R2 Response to I.G. Report

I shall begin reading the State Inspector General's Report on Richland 2 tomorrow.

However, this evening I did read Richland 2's response to the Report.

That response of the District is the biggest pile of horse manure in the USA. It's typical double-speak, deflection and diminishing tof he huge problems in Richland 2, from the Administration's leader right through the majority of the board. You know whom I mean: Holmes, McKie, Manning and Caution-Parker.

Good riddance to McKie, Manning and Caution-Parker. The District will be so much better off if Holmes joins them in their exit. They didn't quite make it out the door before the Report was released.

Those who have been following the incredible decline in reputation of Richland 2 over the past four years know exactly who is responsible for it. The Core Four, the cabal of Holmes, McKie, Manning and Caution-Parker, ruled with a lock on decisions.

If I had offered them the winning numbers for a $1.3 Billion Lottery, those four would have voted against accepting them. 

Inspector General report released

The S.C. Inspector General has released his report, according to The P:ost and Courier. Read the newspaper article here:

https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/news/state-inspector-finds-board-dysfunction-undermining-columbia-area-school-district/article_30315bf2-5bb5-11ed-9c88-877dae5e94cb.html

Just read the article. So much wrong in it. Now to find the Report itself and see whether the Report is as described in the newspaper article.

More comments to follow.

[Edited 11/4/2022] Here is the full report on the Inspector General's website:

https://oig.sc.gov/sites/oig/files/Documents/Reports/2022/Inspector_General's_Investigation_of_Richland_School_District_Two.pdf

James Manning likes to deflect

Don't miss today'a article in The State newspaper about James Manning's attack on Lashonda McFadden over a $425 hotel upgrade and pet fee in September. 

What is the real purpose behind Manning's public attack? Is he trying to support Holmes in her re-election bid?

I believe McFadden's Atlanta conference was in early September. The District received reimbursement on October 19.

It is preposterous to think that a trustee traveling on school business must beg for advance permission to upgrade her room. The upgrade is a personal expense, and that is to be reimbursed to the District. The District got its money.

Manning is pretending to be Mr. Important, rather than just letting the District handle the collection of the money. Hasn't he got anything better to do with his time?

He sent me a long email about this matter. He never should have gone into all the detail that he did. 

I posted the following comment to The State's article:

"What in the world is OUTGOING board member and chair James Manning's crusade against Lashonda McFadden all about? NO pre-approval is needed for upgrades. The District got its money on October 19 for McFadden's Atlanta trip early in September. His complaint is merely deflection. If Manning wants to get all hot and bothered, he should go after Teresa Holmes for the $3,000 that she over-spent on travel & training in School Year 2021-2022. Holmes' car rental receipt from April has been requested (FOIA) from Richland 2. If she rented the car for ferrying other board members around in San Diego, you'd think she would have told them about it at the time. Holmes spent $807.30 on car rental and parking, so she wouldn't have to take a shuttle to the hotel that was 4.0 miles from the airport."

Manning's blustering is a deflection from the fact that Teresa Holmes owes about $3,000 to the District for exceeding her travel and training allowance in 2021-2022. 

The DEI Disaster

 

Watch this new PragerU video, just released yesterday (Oct. 31, 2022).

When the next DEI meeting is announced at Richland 2 or at your business, insist on five minutes for this video.

Email it to every teacher and administrator at Richland 2 and ask them to watch it and give you their opinion. Here's the PragerU link:    https://www.prageru.com/video/the-dei-disaster or just use the Share button on the PragerU.com website under the video.

Christian Watson gets it exactly right!

Leevy Johnson - a volunteer coach, not employee

It took three requests, but I finally got an answer from Richland 2 about whether Chris Leevy Johnson is a Richland 2 employee.

My first request was through the Let's Talk functionality to Ridge View High School. Ridge View did not respond.

My second request was made after I reported an unsatisfactory result from the Let's Talk program. A woman called from the District and said she'd get me the answer, but it didn't come.

An answer came quickly to my third request, in which I mentioned a FOIA Request would follow if I didn't get an answer.

This answer came:

"Mr. Johnson is a volunteer coach with the Ridge View High School football team. He is not an employee of Richland School District Two nor is Mr. Johnson a chaplain for RVHS or any school. For any adult associated with a team to lead students in prayer anywhere, it would be student-initiated, i.e. a student request for a person to lead a prayer, and anyone who would join in the prayer would do so of their own volition."

What prompted my inquiry? I think it was back in early June when Johnson posted on Facebook that he had started "his job" at Ridge View the day before.

Ridge View Football cheating scandal - your thoughts?

What are your thoughts about the football team cheating scandal at Ridge View High School.

The South Carolina High School League appellate panel determined yesterday that at least one player was not a RVHS resident. That was enough to cost the Blazers all their wins in the entire season.

The panel did not hear the other two players' residency questions.

Read Coach Rosefield's l-o-n-g message dated yesterday, after the SCHSL decision. You won't even know what happened, or why, if all you do is read his message.

Here are some of the questions I've been asked by the Richland 2 community?

Who is the District's unlicensed private investigator?

Who paid for them?

Who authorized having a district employee follow a student?

Have they done this before?

Are they following teachers?

Why wasn’t Davis at the meeting?

Why wasn’t the “investigator” at the meeting?

Who will be held responsible?  The Superintendent? The Asst. Superintendent Suber?  The principal?  The AD? The Coach?

Who is paying for all those lawyers?

Post your own additional questions below. Some of mine are:

- How long has Richland 2 Administration known about this?

- Is the "private investigator" actually an employee in the Safety/Security Department of Richland 2? 

- Where was the breakdown after a football star at a private school outside the District transfers to Ridge View in his senior year?

- Why were there rumors that Ridge View was "recruiting"?

- What did the superintendent know, and when did he know it? 

- Was information held back from the supt., so that he'd have plausible deniability?

And post answers below to any of these questions.

What Does the US Flag mean to you?

(Click  on the Watch on YouTube link.)

Today I received an email with this video in it. Master Sergeant Ray Benavidez delivers a great message.

Watch it and pass it on.

There are other videos on YouTube of Medal of Honor recipient, M/Sgt. Benavidez.