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Board Opens Door for Removal of Members from Office

COLUMBIA – Calls for the resignation of Richland Two school board chair Amelia McKie grew Tuesday night, with a fellow board member joining in those calls.

Meantime, two other board members are suggesting publicity of missing school board ethics forms has been “racially motivated.”

During the Board and Superintendent Comments portion of Tuesday’s board meeting, board member Lindsay Agostini publicly called for McKie to step down as chair.

Agostini said McKie has been evasive and dishonest in addressing unfiled ethics reports and subsequent fines from the state.

“After being informed by media of missing documents which took over a month for the chair to complete, she has taken no ownership of any wrongdoing,” Agostini said. “As you try to straighten things up for you and your family, I at a minimum ask that you step down as chair. A premier district deserves a premier board.”

In prepared remarks, McKie apologized later in the meeting for not filing her ethics forms. She said her forms are now current, and that she’s working with legal counsel to address nearly $52,000 in fines she owes the S.C. Ethics Commission.

“I am responsible and I am not running from those problems,” she said in prepared remarks.

McKie went on to state she’s faced numerous personal attacks since her ethics problems came to light.

“I have a problem that my character is maligned. Everything that I have said has been accurate at the time. My filings are accurate with the commission,” she added. “Not necessarily everything you have read or seen is accurate. I will not have my character maligned when there are two sides to a story.”

McKie’s statement didn’t address whether or not she planned to resign.

After the meeting, she declined to comment, deferring The Voice to her prepared statement.

Board members float race issues

At the Jan. 8 meeting, Board member Teresa Holmes thanked The Voice for its news coverage of missing ethics forms, including her own.

“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.”

But at the Tuesday night meeting, Holmes did an about face, questioning the accuracy of the news reports about ethics issues, hinting race factored into it.

“All of the stuff you saw in the paper wasn’t necessarily factual,” Holmes said. “Some of it was racially motivated, I really do believe that.”

When asked after the meeting what specifically was reported incorrectly, Holmes would not comment.

Board member Monica Elkins-Johnson challenged the accuracy of news reports as well, but also could not say what was incorrect.

“I hope that we will not judge people on their skin tone, on mistakes, on their actions,” Elkins-Johnson said. “Give people an opportunity to prove themselves. People don’t know what’s going on in your household. Sometimes the media doesn’t always report things accurately.”

Stephen Gilchrist, a board member with the Richland Two Black Parents Association, said following state ethics laws is not about race.

“It’s not a racial issue from our perspective,” Gilchrist said. “This is about ethics issues Ms. McKie is dealing with, and of course the board in Richland 2.”

Similar messaging appears on the association’s website and Facebook page.

“Ethics is not synonymous with race! Let’s not draw that association,” the group’s Facebook page states. “When an issue is about personal ethics, let’s not attempt to draw parallels to our turbulent socio-politically, charged racial climate. Wrong is wrong and right is simply right!”

Jay Bender, an attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, noted that in 2012 about 250 Republican candidates for state office were booted off the ballot for not properly filing ethics forms.

Most of the candidates were white, Bender said.

“Ethics problems in South Carolina appear to be as neutral as anything,” he said. “The threshold is are you a public official, not whether you are white or black.”

The Ethics Commission’s debtor list, a running public list of individuals with unpaid ethics fines, also consists of a clear mix of black and white candidates and lobbyists.

More resignation calls

Richland Two parent Rhonda Meisner once again asked McKie to resign during public comments. She also asked McKie to return any public money she’s received as a board member.

“I know that is not a very nice message, but that is a message that needs to be addressed in my opinion,” Meisner said.

Columbia resident Gus Philpott called for McKie’s resignation as well.

“In view of the $52,000 amount of her fines from the ethics commission, I request that she immediately and voluntarily step down from the board,” Philpott said. “If she fails to step down, I believe that the board must remove her.

“Matters of ethics are definitely not a distraction,” Philpott added. “This is an ethical issue, please address it now.”

Calling McKie a “doer,” Innocent Ntiasagwe spoke in support of the board chair.

“It’s good for us to pay attention to look at the good in the work that we do, not just some innuendos that may arise every now and then,” Ntiasagwe said. “Some people only look back and see what is wrong and don’t offer solutions.”

In June 2018, the ethics commission fined McKie $41,000 in connection with multiple violations of not filing campaign disclosure reports.

McKie was ordered to pay $21,000 by Dec. 31, 2018. When she didn’t, the fine jumped to $51,750, agency records state.

Board proposes policy change

Almost unnoticed, the district unveiled proposed revisions to a board policy relating to the election of officers, such as chairperson, vice-chair and secretary.

According to the proposed change, a supermajority can vote to remove a Board officer from his or her office, which would require five votes.

“In such a case, or in any case where there is a vacancy in a board office, the board may as soon as practical elect a member to fill the vacated office for the remainder of the term,” the revision states.

If enacted, the board under the policy could strip a board member of their office position, but not their board seat.

“I’m saddened that we had to revise this policy, but I’m grateful for those who’ve worked expeditiously to get this to us tonight,” Agostini said.

Board member James Manning said the purpose of the policy is to address edge cases. He cautioned against using it for political purposes.

“It gives us an opportunity should the need arise for us to address potential issues,” Manning said. “It really has to be a high bar for cause.”

No votes were taken on the policy Tuesday night. That would likely occur at the next meeting scheduled for Feb. 12.

The policy proposal comes in response to an investigation by The Voice into McKie and other board members with previously unfiled ethics forms. Six of seven board members either filed late or failed to file.

Manning, previously believed to have filed his forms, told The Voice on Tuesday that he was recently fined $200 for two late filings. That information, Manning told The Voice, was only released by the Commission last week.

He said the ethics commission reviewed all board members’ ethics filings after The Voice’s reports, and that he has since paid the fine.

Other board members filed missing forms in December and January following reports in The Voice, public records show.

COLUMBIA – Despite some members dismissing an ongoing ethics flap as merely a distraction at a meeting last week, the Richland Two school board spent 90 minutes behind closed doors Tuesday night discussing that topic.

At a special meeting, the board immediately retreated into executive session to receive “legal advice regarding Ethics Act issues.”

No action was taken after the executive session – some of which was audible in the hallway – and the board promptly voted to adjourn.

When pressed by The Voice about whether the executive session pertained to an individual member or the entire board, board chairwoman Amelia McKie wouldn’t say.

“I can’t clarify that any more than what was said in the motion,” McKie said.

Jay Bender, an attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, said if the board discussed individual members’ ethics issues behind closed doors, the discussion would violate state law.

“I don’t see any legitimate reason to get advice unless it’s regarding other board members,” Bender said. “If it’s regarding board members with individual ethics problems, I don’t think they can discuss any punishments that may be meted out.”

During executive session some board member conversations were discernable in the hallway beyond the closed doors to the boardroom.

Those conversations seemed to focus on violations of individual board members, which Bender said is not permitted under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

The session appeared to become heated at times.

Board member James Manning, one of two sitting board members with no previously missing ethics forms, wouldn’t comment on the specifics of what was discussed.

“There was nothing to take action on. It was all just legal counsel,” Manning said.

Manning noted the issue of ethics is likely to arise at a future board meeting.

“I would keep an eye on the agenda,” he said.

That was difficult to do with Tuesday’s meeting agenda, which was buried among four unrelated press releases in an email titled, “Dear reporters and editors, please find attached four news releases from Richland Two…” with no mention of the agenda or the special called board meeting in the body of the email. The agenda also did not appear on the school’s board docs.

In recent weeks, several board members have come under scrutiny for failing to file various ethics forms required by state law.

Richland Two parent Rhonda Meisner called upon those board members to resign. At the Jan. 9 meeting, Meisner stated during public input that state law prohibits members from being sworn into office if they haven’t filed Statements of Economic Interest (SEI) forms.

In the 2018 election, board members James Shadd III, Cheryl Caution-Parker, Monica Elkins-Johnson, Teresa Holmes and McKie failed to file either SEI forms or quarterly campaign disclosure reports by deadlines set in state law, according to the State Ethics Commission.

Those board members have since filed their forms following a series of investigative reports by The Voice.

McKie, however, has garnered the most attention.

In July 2018, the ethics commission fined her $41,000 for failing to file multiple quarterly campaign reports between 2015 and 2018. Those forms were not filed until last week, the ethics commission website states.

The fine zoomed to $51,750 after McKie failed to pay the first $21,000 of the original $41,000 fine on Dec. 31, 2018.

In all, McKie filed 16 forms on Jan. 9, 2019, including her 2019 SEI form that isn’t due until March 30. Also on Jan. 9, she filed her first quarterly campaign report of 2019, which was due Jan. 10.

After the Jan. 8 board meeting, McKie said she planned to issue a press release addressing the ethics issues, but no statement had been released as of press time.

The status of McKie’s fine remained unclear, however, as the ethics commission, as of Tuesday, listed her outstanding debt at $41,000, the original fine amount, instead of the $51,750, according to the agency’s debtor’s list.

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Barbara Ball contributed to this story.

McKie’s Ethics Fine Increases to $51K+

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.