9/29 NEWSBREAK: Charleston principals disappointed with school board, letter says

Principals from 16 Charleston County School District (CCSD) high schools sent a letter Wednesday to school board members expressing “profound disappointment” over behavior and actions during recent meetings, including this week’s decision to put the new superintendent on paid administrative leave pending an unspecified investigation.

The board voted Monday to place Dr. Eric Gallien on paid administrative leave in a 5-4 vote. The board’s majority faction was backed by conservative group Moms For Liberty. The reason behind the investigation or the administrative leave has not been provided.

“The politics of party have no place in a system devoted to educating all students,” the letter said. “Both in terms of substance and conduct, the meeting did not meet basic standards of good governance that we expect from ourselves, our leaders and our elected officials.”

The group continued to express disappointment in denying the school district’s interim chief academic officer, Michelle Simmons, from officially assuming the role without explanation and said it hoped the letter reminds the board of the influence it has on students.

“High school principals walk the halls of school buildings daily and explain to students in their formative years that we live in a community where adults genuinely care about children,” they said. “We are just reminding you that they are watching us and they are watching you – both your actions and your conduct.”

In City Paper news today:

CP OPINION: Bad governance is just plain bad for the Charleston area, state, nation

“But what was pretty good governance no longer seems to be the norm in a political environment marked from top to bottom with bitterness, enmity, foul temperaments, division and anti-government rhetoric that pillories the common good and common sense of compromise, fairness, truth and real public service.”

CP CARTOON:

Ariail: Moms for anything but…
Stegelin: Proper vax promotion

CP NEWS: Signs to tell the story of Four Hole Swamp freedom seekers. Four Hole Swamp has been recognized as one of nine sites in South Carolina on the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom Program, which honors, preserves and promotes the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.

CP NEWS: Riverfront Revival returns for 2nd year. Riverfront Revival brings good old rock ‘n’ roll, country and Americana music to the Lowcountry Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 when it returns to North Charleston’s Riverfront Park.

CP FOOD: Searching for Charleston’s best hangover burger. Charleston is a drinking town, with binge drinking of alcohol well above the national average. For those who choose to imbibe, there’s no better food to cure a hangover than a juicy, fat-laden burger.

Charleston City Paper announces Burger Throwdown 2023 winners

CP FOOD: Charleston Climate Coalition fundraiser marries cuisine, arts, action. On Oct. 5, the Charleston Climate Coalition (CCC) is hosting its first Farm-to-Planet Sustainable Supper and Soiree, a culinary event highlighting climate activism in the Lowcountry.

In other news:

Authorities shoot, kill man on Johns Island after 26-hour manhunt. Law enforcement authorities in Charleston County on Thursday shot and killed a Johns Island man wanted for attempted murder after a 26-hour manhunt. The search for 38-year-old Ernest Robert Burbage III ended soon after he shot and killed a police dog on Johns Island. He had been on the run since Wednesday after he shot at a passing car, wounding a passenger, and later shot a sheriff’s deputy, who was released after treatment.

Longtime Charleston family tire company sold. The business operations of Hay Tire Co.’s four locations across the Lowcountry have been acquired by FastLap LLC, an industry newcomer that’s establishing its headquarters in Fort Mill.

Charleston to launch first phase of new tidal, stormwater flood plan. Charleston is launching the Tidal and Inland Flooding Feasibility Project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess stormwater and tidal flooding across the city, with the goal of finding new methods to address the problem

Lowcountry Youth Services evicted from headquarters. Lowcountry Youth Services has been meeting at the Fishburne Campus for six years, but come Oct. 1, it will have to find a new spot.

Charleston construction company announces $13M HQ expansion. Frampton Construction, a full-service construction firm, is growing its regional headquarters with a $12.9 million expansion in Charleston County, creating 69 new jobs.