Bill Lewis Reveals He's the Jonathan Gruber of CCSD

Those stupid Charleston County voters! We shouldn't allow them to elect school board members! That is the basic underpinning of retired CCSD operating officer Bill Lewis's proposal in Sunday's op-ed.

Of all horrors, democratically-elected board members don't always toe the line thrown out by the Chamber of Commerce. They're too stupid. Imagine having "community activists" or "disgruntled former teachers" on the board! It's a nightmare! Only such "highly-qualified" candidates as Chris Fraser, Brian Moody, and Gregg Meyers will fulfill that mission.

Lewis apparently believes that the school district should be run as a private-sector organization. Those private-sector boards he praises for not micromanaging their CEOs really did a good job preventing the excesses that caused the last recession, right?

We wonder why Lewis could not name any of the cities where mayors have made the difference in improving schools, since he seems to believe that mayoral control is the solution to CCSD's problems. His solution would give Charleston three seats, Mt. Pleasant three seats, and North Charleston five seats, since Mayor Summey will control the County Council's choices through Teddie Pryor, a North Charleston employee, and his son Elliott.

Politicians selecting school board members instead of voters? Gee, that sounds great.

There are two major ways in which the school board elections can be improved, neither of which is on Lewis's radar screen, or, should I say, the radar screen of the Chamber of Commerce member who vetted Lewis's op-ed.

It's an open secret that these supposedly non-partisan seats are as partisan as they can be, just flying under the radar. Our local paper chooses to ignore that slates are regularly supported by the county's Democrat and Republican organizations. These seats are non-partisan for the same reason that the mayoralty of Charleston is nonpartisan: so that white Democrats can fool Republicans into voting for them. Mayor Riley not a Democrat? Please.

If races were designated partisan, political parties would vet the candidates and voters would have a better idea for whom to vote in the primary. Voters would rapidly discover that the school board generally has been the hiding place for Democrats to be elected to office in the county. Check for yourself: how many of the present school board members are registered Democrats?

Some will try to make the case that Democrats and Republicans share the same ideas about education. Really? When was that last the case? Probably in the 1950s.

The second aspect that would strongly improve the election is single-member districts. These single members would be voted upon by their own district, not by the county at large. That would make members responsible to their districts. Who can forget Toya Green's (yes, vetted as "highly-qualfied" by Bill Lewis) response to her District 20 constituency: "I don't represent you!"

It's time to stop pretending that the population of the county is so small that voters in Mt. Pleasant know who is the best person to represent North Charleston. The system as it is allows the Chamber of Commerce and its lackeys to control outcomes in many areas. What just happened in North Charleston, where Mt. Pleasant supporters (and the Chamber) put Cindy Bohn Coats over the top North Charleston vote-getter Shante Ellis, is a case in point.

Part of the solution is better communication within the county about what the candidates stand for. Evidently, we can't depend upon our local newspaper or television outlets for full information. Perhaps its lack of interest (or collusion) in local races is part of the reason that the Post and Courier has become a dinosaur.

CCSD's Coats Needs Map-Reading Skills for Hursey

What is "walking distance" for an elementary school? No doubt Hursey Elementary School parents are asking themselves this very question.

According to Cindy Bohn Coats, Charleston County School Board Chairman, when Hursey becomes all Montessori, "students would have traditional choices within walking distance of their homes." CCSD administration can't leave well enough alone. Hursey now contains both traditional and Montessori programs, both of which are equally "diverse," to use the new buzzword. Superintendent McGinley proposed, and the school board rubber-stamped, that the school drop its traditional program.

Take a good look at the map of Hursey's sending district, Cindy. How old must a child be to cross busy Montague Avenue to get to North Charleston Elementary or travel the distance to Chicora?

These are mere details to Coats, who's never had an elementary school student of her own. And she thinks she should be mayor of North Charleston.

Please.

Sick and Tired of CCSD Half-Truths in the P & C

Having read the story in Sunday's paper concerning payments to fired teachers in excess of $150,000, a person must assume that the reporter (or editor) desires for the elected Charleston County School Board to appear as slacker idiots. Nowhere in the article does she mention that it was CCSD administration's decision to defer hearings that began the "rubber room" salary status of five tenured teachers who were not given contracts.

One suggestion from a local observer deserves a look:

"If the board had its own administrator to run a small and efficient staff focused only on the board's work, one that was independent of the superintendent's office, preferably a competent attorney, it wouldn't be running into these conflicts. That's how county council does it. Every standing committee in the state legislature does it that way, too. I can't imagine the cost of this small but qualified staff being any more expensive than what the district is now paying out to outside attorneys and for other related charges associated with this problem."

Two other observations deserve attention:

1. Why does a hearing take an entire day? Something is wrong with the process. Cindy Bohn Coats is in charge and should move the hearings along so that no hearing takes more than half a day.
2. Board members need to know in advance that their election means many other meetings to attend than merely the twice-monthly Monday night ones. The amount of time spent on CCSD business is extensive. As comments from two or three present Board members reveal, the Board should be paid more or the self-employed will be discouraged from participating. At this rate, the time involved for representing the public points toward a board composed of retirees and millionaires.

The truth is that some non-attendees have missed more than 29 out of 30 meetings (our noblesse oblige Chamber of Commerce member, Chris Fraser, comes to mind).

CCSD Board Members' Sour Grapes over Lowcountry Leadership Charter

If for some reason the state inspection of new and renovated facilities for the Lowcountry Leadership Charter School finds construction problems, four members of the Charleston County School Board want to throw its 400 students into the snow. Well, not into the snow; in Hollywood that would be into the sand.

The mean-spirited message sent by members Coats, Ascue, Collins, and Miller is typical of those who see a racist under every proposal they didn't make themselves. Here all the school wants is to remain in the same place from month to month until its own building is ready. And it pays rent that would revert to $0 if the building is unused. Revenue from this lease even goes to other Hollywood schools.

The situation is too reminiscent of the old jingle used by the John Birchers to defeat fluoridation of water: "It's all a Commie [insert racist here] plot, you see, / To get us internally."

Dump Feckless Fraser First, CCSD

Seriously. Seriously? Charleston County School District Board of Trustees member Cindy Bohn Coats wants to hire a parliamentarian to referee future Board meetings?

Coats should focus on the core problem: Chris Fraser's ineptness in chairing a meeting.

Dump Feckless Fraser first. Maybe he can gracefully resign so that someone effective takes over.

The Case of the Disappearing School District

 Selling capital assets to meet operating expenses is a great idea, at least according to Cindy Coats, vice-chair of the CCSD Board of Trustees. But she probably doesn't even understand what's going on.

That's the gist of her reaction to selling part of the Memminger school property to the College of Charleston in a no-bid sale. Evidently the reporter either doesn't understand the finances or thinks it a great idea also.

Such is the case in Saturday's article on the sale. CCSD provides no reason for the sale except the cash received. The school board that approved the negotiations doesn't even know how large a parcel of the original property is under consideration. Nor does it have an appraisal (well, I guess those two go together).

The reporter doesn't question the lack of space around Memminger or the necessity of splitting the property because CCSD's administration doesn't want her to. Is she even aware that the deed of the property to the district stipulates that the land be used for public education?

With great ideas such as this, the district could gradually devour itself and disappear like the Cheshire Cat.

No Justice for CCSD's Outsourced Workers

Four private contractors now handle the maintenance business of the Charleston County School District, thanks to a policy that outsourced these workers purportedly as a cost-saving measure. Who negotiated their contracts? Why, financial officer Michael Bobby without the input of either the employees or the school board.

Fine. Now Bobby should be on the hot seat for the continuing problems caused by his actions. Despite silence on the part of the P&C, this transition has been anything but painless. Some paychecks were delayed up to five weeks. Hours of work during the final weeks at CCSD were not counted. Would anyone believe that these problems would not be a severe hardship on workers who are making a hardscrabble living in the first place? We're talking home evictions and car repossessions.

Now CCSD is taking action against those workers who have dared to speak out. Despite assurances from Board Chair Chris Fraser and member Coats that no retaliation would take place while these problems were being resolved, Service Solutions fired one of these workers last Friday. The others, whom Michael Bobby and Superintendent McGinley have attempted to isolate and prevent school board members from supporting, wonder who's next.

Several workers have filed a formal complaint with the SC Department of Labor concerning their last paychecks. Thanks to the superintendent's policies, the school board can no longer hear complaints from classified employees. They are at the mercy of McGinley.

I don't know about you, but that's not a place I'd care to be. It's time for our state representatives Ford and Gilliard to step in.

CCSD's Intimidation and Corruption Nexus

Hit the little guy. Why? He doesn't have the resources to hit back.

Here we have a perfect description of the modus operandi of the Charleston County Schools District administration. Such is the case with the day porters who were outsourced to save the district money.

Well, the district does need to save money. Some of us would like to outsource administrative services, starting with the superintendent and continuing with the chief financial officer, Michael Bobby.

Of course, outsourcing the business to retired CCSD employees, cronies of the present administration who could make a buck or two off this mess, was part of the deal.

One employee reported by the P& C has questioned whether his last paycheck was correct. You may have wondered why the article also reports that "he doesn't feel comfortable meeting one-on-one" with Bobby.

Behind that statement is a superintendent who was enraged to learn that several day porters (presumably including 27-year-old Jess Ballard) were meeting with Bobby along with one or two members of the Charleston County Board of Trustees. She forbid the Board members from being there.

Now retaliation against those who have complained to Bobby has begun. Same old, same old in CCSD.

CCSD Board Members Touch Sacred Cows

• No wonder Superintendent Nancy McGinley has brought out the big guns--letters solicited from the Mayor; scolding emails solicited from the Board chair; outraged op-eds from the NAACP.


• Now this: Four unruly Board members want to investigate what benefits the district gets for its contributions to sacred-cow nonprofits, contributions from an operating budget projecting a $26 million shortfall next year.


• In their first swing at a cow, members Moffly and Kandrac refused to vote for $50,000 awarded to the Charleston Promise Neighborhood. Not to put too fine a point on it, Board member Toya Hampton-Green's husband heads that particular non-profit, and the Superintendent sits on its Board of Directors. Can you say, "conflict of interest"?


• Although that particular sacred cow escaped with the cash, Board members Coats and Taylor now want to scrutinize the benefits gained from other nonprofits receiving funds from the district. Can you say, "edublob"?


• Surely they can't be serious? Why, they might need to scrutinize the funds paid to the nonprofit headed by the Mayor's sister!


• Long-time readers of this blog will remember the point made some time ago: nonprofit does not mean it's not profitable for someone. A good look at salaries paid to those in charge should be in order.


• Let's not forget: the money for these nonprofits comes from the operating budget, the same one whose shortage of funds has created furlough days and staff layoffs. Now's a good time to focus on the primary mission of the district.

New CCSD Board Members Ask Too Many Questions

New board members should be seen and not heard.

That's how the adage goes, isn't it? Well, at least in the world of Superintendent Nancy McGinley and the obsequious chairman of the Charleston County Schools Board of Trustees, Chris Fraser.

Fraser posits the unusual idea that when new members are elected, they should stick with the opinions of those they replaced instead of representing the taxpayers who elected them. Rather like President Obama's announcing that, despite being elected as a Democrat, he intended to reinforce all of the policies of the previous administration (admittedly, some would say that he largely has! Still).

Why did Fraser sent an email to all board members asking them not to revisit old issues (at the bequest of the Superintendent, no doubt)? Because Mary Ann Taylor and Cindy Bohn Coats are asking too many questions that were ignored in the past and remain unanswered. Why, good grief, Taylor and Coats even set up a meeting with Bill Lewis, Michael Bobby, and Troy Williams to get some answers. Heaven forbid! That one had to be nipped in the bud before causing too much "work" for the district.

Where have we heard this song and dance before?

Sample questions include such old chestnuts as

• What are the benefits of rebuilding versus retrofitting Sullivans Island Elementary?


• Have any contract service providers (such as Heery) ever been approached by any CCSD employees or school board members (past or present) seeking and/or initiating favors?


• Where are the demographic data to support CCSD's choices for where to place schools? To size them?


• What is the CCSD transportation bus cost?


• Where have Fraser students been transferred since its closing? What tracking data have been kept on each to see if the new school's program is effective?

It's a good list. Fraser and McGinley will do their best to ignore it.

Chutzpah Personified: CCSD's Taj Mahal

Even Brian Hicks knows its wrong. [See Wednesday's P&C.]

Spending $76,000 on renovations to the administrative offices of the Charleston County School District? Why not, Superintendent McGinley would say. After all, we have the money just lying around unspent.

Meanwhile, it becomes obvious that CCSD Board chair Chris Fraser doesn't know Roberts Rules of Order or how to follow them or doesn't care about them because he takes his marching orders from elsewhere.

Oh, that's right. He's the voice of the Metro Chamber of Commerce, I forgot.

Why should anyone care what shenanigans were pulled to get the item back on the agenda for a second vote? What we should care about is who voted for this deaf-and-dumb-to-the-taxpayers decision. I'll list them for you.

Chris Fraser, Chair 452-9245

Elisabeth Ann Oplinger 406-6685

Craig Ascue 884-6862

Cindy Bohn Coats 529-2457

Chris Collins 813-0616

Toya Hampton Green 723-7831

I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.