The Charleston County School District’s board of trustees spent the majority of 2023 roiled in controversy and politically charged division, but the new chair said he thinks the group is poised for a stable, successful year.
Keith Grybowski of Mount Pleasant, who was elected in 2022 with financial backing and endorsements from right-wing political group Moms For Liberty (M4L), took the leadership role at the end of 2023. He said his top priorities are balancing the district’s budget, which is set to lose millions in pandemic relief funding this year, and implementing new statewide curriculums. But he didn’t mention improving student outcomes as a top priority until he was prompted.
City Paper: So let’s get started: Why did you want to be chair?
Keith Grybowski: I think the year of being on [the Audit and Finance Committee] — I really think that any chair really should start there… I do believe going forward, one of my recommendations would be that to be considered for chair, you really need to be involved in audit and finance, so that you understand the budget. The budget to me is probably one of the most critical things, and this year will probably be the most difficult budget this district has ever had to put together.
CP: Why?
KG: Because we don’t have the [federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief] (ESSER III) funding. ESSER III is the ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] money that was given to the district to recover from learning loss — Covid money. … There was ESSER I and ESSER II. Combined it was about $268 million.
CP: So you have to retain teachers somehow and continue to make school improvements. What are the other challenges now?
KG: We already know going forward, maybe not this year, but in upcoming years, just staying where we are right now, we’d have to raise revenue somehow. Back out the money we’re relying on now with these ESSER funds, which end in September, and you have a logical hole. …
When that money goes away, you have to make some hard decisions as to what we’re going to fund. No other board has had to walk into an abyss. We’re doing impact studies right now trying to figure out which programs we can try to hold onto, which programs are really working, but at the same time, we’re going to have to find revenue for those programs because they’re not in our existing budget.
CP: When you took over as chair, besides dealing with the mammoth task of the budget, did you have other things you wanted to accomplish? What are your goals for the year?
KG: The budget obviously is the No. 1 goal, hands down. No. 2 is the implementation of the new ELA [English Language Arts] curriculum the state is rolling out. That’s going to take off in January, and you’ll see a lot of public involvement and district disclosure.
CP: Anything else big on your to-do list?
KG: Those are really the two that you know are coming. I believe the district right now is very stable. It’s in good hands. Anita Huggins is doing a great job as acting superintendent.
CP: I would think most people out there haven’t seen you guys as relatively stable. There’s lots of dissent. How can you convince people you are stable?
KG: You got eight new members — it was a learning curve. I wouldn’t say it was the smoothest year. Do I think people have learned a lot about what has happened? Yes. Do I think we were fully prepared to hire a superintendent? No. But did we learn a lot from how we did it? Yes.
CP: So where are we in the hiring process now?
KG: We have an acting superintendent.
CP: Is there a search going on at this moment?
KG: Not at this moment that I am aware of.
CP: In the next 11 months as chair, is hiring a new superintendent a top priority?
KG: It would be third on my list.
CP: Shifting back to the stability of the board, how can you speak for the nine people on the board when there’s a very big divide between five and four on that board. Do you speak for the four all the time?
KG: No, I do not.
CP: How can you fix that? Because that’s part of your job.
KG: Hopefully work to get a better consensus. … I am one vote, and whenever I vote, I vote because I represent my constituents, and I try to represent all the students in the district.
On education outcomes
CP: I haven’t heard you say anything that a lot of the four are always talking about: improving student outcomes. What’s the sense there?
KG: My job is to hire a superintendent and rely on a superintendent to fulfill the mission you just described. My job is to give her — or him — the resources necessary and then to conduct oversight on this person as to whether they are accomplishing the job.
So ultimately, the No. 1 priority is student outcomes. That’s just logic. But yes, to accomplish that, I have to rely on the person I have control over. The stuff I’ve been talking about, the budget, the curriculum, those are all tools.
CP: But if it’s not made the priority, and we’re talking instead of budget and hiring superintendents, or curricula, is the message of student outcomes getting lost?
KG: Title 59 makes student outcomes the No. 1 priority. That is your ultimate, ultimate, ultimate goal: Student outcomes. … If you go back and look at the superintendent’s report, the academic officer’s report, all they talk about is test scores. So there is a lot of discussion on student outcomes, so I disagree with you in saying that the board doesn’t talk about it.
On Moms for Liberty
CP: The biggest criticism about the current school board is the link to Moms For Liberty. You may not have gone out and asked for M4L support, but you got it. … What do you think when you read in our paper and others that you’re a M4L-affiliated board member?
KG: I was endorsed by The Post and Courier and a couple left-leaning organizations. Moms For Liberty — when they endorsed me, I got a lot of calls. I’m a moderate, hands-down. I really wish we had more moderates on the board — I believe Pam McKinney is a moderate too. Pam and I are very closely aligned in our beliefs.
I think it’s unfair, totally unfair, to think that Moms for Liberty has anything to do with the way I vote or think. An endorsement is just that. Do I think Moms For Liberty had a very strong grassroots movement during my election period? Yeah. But I had 9,000 votes. People know me. I’ve been in Mount Pleasant for 25 years.
CP: Moms For Liberty has policy goals and visions for this district. Do you support them?
KG: None of them have come up in any of the issues that I think we’ve been faced with to date. I’m not aware of any.
Andy Brack contributed to this story. Read the full story on charlestoncitypaper.com.
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