The laws, which await clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice, overcame a gubernatorial veto last week and are designed to restructure the Fairfield County School Board.
Filed by Fairfield County residents Carnell Murphy Sr. and Lionel Washington, the suit asks first for an injunction to prevent portions of the laws from being implemented before they can achieve clearance.
House bill 4431 establishes an independent finance committee, which would take over budgeting responsibilities from the board. The committee is set to do so by April 1.
The suit names as defendants House Speaker Bobby Harrell, in his official capacity, and Sen. Creighton Coleman and Rep. Boyd Brown, both personally and in their official capacity.
“We’re just two people who thought this bill wasn’t done right,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t vetted right. The intentions might have been good, but intentions don’t matter if it’s not done right. No matter how good your intentions are, they have to fall in line with the law of the land.”
The suit, filed by Orangeburg attorney Glenn Walters, also alleges that Coleman and Brown “used an internal investigation by SACS, which was instigated by their supporters as a subterfuge to justify enacting the laws at issue.”
SACS (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) is a regional, voluntary accreditation agency, which placed the school district’s accreditation on probation last fall following an October review.
A follow-up review was concluded last week, with a second report due to be released soon.
Additionally, the suit alleges that the ongoing SLED investigation of the school district was drummed up by supporters of Coleman and Brown and that they also used it as justification of the bills.
The suit claims that Coleman and Brown acted “with discriminatory intent and purpose” by enacting the laws, violating both the 14th and 15th amendment rights of Murphy and Washington.
Both claim to have suffered damages in the suit, “in an amount to be established at trial.”
The suit also claims that the laws are unconstitutional because the “local legislative delegation system unconstitutional,” because “they were enacted by the local legislative delegation instead of the complete South Carolina General Assembly,” and because “their enactments constitute ultra vires [beyond the powers] acts of the local legislative delegation and not acts of the complete South Carolina General Assembly as required by the Constitution for the State of South Carolina.”
The suit is being heard by District Court Judge Cameron Currie. Walters has requested a jury trial for the claim against Coleman and Brown.
“It amazes me that anyone would want to maintain the status quo with the way this school board functions,” Coleman said. “Other than that, I cannot comment on pending litigation.”
We are on the battlefield of wits. You are unarmed, so the challenge is nil. NO, I did not go to the Bahamas. I went to BERMUDA. There is a big difference in latitude and longitude.
Wrong again. If you don't see who participates in the "good ol' boy" system in this County, then you are blind. Brown and Coleman are THE GOODEST OLD BOYS THERE EVER WAS! HASLETT (TOWN COUNCIL) IS COLEMAN'S FIRST COUSIN. BOYD BROWN IS DAVID BROWN'S SON. DAVID IS CHAIRMAN OF COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THE 3RD TIME. HIS WIFE WORKS FOR THE COUNTY, I DO BELIEVE. ALSO, I WAS TOLD THAT HIS 3 OTHER CHILDREN HAVE ALSO WORKED FOR THE TOWN/COUNTY IN THEIR LIFETIMES. IN FACT, LAST I HEARD WAS THAT JOE STILL MAY BE EVEN AFTER AN ACCIDENT. ALLEGEDLY, HE AND MANCHARIA'S BROTHER (WHO WORKS OR WORKED FOR THE COUNTY CLEANING OUT THE PORTA-POTTIES AT LAKE MONTELCELLO. OF COURSE, HENRY, DANNY AND DANIELLE HAVE (HAD THE SCHOOL DISTRICT) BASED ON FAMILIAL RIGHTS TO INHERIT SEATS ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. WEBSTER AND DAVIS ANDERSON ALSO HAVE THEIR CLAWS IN STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYMENT.
For you edification, i have no need to attack or counterattack. I have no stake in this corrupt situation. I AM for what is right and wrong. That is what I was taught. I see your parents/guardians were negligent in teaching you right from wrong.
YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT GIVE AMMUNITION TO YOUR OPPOSITION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE DON'T HAVE AMMUNITION. WE HAVE AN ARSENAL.
I didn’t know, but I guess I should have realized, that you, the School Board, and its supporters are all such political classicists. You’re all following that “Boss Tweed- Tammany Hall/Richard Daley-Chicago Machine” playbook to the tee. You have it all down: Deny everything; Make counter-accusations; Demand proof; and Lie. The classics are the best, aren’t they? I suppose that’s why they’re classics, huh?
So, it looks like you’ve decided to move this thread out of the “counter-accusation” phase and to the “demand proof” stage. How refreshing. Of course, we all know that’s impossible since the School Board doesn’t publish its budget, make the minutes of its meetings public, and does most of its business in secret Executive Session. Nor will anyone on the School Board come before the public and answer questions or defend the board’s actions. That’s so very convenient.
Still, the change in tactics is nice.
THE PURPOSE OF THOSE FIGURES WAS TO SHOW YOU THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. YOU COULD NOT RUN A SCHOOL DISTRICT IF YOU TURNED INTO EINSTEIN.
WHY DON'T YOU JUST KEEP YOUR BULL TO YOURSELF.
YEA, I MEAN THAT BOTH FROM A PERSONAL AND A PROFESSIONAL STANDPOINT. YOU, PERSONALLY, ARE NOT BEING TRUTHFUL IN YOUR FIGURES AND STATEMENTS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR "BEEF" IS, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE ON YOUR DIET! SOMEONE LICKED THE RED OFF OF YOUR SUCKER, AND YOU ARE FULL OF THE MERE THOUGHT OF GETTING AN OUNCE OF REVGENGE. "VENGEANCE IS MINE, SAYETH THE LORD." YOU NEED TO GET TO KNOW HIM. ONE WHIF OF HIS BREATH IN YOUR DIRECTION WOOULD DESTROY THE ENTIRE TOWN. IT IS HOT IN HADES.
Gross, huh, but VERY descriptive. I hope you reviewed your figures. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Is your computer non-scientific? OR, are you kinda that way. Don't mix your metaphors, honey. Off the top of my head, I recall seeing a budget that was given to some people when Samantha Ingram was queen,excuse me. I meant "super." The things that jumped off the page at me were...
1. The cost of all the laptops and Blackberries that she mandated for the Board. Wow! Big bucks. Do you believe that rumor that those things were bugged?
2.Dr. Ingram had anywhere from 3-5 secretaries. Let's say $40,000 each annually. Figure that one out. Go with the 3. What is $42,000 times 3? That looks like $120,000 right there. I think the Board may have had one part-time secretary that Samantha used more than they did. I do believe that those in the D.O. got at least one week's paid vacation. I know she took a planeload of people to spend a few days in Chicago. I would estimate that to be about $50,000 right there.
Do you remember when Ingram wanted L:INKIT? One million dollars plus a few more hundreds of thousands each year and summer school.
Do you remember when Drake, McSwain, and Heath gave her $15,000 for an annuity?
Do you remember that those 3 also GAVE her a bonus of $15,000 even though the data was not even in as required under her contract? Her presentation seemed to say that WHEN AND IF the scores were returned, they would be fantastic. In fact, all schools (except the high school) fell below the scores of the previous years.
Don't forget how important public relations back then. I do believe that the Chamber of Commerce was a major beneficiary. Vickers loved Ingram. Thoughts of the RIDICULOUS ACCESS HOUSE was dancing in her head.(Regardless of the homeless students!
Let's get a few things straight. If I understand you correctly, you made the statement that the School District was almost at 70% already. If that is the case then those bills could be considered fraudulent. Why? They were presented based upon specific evidence which was not as it was presented. In other words, it was a lie. The House and the Senate (as well as local residents) were given FALSE INFORMATION. That is serious mess, if ya know what I mean. WOW! Just wait until I get that information to the proper authorites. Any fool could have gone all day without putting that information out. Do you really think that the Herald does not have you personally nabbed as to your identity, address, location, the color of your eyes?
This was really a dumb thing to do. The more you talk, the worse this situation gets for certain people.
Why don’t you, the board members, or any of their sycophants just stand up and answer to the specifics?
Exactly how much money has the school board spent on things that benefited no one but the board members?
Exactly what were those expenses?
When, on what and how much was spent?
What was the professional justification for making those expenditures?
Why were those expenses more important that spending that money on things directly related to the education of the children of Fairfield County?
How did the school district benefit from those expenses?
How did the school board benefit from those expenses?
What changes or improvements in district operations resulted from those expenses?
Why does the board need to hire lawyers and hide behind them if its professional conduct in performing its sworn civic duties has been beyond reproach?
Why do the board members think that paying for lawyers is more important than paying for educational expenses?
People who have nothing to hide or to be ashamed of should have no concerns answering those or any other questions about their performance as school board members.
The members of the board have an obligation to answer to their constituents. Those constituents include every citizen of Fairfield County, not just those people who like or support them. The board members have brought all this controversy on themselves by not fulfilling that obligation. With the authority granted to them by the citizens comes reciprocal accountability to the citizens – all the citizens.
The board members are not normal, private citizens. They are elected officials who have responsibilities to the positions they hold and the people they represent. That includes answering questions and defending their actions.
What else can you say? You can defend the actions of the board on the merits of those actions. But first, you or the board members would have to explain exactly what the board has done.
That’s what else you can say.
If you cannot prove theft, you may be in double-trouble.
I kinda like you, Soduki. I sure would hate to see your tax money dwindle to a trickle. Look up libel. I think you will see that YOU HAVE BEEN SUCKERED IN. YOU TOOK THE BAIT.
WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY?
I hate to tell you this, but no one gives a flip who you are. You spoke of "we." You want to tell us who "we" is? Don't get me wrong. I could care less, but whoever you are talking about may need to be called into court for their first-hand knowledge of your stats. You would probably make a good witness..even under cross-examination.
Ya know, there are several ways to get rid of this Board you think may abscond money sometime in the future. You are trying to strip them of their powers. The citizens who elected them may want to do the same thing to you.
You could just not vote for them.
You could just go out at "do 'em in." Now, a sin is a sin. To do what you are doing is no different from this.
You ain't got NO right to so adamently try to remove people from a Board, and Board unless you do it properly. Like maybe, impeachment.
Vigilante justice is just as criminal. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU SURE THINK YOU ARE ABOVE THE LAW.
Your prejudices and biases are leading you to false assumptions and blinding you to reality. Just like AntiPoliticalCabal, you have no idea who I am, but it’s obvious from your comments that you have someone specific in mind; someone who you think I am.
I will tell you this, you are both wrong. Neither of you has a clue.
But that’s the point. You have all made this personal and a fight against certain individuals. As I said in an earlier posting, you are all allowing your arrogance and pride to draw a veil across your eyes, and it is this which is keeping you from seeing the truth about yourselves and the truth about the criticisms of the School Board Members. Until you see and accept those truths, you will never take responsibility for what you have been a part of. You will continue to defend the school board by doing the only thing you can: blaming other people for your own faults.
The numbers are not wrong. They are drawn directly from the SC Department of Education’s In$ite report for School Year 2007. Period.
What did the School Board members actually spent that money on? No one knows but them. Was it something more important or better than the idea I illustrated? Only they could say, but they’re not talking. The only conspiracy I see around here is within the board and its supporters.
As for the rest, please feel free to copy and paste all you want. Maybe a good idea will finally reach someone who cares. Maybe the current School Board will see just how they could make some extraordinarily good things happen for our school district if they only put the district ahead of them selves. Maybe they could get an idea of just how they could spend that extra 1% on the schools instead of their own agendas.
Maybe they will get a clue.
So, playing your litttle game and assuming all is correct (information grossly lacking), the Reggie Lloyd should have dragged them off in handcuffs.
What is more...the courts have to decide the issue. Some people went about it the wrong way.
Why did you not speak out earlier? Were you "conspiring" with the others?
Your credibility is full of __ __ ___ ___ and holes.
Did you ask the Board members about this? If something is financially amiss (no proof anywhere), your having evidence or even nonsupported suspicians and your failure to act on them would seem to me to make you a co-"conspirator", perhaps?
The Board members who accepted these "monies" whether knowingly or unknowinly along with the ones who set up this scheme WOULD ALREADY BEEN BEHIND BARS.
You are making allegations based on a hypothetical that could really cause you some trouble, I would think.
You just accused the current board, along with McSwain and Drake, of STEALING. I will get this information to Reggie tonight. He can track down a needle in a haystack. I hope that your accusations do not backfire on you. How long have you known this and kept it a secret? Ooohhh. Tough to swallow all of this. What are your motives in commtitting so much time to this issue?
Good luck. Do you mind if I copy your work and mass mail it? Thanks.
co"conspirator
You talk a good game just like the previous superintendent that you so heavily supported.
Want to speak on her character?
How about yours?
Ok, for everybody else, here's some facts and perspective. It's a bit long, but I think some might find a bit of enlightenment in it.
So, what’s the real deal behind the numbers? I mean, why is everybody so upset?
The school board is actually pretty close to the magical 70% that both HR 4431 and S 1113 require for instructional expenditures. In fact, going by the School Year 2007 In$ite budget posted by the SC Department of Education, Fairfield County School District was at 69.02%. That is a combination of the Instruction category at 52.50% and the Instruction Support category at 16.52%. The data is not readily available for School Year 2009, and of course 2010 is still in progress. But there’s no real reason to think that the more current figures wouldn’t be pretty close to the 2007 numbers.
In fact, when you actually look at the overall numbers, they really don’t look so bad. What’s the problem then? The problems are with the sub-categories for School Board and Superintendent and Legal Expenses. The first of these two, School Board and Superintendent, is at 1.44%. That doesn’t sound bad at all until you realize that number is out of a total budget of over $44 million.
That works out to a total of $635,197 for the six people in question (the superintendent and 5 board members). Now, Dr. Robinson certainly deserves what ever her salary is. She is, after all, the de facto CEO of an operation with almost a $50 million a year budget, which has hundreds of employees, and services the direct needs of some 3,500 customers (the students) spread out over hundreds of square miles. So, for the sake of discussion, lets say that Dr. Robinson’s salary is $135,000 (and to repeat, I don’t know what her actual compensation is). That means that the 5 members of the School Board spent over $500,000, over a half of a million dollars, on themselves.
If you’re keeping track, that’s over $100,000 for each board member. But maybe that doesn’t do Dr. Robinson justice. (And I’m not kidding around here: The scope of her duties and responsibilities is seriously large.)
Let’s suppose then that Dr. Robinson makes $250,000. That could very well be a reasonable salary when compared to her peers, and again, at this point in the game, I certainly wouldn’t argue that she’s not worth every penny of that and then some.
So, that would leave our 5 board members only (!) spending $77,000 each. That’s a mere $385,000. But hold that thought, though, for a moment. We still have the Legal Expenses sub-category to look at.
Legal Expenses for School Year 2007 were only 0.27% of the budget. Again, looks like chump change until you do the math. That’s actually $118,097 in real money!
After subtracting Dr. Robinson’s hypothetical salary of $250,000, the combined Legal Expenses and the School Board totaled $503,294. A cool half-mil.
So, what could that money have gotten the school district if our board members hadn’t squandered it? Well, here’s where the exercise gets fun. Let’s do some math!
Fairfield County School District had about 3,500 students in School Year 2007. Let’s see how much that cool half-mil would have been per student. $503,294 / 3,500 = $143 per every student in Fairfield County. But maybe that’s being unreasonable. After all, the school board probably does have some legitimate expenses. Let’s only give each child $100. (That leaves 3,500 times $43 for the board, or $150,500. Think they could get by on that?)
Now, what could we do with an extra $100 per child? I know! Let’s give every senior and junior in Fairfield Central High School a laptop computer. And while we’re at it, let’s also install WiFi in the High School. (I mean, common, what fun is a brand new laptop computer if you can’t surf the web between classes?)
Oh, while we’re at it, let’s budget $1,250 for each classroom of 25 students in every grade, K-12!
Impossible, you say! No, it isn’t (or wasn’t, since that 2007 money is gone).
Here’s how it could have been done. We take 3,500 students times $100 each, and we get $350,000. (Remember, we started with $500,000!) Now, let’s budget half, or $50 for every one of those students, K-12. That’s $175,000.
Now, Fairfield County Central High School has about 1000 students, grades 9-12. So, we have about 500 seniors and juniors. We still have $175,000, and when we divide that by the 500 juniors and seniors, we get $350 per student. Now, call me naive, and I know you can’t go down to Best Buy and pick up a laptop for $350, but I bet if you get on the phone with Dell and said:
“Hi, Dell. I represent the Fairfield County, SC School District and I’d like to buy 500 laptop computers. Here’s my problem, I can only spend $350 for each. What can you do for me and my kids?”
What do you want to bet that Dell would be happy to build 500 laptops for you at $350 each, especially if you also told them that you were going to buy 500 computers a year from them for the foreseeable future, because you were committed to putting a computer in the hands of every kid in your school district.
But wait, we still need to get that WiFi installed. Well, the High School still has $50 per student coming, so that works out to $50,000 for the installation and high-speed internet for the year. (And believe me, it doesn’t cost $50,000 to install WiFi in a small office building, much less a high school the size of the one we’re talking about.)
We’re still not through, though. Remember, all the rest of the kids, K-8 still have $50 coming. Again, that works out to $1,250 per 25 student classroom. So, let’s get really creative! Let’s let Dr. Robinson use $1,000 per classroom to motivate her teachers. Maybe she gives each teacher $1000 for classroom supplies, or uses it for incentive bonuses. Get wild with it Dr, Robinson!
That still leaves $10 per student K-8. So, how about somebody get on the phone with Walmart and see if we can give each child a $10 voucher to buy school supplies at Walmart at cost. Just think, empowering the children and their parents. It’s not much, but it says we care and want them to succeed. Start the school year right and get some school supplies.
Oh, what about the poor school board members? Well, when we left them about 10 paragraphs ago, they still had $150,500. What’s it actually cost them to meet? Hmmm…
5 members times $35 each for per diem times 12 meetings a year… that comes out to $2,100. Ok. They get mileage to and from, at the federal government’s rate of $0.49 a mile, let’s be generous and say that each of them drives 30 miles round trip, times 12 trips a year, times 5 board members for a total of $882 a year for gas. Add that up and you get $2,982 a year for the costs of 12 school board meetings.
That still leaves them $147,518. I guess if Dell doesn’t want to do a deal on the computers, the board could chip in another $100,000 (for a total of $550 per laptop) and still have almost $50,000 to run the board’s operations for a year.
But wait! What if the board did this every year? Why, next year we wouldn’t have to buy computers for the senior class, since they were juniors last year and already have computers. (We could be generous and let every senior who graduates take his or her computer home!) So, next year, we could extend the computer purchasing program down to the sophomores, and since we already have the high school wired, we could put WiFi in one of the middle schools and probably put some computers in the classrooms there, too.
Of course, maybe what the school district needs isn’t laptop computers and WiFi, it could well be something else. The point is, we’ll never know what those possibilities could have been, though, but the future still holds promise.
Now remember all the way back at the beginning of this little exercise. Remember what that percentage was for the School Board and Superintendent? It was 1.44%. Do you suppose that the board could ever find an extra 1% to get to that magical 70%? See how much difference 1% makes?
For all you school board members and supporters, this is why the citizens of Fairfield County are ticked-off about how you conduct your selves and our school district’s business. You’re not just wasting our money; you’re squandering the futures of our children!
Since I am finished with this irritation task, I refuse to read any more of your uneducated, arrogant omments. My purpose has been to release everything I know to be factual and to let people grab something other than inuendo. I have accomplished that whether you have an opposing opinion or not.
Get a good romantic mystery and enjoy. It's been nice getting to know you so well from your previous writings. Your self-disclosure has been entertaining. I can refer you to a good psychiatrist if you want to beat a dead horse. I urge you to move on. Let the legislature do their work, the court system will do theirs, and you can vote in the next election.
Sorry if your sensitive feelings are hurt by not reading your comments or responding to whatever additional issues you may have. Toughen your skin and go on with whatever life you have.
Where to start?
First, I’ll pass on the continued personal insults directed toward me (your assumptions that I must be an idol bored housewife, your attempted diminution by constantly referring to me as “SADOKO,” implying that my income is unearned through some inheritance or gift, your ageism, etc.). The same goes for all the personal insults directed at Sen. Coleman and Rep. Brown. They can defend themselves, if they wish. The tone and content of your replies say all that needs to be said about your attitudes towards people who disagree with you.
So, from bottom to top, as you’d have it:
Here are some of the specific school board members’ “behaviors” that I was referring to:
The board members have squandered tens of thousands of dollars of school district money on boondoggle travel costs and fees for the professional development of the board members. Since no improvements in the operations or management of the district have resulted from these expenses (that is, the board members didn’t demonstrably improve in their ability to perform their sworn civic duties after spending this money), we are left with only one explanation: All this money was spent in order to satisfy their own vanities and desires. In either case (professional malfeasance or personal aggrandizement) the board members’ behaviors are unacceptable.
Whether they broke any laws and are criminally liable for their actions remains to be seen. Even if the SLED investigation does not find any criminal wrong-doing, that doesn’t mean that the board members’ actions were professionally or personally ethical or moral. Grownups understand that people can follow the law and still do wrong.
(This seems to be the heart of your dispute with the way HR 4431 has been enacted: it was just done wrong. I don’t believe that to be the case. I believe that its creation has been both legally and ethically correct. The only thing that I see wrong with it is that it took so long to happen.)
The school board members have also hired and fired numerous superintendents, again wasting tens of thousands of dollars and creating a management climate in the school district that has been destructive, needlessly tumultuous, and certainly counter-productive to its smooth and efficient operation. These serial hiring’s and firing’s indicate that either the board was negligent in its due diligence in interviewing and hiring the candidates (so that each of the candidates was found after the fact of hiring to be unqualified or otherwise professionally unsuitable), or the board members made firing decisions based on personality conflicts with the superintendents after they were hired. Again, in either case, their professional competence (behavior) or personal behaviors are unacceptable.
In so far as to the rest, as you put it how their behavior “impacts the audience, the reputation of the District, the education of the children, the socio- economic impact on the home environment, the impact upon the taxpayer, the impressions given to the press…,” I’ll borrow some words from Mr. Warren Bolton who recently wrote in The State Newspaper about a Columbia City Council member:
“[T]here's more to representing a constituency than bringing home the bacon. That representation must be aboveboard and must meet a higher standard; it's true regardless of race, creed or color. While [he] proved himself more than up to the task of helping…, the good he did was overshadowed by the bad.”
The same words could be said about the Fairfield County School Board members’ individual and collective behaviors. Any good that they have done has long since been overshadowed by the bad. Too many board members have held themselves to be above any criticism and have turned to destructive personal attacks and counter-accusations that all of their critics are racist. To date, not one of them has addressed any of the specific issues of their mismanagement on the merits of the criticisms or by disputing or completely explaining any of the reported facts.
Their mismanagement of the school district’s budget has been so bad that it is now costing tens of thousands more of the school district’s dollars to audit the board’s finances and budgets to see exactly where the school district’s money has gone. The board members were all sworn stewards of that money and are bound by their oaths to be accountable for its use, but they cannot make that accounting. Here is yet another example of their unacceptable professional behavior.
We are all human, and none of us are infallible and live mistake-free lives. However, the current board members have arrogantly refused, in the face of constant facts to the contrary, to acknowledge any errors or mistakes in their management of our school district. In the end, it is that arrogance, their refusal to admit any mistakes, to accept any responsibility (personal or collective) for their own decisions and actions, and to blame all their problems, not on themselves, but on imaginings of racial bias that has driven the situation to where it is now.
Had even a single one of the board members come out publicly and said, “When we did this, it was a mistake, and it was wrong. I’m sorry. I’ve learned from this and it will not happen again. Next time, here’s how we’ll do it better,” then the citizens of Fairfield County would have long since forgiven them and moved on to other issues.
But… of course not. It’s always easier to blame others and fall back on old, self-defeating defenses of victimization instead of accepting personal responsibility for one’s own actions. In the end, such defenses hang on the arrogance and pride of the people who use them. Such people are too arrogant and prideful to accept their own responsibility for what has happened as a result of what they have done. They cannot face their own fallibility. However, this time, that pride has truly come before the fall.
Finally, about that mixed metaphor: The mix was mine. It was the illogical contradiction between something “sun setting” and simultaneously coming into being the next day. Thanks for the suggestion, though, but I don’t need to call Mrs. Davis and ask her about that since she taught it to me once already. It’s too bad that she wasn’t still a teacher at WHS when you were a student.
MARCH 5, 2010 – The opposite of a leader is a lemming, a political metaphor for a follower who will do just about anything, including blindly jumping off a cliff, to back a leader.
South Carolina’s General Assembly is full of lemmings – so much so that one top lawmaker privately confided this week that some legislators wouldn’t know where babies came from if they had not been personally involved. MORE
THE HERALD GOES FROM THE BOTTOM UP. NOT THE TOP DOWN.
IS THIS TYPICAL OF FAIRFIELD? GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION? YOU DECIDE. I HAVE NO IDEA.
ALERT: I WILL NOT RESPOND ON THIS ISSUE AGAIN. I HOPE OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION CAN RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS DIRECTED TO THEM HEREIN. I AM PAID AN HOURLY RATE, LIKE MANY OF YOU. I DON’T GET PAID AS TO MY TIME IN WRITING AND RESPONDING IN THE HERALD. THIS MATTER IS UNDER LITIGATION AS MR. COLEMAN SAID. THEY PROBABLY WILL NOT RESPOND. TOO RISKY FOR THEM. MR. COLEMAN COULD LOSE HIS LAW LICENSE AND YOUR VOTE. MR. BROWN COULD LOSE OUT ON VOTES AND LOSE GOOD OL’ BOY FRIENDS. JUST DON’T FORGET TO VOTE. THE COURTS, HERE AND IN WASHINGTON, D.C. WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE.
IF ONLY THE “DELEGATION” HAD INTERVENED WHEN THEY WERE ASKED TO. IF ONLY THEY HAD TALKED LIKE ADULTS TO THE BOARD MEMBERS. DID THEY TALK TO SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS? MY OPINION IS THAT THEY DID, BUT I NEVER WITNESSED IT MYSELF. THINK: HOW DO THEY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IF THEY HAVE NOT SEEN IT WITH THEIR OWN EYES AND EXAMINED ALL SIDES OF THE ISSUE. RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY, THIS IS PREDETERMINED TO BE A RACIAL ISSUE BECAUSE OF THE IMPRESSION THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. NOVEL ISSUES CAN ONLY BE SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO SET A PRECEDEDENT AND/OR CHANGE LAWS. IS THAT THE BOTTOM-LINE AS FAR AS INTENT GOES? WAS THE INTENT RACIAL? YOU MUST MAKE THIS DECISION FOR YOURSELF.
ONE FINAL WORD….WHAT ARE YOU TO DO? PRAY LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER PRAYED BEFORE. PRAY THAT THE CHILDREN ARE PROTECTED AND THAT JUSTICE IS DONE AND HONOR IS MADE PREEMINENT. SEE YA AROUND. GOD BLESS.
LASTLY, WHY DO I NEED TO YELL “BRING IT ON”? They already have. No, I am not thrilled about it. It is going to be a waste of time and money if justice is going to be done. Thank you for trying to put words into my mouth. Obviously, from the length of this “comment,” I have used too many words already.
Okay people. My conscience is clear. I have presented the facts to you as I know them to be. I have only on rare occasions given my opinion. YOURS IS JUST AS GOOD AS MINE. When I gave my opinion you will note that I indicated that it was my opinion and what my opinion was based upon. I asked questions of SADOKU to be sure that I address her points within the bounds of decency and fair dealings. I expect you, and I expect our representatives to do the same. That is not asking anything more than common courtesy and professional responsibility.
SADOKU, YOU CAN GO BACK AND EDIT THIS OR YOU CAN DISAGREE OR WHATEVER. ANYONE ELSE MAY DO SO AS WELL. MR. COLEMAN AND MR. BROWN, I HAVE HEARD YOUR “JUSTIFICATIONS” IN THE LIGHT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AND ITS LIMITED REQUIREMENTS. THE PEOPLE OF FAIRFIELD EXPECT MORE OF YOU. NO ONE LIKE FOR THINGS TO BE DONE IN SECRET AND IN AN UNDERHANDED MANNER. DO NOT EXPECT ANYONE TO VOTE FOR A PUBLIC OFFICIAL THAT IS NOT HONERST AND ABOVE-BOARD. DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU WORK FOR US, THE CITIZENS AND TAXPAYERS. YOUR RIGHTS AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP DO NOT GIVE YOU AN UPPERHAND ON ANYONE. THE BALLOT BOX, AND YOUR WIVES, CONTROL YOU. REMEMBER, THE HUSBAND IS THE KING OF THE CASTLE UNTIL THE QUEEN GETS HOME.
HUSH. I KNOW THIS IS TOO LONG. HOWEVER, I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO WILL REGRET THE FACT IF I DO NOT TAKE A STAND ON AN ISSUE THAT IS SURE TO BE CONTROVERSIAL. I DO NOT ENJOY WRITING THIS ANY MORE THAN YOU ENJOY READING IT. TAKE A BREAK AND COME BACK. YOU MAY FEEL GUILTY IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE FACTS WHEN YOU MAKE A JUDGMENT ON OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. I AM ALMOST FINISHED. NOT REALLY. BUT I’M GOING TO QUIT.
SADUKU OR WHOEVER YOU ARE…AS TO YOUR STATEMENTS ABOUT THE BUDGET. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS SO NOT A MIXED METAPHOR . SO WHAT. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. THAT INCLUDES OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. ALL OF THEM.. REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, CREED, FIANANCIAL CAPABILITIES, ABILITIES TO “POLITIC”, ETC. YOU CAN ASK SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT THE METAPHOR THAT COMPARES A CERTAIN UNDIGNIFIED PROFESSION TO OUR GENERAL ASSEMBLY. I AM NOT SAYING IT IS ACCURATE, BUT IT IS FUNNY. I HAVE A BROTHER WHO IS A LAWYER. HE LOVES THE LAWYER JOKES. IF YOU DON’T LAUGH AT YOURSELF, OTHERS WILL DO IT FOR YOU.
YOU’RE SO RICH, SADUKU AND YOU HAVE SO MUCH FREE TIME. I WOULD SUSPECT THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND, IF ANY, WOULD DO A HOUSEHOLD BUDGET. DO YOU EVER HAVE TO AMEND IT? IF YOU DON’T, YOU NEED TO. CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNTANT IF YOU NEED TO. ANYWAY, A SCHOOL BOARD DOES HAVE TO GET THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO APPROVE THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET. DO THEY APPROVE ALL AMENDMENTS? I CERTAINLY HOPE MY TAX MONIES ARE NOT ALLOWING TIME BE SPENT ON AN EMPLOYEEE DOING THAT FOR ALL SCHOOLS. IT IS JUST NOT REASONABLE. YOU GET MY POINT? 70% TODAY IS NOT 70% FOR 180 DAYS. THAT’S HOW LONG CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL EACH YEAR.
I THINK YOU PROBABLY HAVE NOTICED THAT CHILDISH JEALOUSLY PERVADES MANY PEOPLE IN FAIRFIELD. ACCORDING TO SOMEONE WHO PREVIOUSLY COMMENTED ON THIS ISSUE, ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS IS SAID TO WEAR “FUR LINED GLOVES.” HAS ANYONE SAID THIS ABOUT YOU, SADUKO? RIGHT. NOT THAT YOU HAVE HEARD OF. UNFORTUNATELY SOME PEOPLE ARE BITTER WHEN ONE OF THEIR “FRINGE FRIENDS” GETS ONE UP ON THEM. TAKE THESE COMMENTS FOR WHAT THEY ARE WORTH. NOTHING. PETTY WORDS INTENDED TO CHANGE SOMEON E ELSE’S BEHAVIOR.DOES IT WORK? HELL, NO. (YOU GOT A CURSE WORD IN, SO AM I. LOL :) (IS THIS COOL ENOUGH FOR TWO OLD PEOPLE?) I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING PETTY WORDS REFLECT HARSHLY ON THE WRITER, NOT THE READER.
Thank you for allowing the telephone call. At your age, I hope you got a rest. Anyway, I am going to add that your description in your paragraph and the example you used is not a true mixed metaphor. No reflection on you or Ms. Davis, of course. Why don’t you give her a call and let her explain your error.
OKAY. FOR ANYONE TO HOLD THIS BOARD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF PREVIOUS BOARDS IS JUST PLAIN STUPID. IF ANYONE IS A TAXPAYER AND HAS NOT GIVEN ANY PERSONAL EFFORT TO ASSIST THE STUDENT S IN THE DISTRICT, THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO CRITICIZE. NEITHER MR. COLEMAN NOR MR. BROWN HAVE EVER BEEN SEEN BY ANYONE IN THE DISTRICT VISTING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WHEN THEY WERE RUNNING FOR OFFICE, MR. COLEMAN TOLD THE PUBLIC THAT HIS “PLATE WAS TOO FULL” TO DO ANYTHING. IT IS ON TAPE AND IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW OR AS EVIDENCE, IF NEEDED. MR. BROWN, AT OR AROUND THE AGE OF 20, (his first year as a non-teenager, I believe someone told me.) TOLD THE PUBLIC THAT HE WOULD MEDIATE DIFFERENCES AMONG BOARD MEMBERS. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HIS WORDS NEVER MATERIALIZED INTO ACTIONS. THE FACT THAT MR. BROWN GRADUATED FROM RICHARD WINN ACADEMY, AS DID HIS 3 SIBLINGS IS NOT DETERMINIATIVE OF ANY ISSUE, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. I BELIEVE THAT MR. COLEMAN HAS SEVERAL CHILDREN NOW THAT ATTEND AND OTHERS THAT ATTENDED IN THE PAST. DOES THIS INFLUENCE THE ACTIONS OF OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION? I DO NOT KNOW. NO ONE DOES, BUT I AM SURE EVERYONE TAKES IT INTO CONSIDERATION AS A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
I AM OPPOSED TO THE FACT THAT THESE GENTLEMEN ALLEGEDLY CHOSE SEVERAL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS (WHO APPARENTLY HAVE BEEN LOYAL TO HIS CAUSES WHICH COULD AMOUNT TO A CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES TO THEIR FELLOW BOARD MEMBER S, THE TAXPAYERS, THE PARENTS, AND THE CHILDREN OF FAIRFIELD COUN TY). I OPPOSE THE FACT THAT THE CHAIRLADY OF THE BOARD, IN THE LEAST, WAS NEITHER CONSULTED NOR ADVISED OF THIS POSSIBLY PUBLICITY-SEEKING PRESS CONFERENCE. THIS IS NOTHING BUT DETRIMENTAL TO THE BOARD. FAIRNESS DICTATES THAT THEY NOT TAKEE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR POWER TO INFLUENCE THE PUBLIC OF CITIZENS WHO HAVE “SPECIAL INTERESTS.” THE PRESS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN ON TELEVISION SO MANY TIMES THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW WHO RECEIVED ADVANCED NOTICE, AND THOSE WHO DID NOT. TO ME, THIS WAS A STUNT COOKED UP TO TRY TO PERSUADE THE PUBLIC TO SUPPORT THEM AND THEIR “BILLS.” ACCORDING TO LEON HOWARD, THIS MAY HAVE “BACKFIRED ON THEM.” I OPPOSE THE FACT THAT OUR REPRESENTATIVES TOOK ADVANTAGE OF WHAT I SEE TO BE AN ARBITRARY STATE HOUSE “RULE” TO ALLOW SO-CALLED “LOCAL LEGISLATION.” THESE BOYS KNEW THAT THESE BIILS WOULD SLIP THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE WITHOUT TRUE OPPOSITION. THAT SAID SO AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE. THE GOVERNOR KNEW IT, TOO. THE SENATORS SAT ON THEIR HANDS AND DIDN’T VOTE. WHAT A WAY TO INFLUENCE THE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTY IN AN ADVERSE WAY. THIS PROCESS SHOULD BE STOPPED AND STOPPED IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT THE CITIZENS OF OTHER COUNTIES FROM UNDERGOING THE SAME TYPE OF SITUATION. IF IT IS NOT DONE IMMEDIATELY, GOOD OLD FAIRFIELD WILL BE FOOTING THE BILL FOR THE TEST CASE WHICH HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGE D AS BEING “UNUSUAL.” BOTH THE SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION AND SACS HAVE OPPOSED THE BILLS AND SUPPORTS THE SCHOOL BOARD.
You stated that the School Board has a "disregard for the wellbeing of the kids in Fairfield County. You base this statement on the following:
First of all, you state that the current board members are incompetent. You base your opinion on their "behavior" and "the results."
I think it would be reasonable to assume that you are talking about their "behaviors" in their official capacities as Board members and not on a personal level. I also think it would be reasonable to assume that "the results" are the results of the end of the year testing of each student and the overall evaluations of the State Department of Education as to the level of progress made in each of the individual schools.
As to their "behaviors," I would have appreciated your being specific in your application of this term. Do you mean their "behaviors" as it impacts the Board's ability to function as a whole? Or, do you mean their "behaviors" as it impacts the audience, the reputation of the District, the education of the children, the socio- economic impact on the home environment, the impact upon the taxpayer, the impressions given to the press, etc. Since you did not specify, I will give my opinion as to an overall competence evaluation of the general behavior of the current Board.
Have you ever attended a Board meeting? If not, I do not think that you can make a valid evaluation. Do you watch the Board meetings on television? If so, are you watching closely and objectively? Are your judgments influenced by the use of alcohol as you are watching? If not, I would be very careful in making a judgment of an individual acting in an official capacity. Unless you are able to substantiate your opinions based upon relevant and competent evidence, your opinion could be considered invalid and can be subject to utmost scrutiny.
Further, may I ask if you have, within the last 10 years, circulated around the schools to determine the overall competence of the students, the teachers, or the administration? If you have not, then what are you basing your opinion on as the "the results"?
Also, I ask you, what have you done in the last ten years to help the improvement level of any of the schools? Have you volunteered as a substitute teacher? A tutor? A "lunch buddy"? Have you tried to improve the socio-economic standards of any child in the District? Have you, as a taxpayer, evaluated the District's budget computations? Have you, as an individual ,ever presented a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act of the State of South Carolina?
You stated that you paid combined taxes in the amount of $72,000 for county, federal, and state taxes. Congratulations. Is that based upon monies you have worked hard for OR is that from some inheritance or gift or personal injury money? Are you living in some invisible mansion in the County of Fairfield or are you land rich and penny poor?
I normally am not a braggart; but, as I told you before, my husband and I exceeded your amount. I say that only in fairness to you since you so willingly provided your personal information to the public. We have contributed monies and time to the School District of Fairfield as well as to the students and their parents. I will not ask you where your children, if any, are receiving or have received their education(s). I will tell you, though, that my children graduated from the public school and not Richard Winn Academy.
I am proud that we have contributed to the School District. If you have not, your financial stability should have prompted you to participate in such giving. Everyone pays taxes. That alone, to me, does not give anyone a sufficient right to criticize another's execution of their civil duty to the community. If anything, your grasp of your monies should bring shame to you and your family. Those who can, do.
Furthermore, you stated as follows:
.... I got my education from some damn fine teachers who spent their lives in front of Fairfield Country public school classrooms (teachers like Mrs. Queen Davis). I will not dwell on your emotionality in using the word "damn." Nor will I comment on the fact that you wrote..."Fairfield CountRy." I will say that I, too, went to Winnsboro High School for several years. I am sure Ms. Davis was a good teacher. Sometimes, some students just do not "get it." Do they? Most of the teachers that I had were all terminated during the 1970's. You must be older than I in that Ms. Davis was not teaching when I was there. I have sufficient knowledge of Ms. Davis to say that I do believe that her children attended a private school, not a public school. I have no personal understanding as to her and her husband's reasoning. I do know that the children of that era deserved an "adequate" education under State law just as those that are attending now do.
SO, ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE CURRENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR MISSPELLING OF THE WORD "County"? I sure hope you are not saying that. Your words do indicate that you feel that this
Board’s obligation to this County extends way into the past. Tell me what this particular Board has done that has not been proper and that deserves your ire.
SLED has been in the District on several previous occasions and did not find any discrepancies. Reggie Lloyd has said that there is a current investigation. Has he brought any charges of embezzlement or other short-comings on the part of this Board? No. You should know Fairfield well enough to know that people frequently fling around allegations with absolutely NO relevant or competent support.
tbc