A group of concerned parents gathered at the Fairfield County Recreation complex Thursday night to speak out against local legislation that will change the way the Fairfield County School Board operates.

Sponsored by the Fairfield Parents Association Inc., the meeting allowed parents a chance to ask questions as well as hear from individuals opposing the two new bills introduced last week by Sen. Creighton Coleman and Rep. Boyd Brown.

Thomas Armstrong, president of FPA, said he felt the bills were not introduced properly and that the local legislative delegation is trying to force the legislation down the throats of Fairfield County residents.

“Sen. Coleman and House Rep. Brown decided that when the citizens go to the polls and vote, that’s not good enough. They need to appoint someone to oversee us, but we elect them, we elect the county as well, but our vote for the school board is not good enough,” he said.

Armstrong has four children in the school system – one fourth-grader, a set of twins in the third-grade and one child in kindergarten.

Armstrong said he is convinced that Coleman and Brown are only concerned about the school system affairs because of the $200 million the county is expected to receive in 2016 and 2019 from VC Summer Nuclear Power Plant when the two new reactors become operational.

“All of a sudden, now when there is $200 million on the line, you want to take part. I am convinced it’s all about the money because you are appointing two additional members to the school board. If you appoint two members to the school board, they don’t answer to the people, the democratic process has just failed,” Armstrong said.

Lake Wateree resident Shirley Greene and Winnsboro resident Ron Smith were appointed by Coleman and Brown, and will join the existing seven school board members if the bill passes.

“You want to appoint a financial committee to oversee the spending of the school board, now what that tells me is if you truly care about our kids’ education then why not appoint a committee over academics to make sure we’re doing everything we can do to bring up academics. Academics does not concern you. Finances, the money is what concerns you,” Armstrong added.

Armstrong went on to say that Coleman’s children are not enrolled in the local school system, and as a youth, Brown did not attend the county’s public school system.   

Agreeing with Armstrong, resident Kirk Chappell said the bills weren’t introduced out of concern about Fairfield County students, but out of concern over money.

“This is a rich man and poor man game in Fairfield County,” Chappell said. “This ain’t no white and black thing in Fairfield County, this is a rich man game and a poor man game. And when you’re poor and you try to raise your voice and you put your research together, guess what they do? They start paying people off and they start coming at you from all angles.”

Chappell is a former school board member.

He also handed out flyers showing how taxes have increased since 2004. According to his information, Fairfield County Council has increased by 65 percent, while Fairfield County Fire board has increased by 519 percent and the Fairfield County Library by 28 percent. The flyer showed that Fairfield County School District has increased the least by 5.5 percent. He said he received his information from the county.

One parent took advantage of the meeting to ask Fairfield County School Board chairman Annie McDaniel if the school board is failing its students.

“There are a lot of statements about how bad our schools are, but a third of our students went to college last year…there are mistakes that we need to work on. Teen pregnancy is bad, but it’s bad all over the state…and no matter what school district you transfer to, if you’re not constantly involved and in somebody’s face, you get the same results,” McDaniel said, adding that she was not aware of the bills until the day of the press conference when Coleman and Brown introduced the two bills.   

Talking briefly about the new appointments, McDaniel added that some districts will have two representatives on the board, while all the other ones will only have one.

School board member Marchella Pauling and Fairfield County council member Kamau Marcharia also attended the meeting.

“I believe democracy should work from the bottom up, rather than the top down,” Marcharia said.  Referring to the bill, he said it’s a legal matter, and someone (not indicating if he meant the school board or the Fairfield Parents Association) should acquire a lawyer and file for an injunction.   

He also said that more than 20 years ago the Justice Department outlawed the appointment of boards in Fairfield County, and he can’t imagine them changing that decision.

The Fairfield Parents Association Inc. will meet again on Thursday at 7 p.m.