Charleston lawmakers, four members of the Charleston County Board of Trustees and community members are seeking answers for recent board actions fueled by a conservative majority of five trustees. Among the concerns: why new Superintendent Eric Gallien is on paid administrative leave after a closed session that is drawing charges of the board’s lack of transparency.
On Monday, S.C. Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, asked S.C. Attorney General to look into what’s going on with the school board: “It has come to my attention that certain members of the Charleston County School Board, known to be backed by the Moms For Liberty organization, have engaged in a series of actions that may potentially constitute violations of the law, including racially motivated and possibly rising to the level of hate-crime offenses.”
Other S.C. lawmakers, such as S.C. Rep. Joe Bustos, R-Charleston, reached out to Gov. Henry McMaster and the state inspector general to investigate any violations of the state’s open meetings law.
The school board voted 5-4 on Sept. 25 to place Gallien on paid administrative leave following a complaint that hasn’t been aired in public.
Four trustees not in the majority coalition of the board on Monday called on the rest of the board to rescind its decision on Gallien and demanded answers about why the board decided not to hire a qualified, recommended candidate to be the district’s chief administrative officer.
More than 70 people attended the Monday press event by the four trustees. Community members were encouraged to get active and let board members know their positions on issues related to local schools.
When asked what could be done about the board’s apparently illegal use of executive sessions, trustee Courtney Waters said, “The discussion needs to happen in the public so that the public can weigh in and give us input on what is right for this district.”
In other news:
CP NEWS: Nutmobile spends the weekend in the Lowcountry. The peanut-shaped Planters Nutmobile stopped in the Charleston area at The Rise Coffee Bar in Charleston to celebrate National Coffee Day and at Holy City Brewing for a beer and nut pairing.
Former Citadel President Watts dies. The Citadel announced that Lt. Gen. Claudius “Bud” Watts III, a former president of the state’s military college, passed away Sunday at 87 years-old.
S.C. gas prices see another small drop. Gas prices in South Carolina have fallen nearly 6 cents over the past week to an average of $3.25 per gallon.
Affordable housing unit at old Archer school to be ready by next year. The renovation project to convert the former Archer School on Nassau Street to affordable housing is currently underway. Council members said units will be available in the coming months after a recent visit to the construction site.
Some hope to preserve unmarked graves near Gadsden Creek. Community members and city leaders are working to protect the potential unmarked burial sites of enslaved people and migrants from the 18th and 19th century from future development.
S.C. tech firm extends ‘poison pill’ to discourage unwanted buyout bids. Daniel Island-based Blackbaud Inc.’s board of directors unanimously approved extending the shareholder rights plan that was supposed to end Oct. 2 to discourage hostile takeover attempts.
- To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.
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