Advertising the brand - $175,000?

 

How much did Richland 2 spend on billboard advertising earlier this year to promote its "brand"?

A Facebook comment today caused me to think that Richland 2 forked out $175,000.

Seriously???

Did they spend taxpayer cash or was some portion comped by Lamar, the billboard advertising company?

2022 Convocation Released

Finally. The August 9th Convocation has been unlocked. See it (part of it) on YouTube at   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_C77Dwrl8

NOTE: The Superintendent's remarks cannot be viewed on Lifestream.com. There is no re-direction there to YouTube.

According to the District today, "Due to a technical problem, the Livestream site did not record the event but we started a backup recording a few minutes after the convocation had started."

Sometimes, those "technical problems" are called operator error. 

The Livestream message on the District's website indicates the convocation started at 8:30AM and ended at 10:00AM. That's 90 minutes.

The recording that is available on YouTube now is 12:37 minutes in length. What are we missing?

But you'll clearly hear the superintendent say public education and Richland 2 are under attack. I'll say that he considers any remarks opposing his position on anything as an "attack". That's the Left's response to suggestions, requests, complaints. "You're attacking...." 

The superintendent asked each to assess how he did in these areas:

I'd like to see the board's grades on those items. Three of them earned grades of A. Three of them got Fs. 

Many thanks to those who sent me the YouTube link.

The real reason?

What is the real reason that Baron Davis won't OK removing the password-protection lock on his August 9th Convocation remarks?

His speech on that morning was to staff, and apparently he must have said some things he doesn't want parents and the public to know. The recording of those comments is at   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10569733, but it is password-protected, which means we/you cannot see or hear it.

If you feel that keeping it locked for ten days (or at all) is improper, please send an email to badavis@richland2.org

My FOIA Request for those remarks was dated August 11, 2022, and the clock is ticking.

And 8/9/22 Convocation STILL Locked

Hope is on the way. Maybe. The Richland 2 Ombudsman has replied that all my inquiries about the locked August 9th Convocation have been consolidated and "... Libby Roof, the Senior Chief Communications Officer, (has been asked) to respond. She has indicated that she hopes to be able to respond to you by Friday of this week."

Now, isn't that a great customer-centric response?

Ombudsman, in Richland 2 language, is a traffic cop, not a problem solver. That's by design, of course. She has no authority to investigate and correct maladministration. Do you think she can go into Baron's office and say, "Listen, boss. Philpott is right. The best thing would be to just remove the password-protection lock from the Convocation file on Livestream."

Where would she like to work next? How would she get a job without a good recommendation?

The convocation recording never should have been locked in the first place. On Tuesday, August 9th, Libby Roof could have, and should have, removed the password lock. Of course, she wouldn't dare. 

Just exactly why did Baron Davis want his comments kept private? And why did Board Chair Jams Manning blink, when asked to help?

File your complaints with the Office of the State Inspector General, folks. Send them to oig@oig.sc.gov  Include whether you agree to waive confidentiality. Or use the webform at oig.sc.gov 

Convocation - same remarks as at Retreat

I have received credible information that Supt. Davis made the same remarks at the August 9th Convocation as he made at the August 5th Board Retreat.

If you were at the Retreat, which was not broadcast live on livestream or recorded, then you heard what he said. So, if he said it at an open public meeting of the school board, why won't he unlock the password-protected recording at   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10569733?

Supposedly, he said that the District is 'under attack". Well, with the (lack of) transparency that exists, should he be surprised?

Isn't that like taping a sign "Kick me" to your backside? And then whining when you get kicked?

New Board Officers, November 2022

The Richland 2 school board will have all new officers after the election in November 2022.

The Core Four has maintained a stranglehold on officer positions for too long. On June 28, 2022 the following officers were elected: Chair - James Manning; Vice Chair - Amelia McKie (proud owner of a huge debt to the S.C. Ethics Commission for fines); Secretary - Teresa Holmes.

Manning and McKie did not file for re-election. Their terms-of-office end on November 8, 2022. Or maybe on November 17, 2022, one week after the election is certified.

State law S.C. Code of Laws reads, 

"SECTION 59-19-70. Chairman and clerk of board.

"The trustees shall, as soon as practicable after the appointment of any new trustee, organize by the election of one of their members as chairman and another as clerk of the board. The chairman shall preside at meetings of the board and perform other duties imposed on him under the law, and the clerk shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings in a book provided for that purpose and perform all other duties required of him by law."

This is a law that Richland 2 has not followed, like the law regarding the beginning of a term-of-office (until their error was pointed out to them and corrected in November 2020).

When the board meets at the first meeting after the election, the new board members will be sworn in and will take their seats. They will join Trustees Agostini, Scott, and McFadden. Then the trustees will elect the officers for the remainder of the School Year. to June 30, 2023. So long, Teresa.

Since Holmes served for four years without ever being sworn in legally, I'd say she is ineligible to be an officer of the board. Hopefully, the new board will agree and will send her to a seat at the end of the row.

And I suspect the new board will waste no time in moving the superintendent away from the pivot point in board seating and put the Board Chair in that seat, where Robert's Rules of Road state the Chair is to sit.

8/9/22 Convocation - Still Locked

Do you wonder what Supt. Baron Davis does not want the public to know? His speech on August 9th is still password-protected. That means you cannot hear what he told employees.

What did he say?

Some nonsense about the Richland Two "brand". Come on, man. You aren't peddling soap.

And some nonsense about how the District is "under attack". 

Seriously?

Click on this link. If the lock has been removed, you can hear his remarks for yourself.

https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10569733

If the link is still locked, let him hear from you. Email badavis@richland2.org  Or call him at the District office. Contact him every day until he unlocks that speech.

Remember, he spoke on paid time. He used District-funded technology. HE is in charge of the decision to unlock the link.

What is he hiding?