Bill Lewis Pontificates on Abolishing CCSD's Constituent Boards

People move to Charleston and its surrounding area every day. In fact, so many arrive that it's getting a bit crowded on our roads (that was understatement, for those of you who don't commute during the rush hours). Presumably, they move here because they like the way it is, so why are so many determined to change it to reflect the places they left?

In the last week or so, we've been treated to an Ohioan who wants his property taxes (and everyone else's) to rise to give more money to operating expenses of the Charleston County School District, never mind that operating expenses are supposed to be financed by the sales tax. Now we have a Letter to the Editor from one of the local rag's favorite people, Bill Lewis, who financed his three-story mansion on the marsh in Mt. Pleasant with his post-retirement jobs for CCSD. [I will never understand why people think being on the marsh is so great, but that's another story.]

Lewis puts himself forward as a thinker who sees that the elections of CCSD's Board of Trustees and now CCSD's constituent boards are obstacles to Lewis-style progress. He's from San Francisco. He wants the mayors of Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, and North Charleston to appoint the members of the CCSD School Board.  He believes these political appointments will improve the district over democratic elections, political appointees being so knowledgeable and all. I kid you not.

This is the same character who brought us a crazy timetable of seismic revolution in school buildings. After all, why would anyone start rebuilding with the ones most at risk? 

Lewis complains that constituent boards represent the needs of their constituents! A novel concept, I agree, especially in San Francisco. Actually, he just wants to quell any rumors that students no longer at Lincoln High in McClellanville will be worse off at Wando. 

Did he suggest that the mayor of Awendaw appoint a school board member along with the big three? Of course not. Lewis seems to still view Charleston County as one tidy whole with no outliers. Maybe someone should introduce him to the part of Edisto Island that lies in Charleston County.

For sure, Lewis thinks that Lincoln's closing will have negligible impact on its rural community. Those of us who actually know something about community know he's wrong.