since they are precluded from talking about what happened in Executive Session.
Later in the Regular Meeting is an agenda item for voting on any matters from the Executive Session that need action.
This Board should hire the Robert's Rules of Order expert, Helen McFadden. She attended a board meeting several months ago, and interest was expressed by at least one board member that she be invited back.
NO votes are allowed in Executive Session, even if later disclosed. A vote to end Executive Session is not allowed and is not needed; they just stop talking and move back to the public setting and then they re-convene. They "re-convene" because they had to first convene in open session before they could go into Executive Session.
If any vote at the beginning of the re-convened session should be taken, it would be to re-convene. There is no need to describe returning from Executive Session or what transpired there, since they are precluded from talking about what happened in Executive Session.
Later in the Regular Meeting is an agenda item for voting on any matters from the Executive Session that need action.
This Board should hire the Robert's Rules of Order expert, Helen McFadden. She attended a board meeting several months ago, and interest was expressed by at least one board member that she be invited back.
Livestream Training Needed for Board
The Richland 2 School Board needs training in professional conduct at Livestream Board Meetings.
What's wrong?
One board member's little yapping dog barks.
Keep your hands out of your hair during meetings.
Position your camera so that it faces you directly at eye-level.
Don't fidget.
Keep your hands off the camera.
Present slides from a computer so that the wording can be read.
Train board members on background and lighting.
Board members dressed professionally in business attire for in-person board meetings. Is there any reason that has changed?
What's wrong?
One board member's little yapping dog barks.
Keep your hands out of your hair during meetings.
Position your camera so that it faces you directly at eye-level.
Don't fidget.
Keep your hands off the camera.
Present slides from a computer so that the wording can be read.
Train board members on background and lighting.
Board members dressed professionally in business attire for in-person board meetings. Is there any reason that has changed?
2020-2021 Budget Meeting
The Richland 2 School Board held a 20-minute special-called meeting today to discuss the 2020-2021 budget. The meeting was live-streamed.
It was shocking to see that there were only 11-13 people attending this meeting. The counter in the upper left never exceeded 13. Did that include seven on the board, plus Supt. Davis, Libby Roof, Harry Miley and the woman from his department, to whom Dr. Miley gave credit for the report? And me? And one more?
Or was the number (13) those who were attending (excluding the board and staff) and viewing the livestream meeting?
Where were all the teachers who ought to be concerned about whether they are going to get paid or have jobs?
Maybe they were still teaching at 5:00PM. Reports to me indicate that they are having very long days.
Where were the parents and taxpayers who ought to be wondering whether their taxes will be going up?
The District should email survey (SurveyMonkey.com?) after meetings and ask questions, such as:
Did you know about the meeting?
Did you attend the meeting?
Did you plan to attend the meeting but missed it?
Will you watch the replay on YouTube or Livestream?
What would help you attend future board meetings?
- Email reminder?
- RoboCall?
Should the District create a Public Portal like the City of Columbia?
Should the rescind the suspension of Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings?
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being High), how important do you feel your voice is to the School Board?
Electronic surveys are dirt-cheap. But does the Board really want to know what parents, taxpayers and voters think?
It was shocking to see that there were only 11-13 people attending this meeting. The counter in the upper left never exceeded 13. Did that include seven on the board, plus Supt. Davis, Libby Roof, Harry Miley and the woman from his department, to whom Dr. Miley gave credit for the report? And me? And one more?
Or was the number (13) those who were attending (excluding the board and staff) and viewing the livestream meeting?
Where were all the teachers who ought to be concerned about whether they are going to get paid or have jobs?
Maybe they were still teaching at 5:00PM. Reports to me indicate that they are having very long days.
Where were the parents and taxpayers who ought to be wondering whether their taxes will be going up?
The District should email survey (SurveyMonkey.com?) after meetings and ask questions, such as:
Did you know about the meeting?
Did you attend the meeting?
Did you plan to attend the meeting but missed it?
Will you watch the replay on YouTube or Livestream?
What would help you attend future board meetings?
- Email reminder?
- RoboCall?
Should the District create a Public Portal like the City of Columbia?
Should the rescind the suspension of Board Policy BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings?
On a scale of 1-5 (5 being High), how important do you feel your voice is to the School Board?
Electronic surveys are dirt-cheap. But does the Board really want to know what parents, taxpayers and voters think?
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