15 y/o with gun at Blythewood H.S.

Let's hear once again from Richland 2 how well the BeSMART program is working.

Richland County Sheriff's Department took a 15-year-old boy into custody today for having a gun at school. No word yet on what kind of gun or whether it was loaded. 

And definitely no word on the 15-year-old's name. He will enjoy the privilege of privacy from The State and the local TV stations. 

If I can get the name, you'll read it here.

At least The State newspaper got the personal pronoun right (presumably). 

Remember the big hoop-de-lah last December when there was the big name-signing ceremony at R2i2?

Has anyone heard even a peep out of Richland 2 or BeSMART about all their wonderful efforts to lower gun violence in area schools?

How many Richland 2 students have been involved in gun-related incidents since December 5, 2021?

At the time, it looked to me like All Talk and No Walk. 

Has any teacher or administrator heard what Be SMART is doing?

[Edited 4/25/22 10:40PM]

Here's the print version of the telephone message that was sent out by Principal Matt Sherman:

"Hello Blythewood High Parents. This is Principal Matt Sherman.

"I am calling to let you know that this afternoon a weapon was confiscated from a student while the student was in class. This is alarming to hear so let me assure you that the situation was addressed swiftly, our employees and students are safe, and we have been able to continue with our school day without interruption.

"The teacher saw the weapon and immediately called for assistance from the School Resource Officers and school administrators. The weapon was turned over to a School Resource Officer as soon as the SRO entered the classroom without incident.

"So far in the investigation, we do not have any evidence to indicate that the student threatened to harm anyone at school.

"School administrators and our SROs followed district procedures and board policy in administering disciplinary and legal consequences. Students should never bring weapons onto school grounds and they face serious consequences when they do. In accordance with state and federal law, Richland Two Board Policy JICI states that a student who brings a weapon to school faces expulsion of no less than one year.

"Our leadership team is extremely proud of our teacher who responded quickly and of the students in the class who remained calm while the situation was addressed. Parents, I do ask for your help in stressing to our students the importance of “See Something. Say Something.” Ensuring the safety of our campus for all students and teachers requires all of us to work together to keep weapons off our campus and to alert administrators and SROs immediately whenever someone sees something that may cause harm to others.

"If you have any questions or concerns about school safety, please contact a school administrator."

She said "What?"

Don't miss the attachment in the agenda for Tuesday's board meeting, on April 26.

Remember those "Executive Coaching & Parliamentary Procedure" sessions that the board attended?

Liz Guthridge was the facilitator who was hired to try to tamp down the chaos that is the Richland 2 School Board.

You can read the attachment under Item 9 on the Agenda. You can view it by plodding through the website to the agenda, or just click right here: Update

The two workshops were "nice". They were soft. Liz must have known the problems, but she didn't get in anyone's face. They needed to be hardcore. Some heads needed to be knocked. I'm reminded of the story about the farmer who hit his mule over the head with a 2x4. When asked why, he said he had to get the mule's attention. 

Pay special attention to Page 4, on which Liz Guthridge shared an honest opinion:

(Click to enlarge)

Read that again. She writes candidly that the board (meaning, I believe, the majority - The Core Four) may not have the will to get out of high conflict and work together. With that, she hits the nail squarely on its head. 

Remember the night when Trustee Scott kept calling a Point-of-Order? Finally, Teresa turned to her and declared, "I AM the Point-of-Order at the time." She got away with it. She shouldn't have. Three Trustees should have stood and walked out.

I say, "Wait until November 10. When the shoe is on the other foot and those now in the majority find that they are no longer in the majority, they'll suffer their karmic due."

Just who do they think they are???

Just who do (some) board members think they are?

Read today's FoxNews article about a school board meeting in Sarasota County, Florida, and compare it with what you know about the Richland 2 board.

A woman "was kicked out of a board meeting for what she was 'about to say'". 

Was there a training somewhere that school members attended? Did they all learn somewhere that the People, the Public, are just there to provide the money and they'd better sit down and shut up?

Board chairwoman Jane Goodwin sounds just like our very own Teresa Holmes. Read the article here.

At how many Richland 2 board meetings have you heard Teresa Holmes say, "You can't mention names." Meeting after meeting she gets away with it. Do you know that she is WRONG?

Richland Two's Board Policy BEDH says that "The board will not permit in public session any expression of personal complaints about individual school personnel or any other person connected with the school system.

If a member of the public strays into forbidden territory and mentions a name, Teresa says, "We (the royal We) don't say that." A Parliamentarian would correct her, but then the Parliamentarian would get fired. Names ARE permitted. Complaints are not. Teresa struggles with the distinction from meeting to meeting.

"(Incumbent board member) Ziegler, who is running for re-election this year, said, 'out of touch, power hungry, oftentimes very progressive, liberals' have 'overtaken school boards,' and 'grotesque' instances like these will undoubtedly impact the upcoming elections on a national scale."

Sound familiar?

We had our "grotesque" instance on January 25th, right here in Richland County. Gary Ginn and I are in "Richland 2 Jail" until July 1st.

By the way, it seems that at least one administrator has been directed not to reply to me. He is an honest, smart, ethical person. I know he would reply, if he could do so without fear of retaliation and/or retribution.

Va. Asst. Principal Sues School Board

Could it happen here?

A former assistant principal in an elementary school in Virginia is suing the school board there. 

Are you familiar with the book, Courageous Conversations about Race, by Glenn E. Singleton? The rest of the book title is A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools and Beyond. Any chance that that book has found its way to Richland County?

Wow! There is a strong clue to what the reader will find within its covers. The dreaded CRT!

Emily Mais was employed at the Agnor-Hurt Elementary School in Charlottesville, Va., which is in the Albemarle County School District. That's approximately 100 miles SSW of Loudoun County, Va., where parents have been on the warpath about Critical Race Theory for months.

Read the FoxNews article here. The headline is Former Virginia administrator sues school board, alleging racial harassment.

So much for engaging in a courageous conversations. 

As you have heard at numerous Richland 2 school board meetings, "You have the right to your opinion."

What I heard when the board chair says that is, "You have the right to your opinion, even when it's wrong." Does anyone else hear it that way?

Apparently, Mais made the unforgivable mistake of using the term "colored people", rather than "people of color". The news article reports that Mais' attorney said that Mais apologized for a "slip of the tongue," but "Another teacher who was in that training began berating her in front of others".

What is wrong with people today? All the talk of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and some people are still so thin-skinned that they'll complain if a butterfly goes by in the wrong direction. And I'm not referring to Ms. Mais.

Good luck to Emily Mais. May she collect the big bucks from Albemarle County School District, and may they have to pay it from their own pockets and not out of insurance!

Know about The Overton Report?

This morning I watched this episode of Corey Allen's The Overton Report. It starts off with comments about Richland 2 teacher Lisa Ellis, founder (or co-founder?) of SC for Ed, who has announced she is running to be elected as S.C. Superintendent of Education.

My dislike for SC for Ed started when "they" influenced so many teachers to bag school on a workday a couple of years ago and show up at the S.C. State Capitol to protest for higher pay.

Richland 2 knew about that protest and proclaimed for weeks that it would not cancel school that day. It would manage with substitutes and whatever else it took to keep the doors open. You know, provide an education for the children. It's "for the children", don't you know?

What actually happened? The day before the protest, Richland 2 caved in. Of course, where it fell apart was not taking a strong stand weeks before. The superintendent should have directed all his subordinates to inform teachers that "Schools will be open May 1st", and then he should have told principals to limit the number of absences that would be approved.

It was clearly a work stoppage that was planned. It was a strike. Every teacher without an approved excuse for the personal day should have been docked a day's pay. 

But even board members at the time voiced support, and some even showed up downtown.

They forgot they are Management. They are Trustees. They direct the school district. They don't align with Workers. Ahh, but the votes...

So, watch this episode of The Overton Report. See who Lisa Ellis is. Then decide. Is she someone you would like running the State Department of Education?

WANTED: Lawyer who'd like to earn $4,000,000

(Click to enlarge)

Is there a lawyer licensed to practice in South Carolina who'd like to talk about earning $4,000,000?

If there is, I'd like to talk to him or her. Please contact me at gusphilpott@gmail.com or call me at 847.971.7083

Following the January 25, 2022 incident in the Richland 2 school district boardroom, the District issued at least one media release that concerns me greatly.

And the Board Chair and Vice-Chair made statements on WIS-TV that also concern me greatly.

Recently I was asked what I wanted out of the mess that the District created.

My answer was, "A check from Richland 2, with my name on it, in the amount of $10,000,000, would be a good start."

I'm not in any hurry. There is a two-year statute of limitations.

Finally - What NLLC means

When Amelia McKie files her Statement of Economic Interests Report with the S.C. Ethics Commission, she must list the source of any Private Income. She doesn't have to list the amount, but she has to name the source.

And she does. She lists the source as NLLC.

A business name search on the S.C. Secretary of State website has never revealed a registration for NLLC. A business name search on the Richland County Business Service Center website (latest year 2020) shows no NLLC. So what is it?

In the past I've found NLLC on the internet, but somehow I didn't think that the National Labrador Liquor Club was the source of her income.

Now I know. The source of her private income is Nfusion, LLC (whatever that is). McKie incorporated a Limited Liability Company of that name with S.C. Secretary of State on April 2, 2009.

Is it proper to list her business (Nfusion, LLC) as "NLLC" on the forms submitted to the S.C. Ethics Commission? It's a real stretch to think that anyone on the planet would know that NLLC is Nfusion, LLC.