Loudoun County Parents are SERIOUS

Have you been following the efforts of Loudoun County, Va. parents to stop Critical Race Theory in their schools? Their efforts include attention to recalling several school board members.

Could this happen here?

Read today's FoxNews article about a $500,000 ad campaign to expose the school board.

There is a Richland 2 school board meeting on Tuesday, September 14. Is the board doing what it can to reduce public presence by requiring masks, social distancing, and holding meetings in a small room? Does it welcome public attendance and attention? Or not?

Do parents stay home because of the small meeting room and the very short time the board is willing to listen to them? 

How can parents and community members know how much contact is aimed at the school board members? They never mention how many phone calls or emails they receive. One might think that the only members of the public who contact the board are the 4-5-6 brave people who show up at board meetings. 

The board room should be packed and SRO (and I don't mean School Resource Officers).

Which reminds me ... why is the District hiring THREE (3) RCSD deputies to attend board meetings? That started after three members of the public (and you know who they were) confronted Trustee Scott (Elkins) and provoked a reaction when the man shoved his cell phone in her face. You did watch the lobby video about that; right? She should have had him charged with Assault, but she took the high road.

Those three? Friends of which board members? That's clear, too.

So, Parents, it's YOUR school district. Start showing up and put a stop to the encroachment of Critical Race Theory in Richland 2. They won't call it that - by that name. That way, they can deny it when a Freedom of Information Act Request seeks information. But the elements of CRT are present. 

Intimidation? Indoctrination?

Read this article from the Heritage Foundation titled "North Carolina Report Highlights Indoctrination in Classrooms. Here Are 6 Stories From Parents and Faculty".

Is this occurring in Richland 2 schools?

Are students learning that they'd better come up with an answer the teacher likes or they'll be graded down? If they disagree with a teacher's political views expressed in the classroom, will they suffer grade-wise? Or do all teachers encourage open discussion and encourage thoughtful expression on topics that are popular today?

Richland 2 has invested in USC Prof. Gloria Boutte's "Culturally Relevant Pedagogy". Do you even know what that is? Look back at the video of a brief presentation about that CRT on the District's website during the March 26, 2019 board meeting. For my blogpost about that, click here.

And what about the superintendent's "100 Premier Men of Color" program. He told the board a while back that he is not evaluated on that program, at least part of which is designed to put "more faces" in front of students like those in the classroom seats. Meaning, more black teachers. If he is not evaluated on it, why is the District allowed time and money to be spent on it?

The last time I was able to find teacher demographics on the District's website, white and black teachers comprised almost the same 38% make-up of teachers. Why is it important to have a black teacher in front of a classroom of mostly black students? Is that preparing those students for the "real" world, where they will comprise 14% of the U.S. population?

Do your ears perk up when you hear (or read) these words and ideas? - Critical Race Theory, white privilege, white supremacy, gender identity, woke, equality, equity, gender transition, bias, discrimination, racist, the privilege game, display of racial or political preferences in schools.

When you show up at school board meetings and speak out, demand answers. The Board chair will say, "We don't respond at meetings." You can read that as "We saw your lips move for three minutes. Now sit down!" Did they listen? Ask when they will respond. Ask them to  respond in public at the next meeting.

R2 Changes Sign-up Times

Reason has suddenly struck the Richland 2 school district. Imagine that.

After last meeting's fiasco of requiring those wishing to speak during Public Participation to sign in at least 45 minues before the start of the 6:30PM public session (after the executive session), the district is announcing a new sign-up time for those wishing to speak at the September 14th meeting.

Now you just have to arrive more than 15 minutes ahead of time. In other words, if you wish to speak, arrive and sign up between 5:30PM-6:15PM. 

The first ten people to sign up will get their chances to tell the board just how they feel about issues and problems in Richland 2. Five are allowed to speak (for up to 3 minutes each) during the first segment, and the second five during the second segment. In practice, I've been told that all the speakers might be allowed to speak during the first segment, eliminating the need by the second five to twiddle their thumbs and bide their time through the entire meeting.

The board could use some serious coaching on how to run an effective board meeting. The dog-and-pony shows organized by the superintendent are far too long. The board should receive all the necessary information in advance of meetings. Then staff should summarize their reports and answer questions from board members.

It's unknown how many board members actually read the board packets. From some of the questions being asked, it's clear that some of the board members do not read their packets. And from the complete absence of correction or additions to Minutes, I wonder whether any board members read the Minutes of the previous meeting.

The board members are decision-makers and more of them should act like it. That means, read and understand what's in the meeting packet. Ask intelligent questions. Don't just sit there like bumps on a log. Board business could be conducted in 90 minutes tops.

Start with cutting back the Inspirational Moment. The introduction should not exceed 30 seconds, and the "Moment" should be limited to 2-3 minutes. The board chair can the person giving the Moment and move right on.

Public Participation can move more quickly by announcing the name of the next speaker and "followed by (the names of the next two speakers)". They should line up, be ready to advance and make their remarks. As a speaker finishes, the board chair should say, "the next speaker is ____, followed by ___ and ___." The name of the speaker is important; the person speaking often does not identify himself.

Picking Attorneys and Filing Lawsuits

The following letter has been sent to the Richland 2 school board. Will the board address these questions at the September 14th board meeting?

Board Members and trustees-elect Holmes and McKie,

I encourage a close reading of this article in the Voice newspaper. 

As you read it, ask yourselves

1. Did you sign, or authorize the signing of, an engagement letter with 

a. Attorney Carl Solomon?

b. Attorney Skyler Hutto?

c. Attorney W. Allen Nickles III?

2. Did you actually authorize litigation in the Executive Session but fail to disclose it to the public when you voted?

3. Had the superintendent already laid the groundwork for a lawsuit before you approved Manning's Motion on August 16? 

4. Does it not seem unusual to you that the superintendent could thoroughly research the "best option and legal strategy" in only three days and that a court case could be properly researched and filed on the Friday after a Monday board meeting - without further board action and approval?

I presume you know what an engagement letter for legal services includes. Are the pro bono services totally free of any and all charges (ex., expenses, filing fees, etc.), or is there "fine print" in the letter that discloses expenses that will be charged? A standard Engagement Letter is often two pages in length.

Each of you should be demanding from Supt. Davis exactly what his contact was with Kathryn Mahoney, the attorney for the school district, and what her advice was about proceeding with litigation, and what he learned through any consult with the Richland County Council that you authorized.

Release to the public exactly how you authorized the superintendent to file a lawsuit in the S.C. Supreme Court without explicit approval by the school board.

Sincerely,

Gus Philpott

Supreme Court - MIA?

Is anyone else wondering what happened to the five justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court?

Where is the decision from the August 31st court session involving Richland 2? It didn't take them long to toss the City of Columbia action.

Isn't the issue about the same? About the use of state funds to announce and enforce a mask mandate?

I understand they will consider a case on its individual merits. The Chief Justice announced that the decision would be made on the law. The rise in COVID cases has nothing to do with it.

If Richland 2 wants a mask mandale, it can impose one. It can announce and enforce it. It just can't use State funds to do so.

Easy. Right?

Board Policy BDG - Board Attorney/Legal Services

I suspect most parents don't spend much time reading Board Policies, but here's one to read and understand right now.

Where can you read it?

Go to www.Richland2.org

Click on EXPLORE (top right)

Click on School Board

Click on BOARD POLICIES

On the left side, click on B - SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS

Scroll down and click on Board Policy BDG

Note particularly "...the board, by majority vote, may designate an attorney or law firm..." It's right there in the first paragraph!

So, when the superintendent chose Carl Solomon, Skyler Hutto and Allen Nickles for the lawsuit filed in the S.C. Supreme Court, did he exceed his authority?

And what about proceeding with the filing of a lawsuit in the District's name only three days after the board approved a motion to gather information? Shouldn't the superintendent have returned to the board with that information? How did the superintendent get the okay to proceed?

Did the board give him a wink and a nod in Executive Session and then "conveniently" forget to approve that in public session? That's clearly an "action" that requires approval in public. The board cannot hide in Executive Session and approve something like a lawsuit out of public view.

If Teresa Holmes hadn't smacked down Lindsay Agostini when it was time to vote on Manning's Motion, that information might have come out. 

Should concerned parents obtain the services of the same attorney who is sinking his teeth into Richland One over an Executive Session issue and go after Richland Two about its Executive Session on August 16, 2021?

Using Nurses for Clerks?

WIS-TV is running an article about how over-worked Richland 2 nurses are. Gee, they are having to work for their pay? Must be torture.

Here's the article. Just click to read, or go to the WIS-TV website. 

When I first read about Contact Tracers a few months ago, I wondered why nurses were being used for those calls. Why not hire and train people for $10.00/hour to make telephone calls and record information on sheets or in computer files, to be later analyzed (hopefully, by computer) for any useful information? 

What kind of management expertise does it take to choose between highly-paid nurses and lower-paid clerical employees? That's merely wise utilization of resources and money. 

But why do that when you have lots of money and don't need to conserve it?

Another obvious benefit is avoiding burn-out. Well, too late for that one; right?

It's never too late.