Blythewood Online 691

Category: Schools

  • Rookie Teacher of the Year

    BLYTHEWOOD – Muller Road Middle School’s physical education teacher, Emily McElveen, center, has been named the December Rookie Teacher of the Block for Richland School District Two. “Ms. McElveen models the positive character traits she expects for her students in and out of the classroom,” Muller Road Principal Sean Bishton said. “Students want to do well because they know she is expecting them to, and they do not want to let her down.” The award is being presented by H&R Block representative Joe Carraway and Dr. Sophia Cornish.

  • Good Job!

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood High School drama team was recognized at the Richland Two School Board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8, for being named one of the two top state winners in the SC Theater competition in November. The students will next compete in the Southeastern Theater Conference competition in Knoxville, TN. From left (back row): BHS Adminstrator David Coyne, Jesse Elliott, Kira Chiles, Ellie Feuerstein, board member Monica Elkins-Johnson, Marvin Jacobs, Jenna Kiser, Jacob Rubino, Jerry Windhorn and Audrey Winstead. Front row: Isabella Butler, Jennifer Warner, Em Estebanez, Anne Heiler, Kaycee Dial, Lily Campbell, Sophie Pirich, Matthew Kerr and teacher/director Sandra Dietel. Not pictured is  Sofia Lynch.

  • Beacons of Light

    BLYTHEWOOD – After earning the ‘Leader in Me Lighthouse School’ designation, Round Top Elementary has gone on to achieve ‘Leader in Me Lighthouse School of Academic Distinction.’ Of the 4000 schools that have adopted Leader in Me, only about 300 have achieved Lighthouse certification.  That achievement is earned in several ways such as showing exemplary academic growth or proficiency as measured by state accountability standards. Round Top Elementary ranks in the 97.1 percentile in the state.

    Representation Round Top Elementary at a recent school board meeting where they were honored are, front row: Sam Frierson, left, (holding Micah Sumpter), Clarissa Bennett, Jeaneen Tucker (Principal), Brandon Schirmer, Tami Covert, December Sumpter (holding Mark). Second row: Brett Frye, left, Nichole Timmerman. Third row: Missi Paschoal, Tania Johnson, Jessica Bennett, Nikki Dennis, Greg Lewis. Fourth row: Heather High, right, Susan Neal, Ashby Sanders, Ramonica Pendarvis. Fifth row, left:  Robin Cleckley, Nekita Marlin, Dawn Ray, Mary Kay Herrera, Shaina Manuel, Cheryl Beacham, Caroline Shaver.

  • BHS teacher selected for European program

    Auspelmyer

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Blythewood High School teacher Scott Auspelmyer is one of 18 educators from across America who have been selected to participate in Memorializing the Fallen — a teacher professional development program that will take place in Europe in June.  Sponsored by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, the program takes educators to rediscover the history of World War I to invigorate its teaching in America’s classrooms. The trip will culminate with the teachers attending the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (end of World War I) at the Palace of Versailles.

  • R2 ethics flap prompts call for resignations

    McKie’s Ethics Fine Increases to $51K+
    R2 parent Rhonda Meisner, left, addresses Board Chair Amelia McKie and calls for her resignation. | Michael Smith

    BLYTHEWOOD – Amelia McKie didn’t respond to a public call for her resignation Tuesday in the first Richland Two school board meeting of the year amid mounting ethics fines for the board chair.

    After missing a recent payment deadline, McKie now owes nearly $52,000 to the South Carolina Ethics Commission, an agency spokesperson confirmed last week.

    In July 2018, the commission fined McKie $41,000 as part of an eight-count complaint that said she failed to file quarterly campaign disclosure reports.

    McKie was ordered to pay the first $20,000 by New Year’s Eve. She missed that deadline, meaning the total fine increases to $51,750, according to the complaint.

    “No payments were made prior to Dec. 31, 2018 and the fine amount for that particular order reverts as outlined in the order,” an ethics commission representative said via email.

    Richland Two parent Rhonda Meisner called for McKie’s resignation while speaking during the second public comment period at Tuesday night’s meeting.

    “I would respectfully request that you resign from the school board,” Meisner said from the lectern. “I think that as a person you’re a very nice person, you’re very sweet, but unfortunately you put the community at risk in my opinion.”

    Meisner pointed to state law, which says candidates who’ve not filed Statements of Economic Interest, or SEI, forms cannot be legally seated until they do.

    Section 8-13-1110 of state law says no public official “may take the oath of office or enter upon his official responsibilities” unless an SEI form is filed.

    State law also says SEI forms must be filed by March 30 each year.

    Board members with previously unfiled SEI forms include James Shadd III, Teresa Holmes and McKie. All have since filed SEI reports following investigative reports by The Voice.

    Holmes and McKie filed their missing SEI forms shortly after The Voice contacted them on Dec. 4, according to the ethics commission’s online database. Shadd III filed his 2017 and 2018 forms on Jan. 7, 2019.

    Meisner said any recent past votes taken by those board members should be invalidated because SEI forms hadn’t been filed when they were sworn in.

    “There are others of you on the board that are in the same situation,” she said. “I would ask that you look at your situation and resign.”

    Board members respond

    Board member Lindsay Agostini, during comments by board members, said, “My integrity and my character are very important to me.” She noted that The Voice’s investigation made it clear that she and James Manning were the only two sitting board members who had filed all their eithics forms on time. Agostini ended her comment saying, “A premier district deserves a premier board.”

    Other Richland Two board members didn’t directly address Meisner’s comments or missing ethics filings listed in public records during the business portion of Tuesday’s meeting.

    However, several made veiled comments from the dais amid the ethics filing fallout. At least two made references to “special interest” groups or attempts to “undermine the district.”

    In a prepared statement, McKie thanked teachers and district staff, encouraging them to “stay the course regardless of the slings and arrows that come your way.”

    “We don’t need to let side things distract us,” board member Teresa Holmes said. “We’re here for the business of educating children. That’s what I’m here for.”

    After the meeting, Holmes declined to comment on McKie or Meisner’s call for board member resignations. She did, however, address what happened with her own 2018 SEI form.

    “I’m brand new to this, I had no idea,” Holmes said. “I’m glad that you actually did the story. Nobody tells you these things when you’re running.”

    Holmes’ 2019 SEI form has already been filed, according to the ethics commission website.

    Others, including board members Monica Elkins-Johnson and Cheryl Caution-Parker, had previously missing quarterly campaign reports. Those reports were filed in December, ethics filings state.

    McKie’s ethics record, though, has the most gaps.

    As of Wednesday morning, McKie still hadn’t filed a campaign disclosure report since here last one in January 2015, according to the ethics commission database.

    An investigation by The Voice also found inconsistencies in her SEI and lobbyist forms, which listed different amounts of income in 2015 and 2016.

    McKie said she soon plans to issue a statement addressing the ethics filings.

    “I’ve been working with the ethics commission to clear up some things that haven’t been accurate, and I’m going to issue a press release about that,” she said.

    If McKie’s fines go unpaid and unresolved, the ethics commission has strategies it can employ to collect.

    In 2015, the commission partnered with the S.C. Department of Revenue to increase ethics debt collection efforts through the DOR’s Setoff Debt Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable, or GEAR, collection programs.

    Debtors who have reached “bad debt status” are referred to the Department of Revenue, according to the Ethics Commission website.

    The Department of Revenue is authorized to garnish wages and tax refunds, or also impose liens to satisfy debts.

    Richland 2 board members are responsible for a $273.9 million annual budget.

    In 2017, school district millage accounted for more than two-thirds of a typical Richland 2 property tax bill, according to a report by the S.C. Association of Counties.

  • Super’s evaluation documents incomplete

    Salary Info Obtained With FOI Request

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County school board members voted to extend Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green’s contract another year, but individual evaluations remain shrouded in secrecy.

    The district, which has a $43 million budget and whose millage is more than half of a typical property tax bill, released only four evaluations from the seven-member board.

    In addition, the forms that were released were anonymously written, making it impossible to determine how individual board members rated Green.

    On Dec. 18, board members voted 4-1 to extend Green’s contract by one year to 2024. Paula Hartman voted in opposition.

    The Voice requested individual evaluations the following day through the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, but the district didn’t provide the documents – consisting of four pages and a cover sheet – until Monday, Jan. 7.

    Public bodies have 10 business days to respond to FOIA requests, according to state law.

    Jay Bender, a media law attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, said taxpayers are entitled to know precisely how school boards evaluate the superintendent.

    “If the board members are evaluating the superintendent anonymously, that doesn’t seem like much of an evaluation to me,” Bender said. “If they’ve structured a process where the evaluations are all anonymous, it seems to me that that’s worthless.”

    Board chairman William Frick couldn’t be reached for comment late Tuesday to address why only four evaluations were released or why they were conducted anonymously.

    What the evaluations said

    Three of the four evaluations give Green an “exemplary” rating in each of five categories: Community Engagement, Student Achievement, Leadership, Learning Environment and Fiscal Management.

    The fourth form gave Green a “proficient” rating in Leadership and Learning Environment, and exemplary in the other three categories.

    None of the evaluations released to The Voice gave Green a “needs improvement” ranking in any category.

    Only two evaluations include written comments.

    One board member praised Green for his “excellent fiscal management” and “continued improvements” in student achievement.

    “I enjoy working with Dr. Green,” another board member wrote. “We need make it harder [sic], going too good!”

    The glowing comments align with what a majority of board members stated publicly at the December board meeting.

    “I’m glad we can essentially tie him down one additional year,” Frick said.

    Board member Henry Miller said that Green is a heavily recruited superintendent, claiming that Richland One previously was interested in hiring him.

    “They were definitely wanting him to leave us,” Miller said. “I’m just glad we have him. He’s a hot commodity all over the state.”

    Hartman, who cast the lone dissenting vote, didn’t think extending Green’s contract was necessary. She said three-year contracts are standard in most school districts.

    “I don’t think whether it’s three years or six years, it’s telling someone that we don’t want them,” Hartman said. “I don’t understand why we continue to keep it at six years.”

    Frick said maintaining continuity with the superintendent is critical.

    “We had a slight history in this district of superintendents not necessarily staying,” he said. “That was I believe a serious destabilizing effect on the community.”

    Superintendent’s salary

    Green said the contract extension is important to him because he interprets it as a vote of confidence from the board. He added that he has not asked for a salary increase.

    That prompted Hartman to ask Green to publicly state his salary, but Green stated that he didn’t know it.

    In response to The Voice’s FOIA request, the district listed Green’s annual salary at $182,287. His current annuity contribution is $29,165, documents state.

    Green’s salary ranks toward the high end of Midlands area school districts, according The State newspaper’s online salary database.

    Richland One Superintendent Craig Witherspoon makes the most at $222,895.29, followed by Lexington One Superintendent Gregory Little at $204,373.

    Dr. Baron Davis, superintendent of Richland Two, makes $193,903, followed by Green, according to the database.

    Christina Melton, superintendent of Lexington-Richland 5, follows at $175,000. The superintendents of Lexington 2, 3, and 4 make less than $169,000, the database states.

     

  • Bush stocks closet for homeless students

    Belva Belton, left, and Sandra Cammon, who operate Closet to Closet, receive donations from Leah Branham and her dad Eddie, located at the Learning Center. | Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – A Ridgeway woman is being heralded as an inspiration for her enduring work to provide resources and support to local students and families in need through Closet to Closet, a program supplying a variety of gently used school uniforms, clothing and shoes for the family, bedding and other household items.

    Belva Bush Belton, the registrar and attendance supervisor at Fairfield County School District, initiated the program four years ago when a state law was passed requiring school districts to provide a liaison to identify students experiencing homelessness. Belton and volunteer Sandra Cammon, a bus driver for the school district, operate the Closet, located in the Learning Center at 250 Roosevelt Street (behind the former Fairfield High School).

    While the Closet initially served only homeless students, Belton has since opened it to all families in the community who are in need, especially those who are victims of house fires and other crisis events.

    During the last four years, Belton has worked tirelessly to reach out to students and families within that scope, but more recently her actions have far surpassed just identifying the need.

    “I guess you could say I go above and beyond, but really I do what I know is needed,” Belton stated.

    Each year at the start of the new school year, Belton is tasked with identifying any students who qualify as “in need”. Those needs, she said, may include a lack of transportation to or from school, assistance with covering fees for field trips or school supplies, or even purchasing school pictures. Others, she said, may have far greater needs.

    “Through the years I have learned that helping students with just their school needs was not nearly enough,” Belton stated.

    Belton said she has found that the families of many of the students need food and housing. Most, she said, are in a “doubled-up” situation, where families are living with other families in a home that is not their own, such as a mother and her children moving in with the grandmother. Others, she said, were without any home at all.

    “Occasionally, I find families who are living in a vehicle. That’s when I start making emergency calls and get them in a hotel and connect them with groups for food and clothing,” she stated.

    Having grown up in Fairfield County herself, Belton said her greatest strength is her connection with the community. She said those connections make resources far more accessible.

    In 2011, Belton was awarded the WIS/Mungo Homes Community Builders award after she successfully turned an unused room in the Learning Center into a thrift-type store for her families. Operating every Wednesday, the store, through continuous donations from the community, has grown to now include furniture.

    Other organizations have set up an Angel Tree program in which Belton’s students or families can be adopted anonymously by local residents who provide them with Christmas gifts.

    That support, Belton said, has helped her continue her efforts year after year. During the 2017-2018 school year, she assisted 114 families. For the 2018-2019 year, she has already helped 104 families with five months still left on the school year.

    “It gets tough at times, when the numbers are so high, but when the community joins me in supporting these families, it just reignites my motivation,” she stated.

    “It would be impossible for me to do what I do without help. Area businesses, churches, civic organizations and families in the community have helped me in a big way.”

    Still, she said her work is never done.

    At the end of the school year, Belton will begin contacting those families on her list to determine if they can be removed from her program. It can be the most rewarding time of the year for her, she said, but it can be one of the hardest as she sees some families continuing to struggle with their same vices.

    That is where she has laid plans for the second chapter of her work. Even though retirement for her is still years down the road, Belton said she hopes, after retirement, to continue this work by creating a long-term “transitional housing” facility within the area.

    “There are some families who find themselves in a tough situation more than once because they have never been taught how to handle finances, or they return to the same temptations that put them in a bad position in the first place. With transitional housing, I would be better able to control their surroundings and prepare them for success,” Belton stated.

    Belton said she plans, after her retirement, to seek out grants that would make her transitional housing dream a reality.

    “This work is my passion. It has been the most rewarding job I have ever had, and I certainly do not intend on stopping any time soon,” she said.

    The Closet is open each Wednesday from 9 – 11:30 AM but also opens up by appointment for those who may be in immediate need. For more information contact Belva Bush Belton at Fairfield County School District Office (803)635-4607.

  • McKie’s ethics fine jumps to nearly $52K

    BLYTHEWOOD – Amelia McKie’s ethics debts keep mounting.

    After missing a recent payment deadline, the Richland Two school board chair now owes nearly $52,000 in fines to the South Carolina Ethics Commission, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

    McKie

    In July 2018, the commission fined McKie $41,000 as part of an eight-count complaint that said she failed to file quarterly campaign disclosure reports.

    McKie was ordered to pay the first $20,000 by New Year’s Eve. She missed that deadline, meaning the total fine increases to $51,750, according to the complaint.

    “No payments were made prior to 12/31/18 and the fine amount for that particular order reverts as outlined in the order,” an ethics commission representative said via email.

    Attempts to reach McKie have been unsuccessful.

    In 2015, the ethics commission partnered with the S.C. Department of Revenue to increase ethics debt collection efforts through the DOR’s Setoff Debt Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable, or GEAR, collection programs.

    Debtors who have reached “bad debt status” are referred to the Department of Revenue, according to the Ethics Commission website.

    The Department of Revenue is authorized to garnish wages and tax refunds, or also impose liens to satisfy debts.

    The Richland Two school board’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia.

    An agenda says the board will meet in executive session at 5:30, with the business meeting commencing at 6:30 p.m.

  • Auditor: FCSD fund balance at $10.5M

    WINNSBORO – To be or not to be debt free.

    That was the question driving a discussion of the Fairfield County School District’s annual audit at last month’s board meeting.

    Andrew Dobson, an accountant with McAbee, Schwartz, Halliday & Co., the financial firm that conducted the audit, was on hand to present the audit. He praised the district for maintaining a higher than standard fund balance.

    Dobson said the district’s fund balance of about $10.5 million represents 27.6 percent of the annual budget. He called that ratio “excellent,” noting the typical district’s fund balance to budget radio is 16 to 18 percent.

    “That gives you three months of short-term funding if something were to happen,” Dobson said. “You have your fund balance perfectly placed for any state cuts, unanticipated events, or any additional spending you might want to do in the future.”

    The presentation soon dovetailed into a discussion about debt.

    Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green touted what he characterized as relatively low long-term debt that’s tied to the Fairfield Career and Technology Center.

    “For the district to have only $7 million in long-term debt is almost unheard of,’ Green said. “When you look at our debt relative to other districts, we have relatively low debt.”

    Audit documents actually list the district’s total long-term debt as closer to $8.49 million.

    The district owes $7,010,000 in general obligation principal and $353,053 in capital lease principal, but also owes $1.24 million more in interest.

    According to audit documents, the district anticipates spending between $1.15 and $1.17 million annually on principal and interest. The final payment in 2024-2025 is a little more than $2.3 million, documents show.

    Board member Paula Hartman thought it would be more prudent to accelerate debt payments so the district could be debt free sooner.

    “For anybody from families to companies, if you don’t owe on it, it’s better,” she said. “That’s the better situation.”

    Green responded by expressing his desire to maintain a rainy day fund.

    “I feel a little better about having more in the bank, just in case,” Green said.

    “I’d feel better if we weren’t in debt for anything,” Hartman responded.

    As of June 30, the district’s debt limit had a borrowing capacity of about $3.8 million, according to the audit.

    State law sets a school district’s credit limit at no more than 8 percent of all assessed value within the district.

    The audit says the district’s assessed property valuation is $146.5 million for debt service. Eight percent of the assessed value works to $11.7 million, the audit states.

  • Fairfield schools Report Card released

    How Area School Districts Compare

    WINNSBORO – A major talking point Fairfield County education leaders have been making about the 2018 state report cards is that no Fairfield school rated Unsatisfactory.

    “We were competitive,” said Dr. J.R. Green, district superintendent, said of the results at a recent Board of Trustees meeting. “Virtually every district that adjoins Fairfield County had at least one unsatisfactory school.”

    That ratio is actually closer to 50-50 for the six surrounding districts, with three districts reporting no Unsatisfactory schools and three others reporting at least one Unsatisfactory school. Union, Newberry and Lancaster counties didn’t report any Unsatisfactory schools, according to report card data. Chester, Kershaw and Richland Two reported at least one Unsatisfactory school.

    Additionally, Green’s comparison includes some districts substantially larger than Fairfield County, which has seven schools, excluding the state-run Midlands Stem Institute which has two schools.

    Chester has 13, Newberry has 14, Kershaw has 18 and Lancaster has 20. Richland Two is the largest adjoining district with 32 schools.

    Fairfield

    With the highest federal, state and local funding per pupil ($20,652), the highest percentage of students in poverty and the smallest average number of students per teacher ratio, Fairfield County had one school rated as Excellent, and another received a Good rating on the 2018 SC school report card. Three others were rated Average and two were rated Below Average. None were Unsatisfactory, the lowest rating.

    Here’s a breakdown of how each school performed:

    • Fairfield Magnet School for Math & Science (Excellent)
    • Kelly Miller Elementary (Good)
    • McCrorey-Liston Elementary (Average)
    • Geiger Elementary (Average)
    • Fairfield Central High School (Average)
    • Fairfield Middle (Below Average)
    • Fairfield Elementary (Below Average)

    Chester

    Chester, with the highest average student to teacher ratio (25.4 students per teacher), second highest percent of students in poverty (78.0) and third lowest average teacher salary ($49,018), struggled the most among the seven districts. Chester had one Excellent school, three Average schools, six Below Average schools and three schools receiving the state’s lowest rating of Unsatisfactory.

    Kershaw

    Aside from reporting one Unsatisfactory school, Kershaw’s 18 schools performed well, with five schools earning Good ratings, nine rated Average and three rated Below Average.

    Lancaster

    In Lancaster County, eight schools scored either Excellent or Good. Seven were rated Average and five received a rating of Below Average. Lancaster had no Unsatisfactory schools.

    Newberry

    Newberry County, with the lowest average pay for teachers ($46,575) of the seven districts, and the fourth highest percentage of students in poverty (69.7), reported three schools with Excellent ratings, five schools with a Good ranking, five schools with an Average rating and only one school with a Below Average rating, report card data shows. Newberry had no Unsatisfactory ratings.

    Richland Two

    In Richland Two, about one-third of schools (11) scored Good or Excellent on the report cards. Of the nine Blythewood area Richland Two schools, six were among the 11 top schools:

    • Langford Elementary (Excellent)
    • Round Top Elementary (Excellent)
    • School for Knowledge Elementary – housed in Muller Road Middle (Excellent)
    • Bethel-Hanberry Elementary (Good)
    •  Sandlapper Elementary (Good)
    •  Blythewood High (Good)

    Westwood High, Blythewood Middle and Muller Road Middle (grades 6 – 8) schools received an Average rating,

    The Center for Achievement elementary magnet school housed in the Kelly Mill Middle school, is the only Blythewood area school to receive an Unsatisfactory rating. Two other Richland Two schools also received Unsatisfactory ratings.

    Union

    Union County, which has eight schools, reported one Excellent school, six Average schools and one Below Average school. Union has the third highest percentage of students in poverty (76.9) and allocates the highest percentage (55.4) of its expenditures to teacher salaries which, at an average of $47,750, are the second lowest of the seven districts.

    Midlands Stem Institute

    The report cards list the Midlands Stem Institute, or MSI, of Winnsboro under the S.C. Public Charter School District. The state issued two report cards for the K-8 school – one for elementary grades and one for middle school grades:

    • MSI, elementary (Below Average)
    • MSI, middle (Average)

    The school added ninth grade last fall which was not included in the 2018 ratings. MSI receives $10,047 in federal, state and local funding per pupil, about half the amount the Fairfield District receives and the least of any of the other seven comparison districts.

    Comparing the seven districts

    In 2018, the state revamped the report cards into two main categories: Academics and School Environment. There are six subcategories under Academics and four under School Environment.

    At the Dec. 18 school board meeting, Green stated that the new report cards create a “forced distribution” of schools.

    According to the model, only the top 15 percent of schools are rated Excellent. The next 20 percent receive a Good rating, while the middle 35 percent receive Average ratings.

    Below Average schools make up the next 20 percent while the bottom 10 percent are Unsatisfactory.

    “This system has negatively impacted all kinds of districts with all kinds of populations,” Green said at the meeting. “It creates a ‘Hunger Games’ mentality. Everyone is scrambling to the top and to reach the top.”

    Class sizes

    Fairfield County’s student to teacher ratio of 16.9 to 1 is the smallest [number of students per teacher] ratio compared to the six districts surrounding Fairfield.

    Richland Two has the next lowest ratio at 19.7 to 1. Chester has the highest at 25.4 to 1.

    Teacher Retention

    Statistically speaking, teacher retention appears to be an issue for Fairfield, according to report card data.

    Fairfield’s percentage of teachers on continuing contract is lowest (63.2 percent) of the seven districts. The six surrounding districts range between 75 percent and 81.6 percent, with Union County leading the pack even though it has the third highest percentage of students in poverty and the second lowest average teacher salaries according to report card data.

    Fairfield falls in the middle in average teacher salaries at $49,288. Richland Two leads at $51,802, followed by Kershaw at $51,631.

    Newberry trailed all seven at $46,575 despite its schools receiving comparatively high ratings.

    Other average salaries by district include: Union, $47,750; Chester, $49,019; and Lancaster, $49,413.

    All Report Card data is available online at https://ed.sc.gov/data/report-cards/sc-school-report-card/