U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn asks: Why are the SC school districts under fire all Black-led?
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn is questioning why many of the South Carolina schools being interrogated are Black-led, after the latest request by some Richland County state lawmakers for an investigation into Richland School District 1.
“There’s something not right when every one of these school districts that are being called into question just happen to be headed by an African American. Every one of them,” Clyburn, a Columbia-area Democrat, said.
Several Richland County legislators — state Reps. Beth Bernstein, Heather Bauer and Seth Rose, and state Sen. Dick Harpootlian — hand-delivered a letter to Gov. Henry McMaster’s office on Tuesday asking him to order a state investigation into the district following the abrupt reassignment of teachers nine weeks into the school year.
The four Richland County lawmakers are white and, like Clyburn, are Democrats.
“We have a problem with trust and confidence in Richland District 1, whether it’s real or perceived,” Bernstein said at a Tuesday press conference. “It’s time to lift up the hood ... and let the results then speak for itself.”
Just before the school district’s fall break in October, Richland 1 told several teachers that they were being reassigned to a new school, and some were expected to be in their new classrooms the following Monday morning. Richland 1 officials said the transfers were a result of student-teacher ratios at the 45th day of school, when the district had a “clearer picture” of student enrollment. About 11 teachers were moved this year, compared to seven in 2022 and 10 in 2021.
The four state legislators condemned Richland 1’s handling of teacher assignments but said that they were merely the “last straw.” They pointed to the district’s high teacher turnover and what the legislators said were poor state report cards, and they accused the district of a lack of transparency and potential misappropriation of funds, which Richland 1 officials denied.
“Statements and allegations that have been made that the teacher reassignments point to a larger issue of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by the district are simply unfounded,” said Karen York, a spokeswoman for Richland 1. “We strive to be fiscally responsible and operate in the most effective and efficient manner possible and be good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars.”
McMaster shares concerns about the district’s teacher reassignments, according to a statement from his office, but likely won’t ask the Inspector General to investigate.
“At this time, the governor does not believe that the statutory threshold required for him to direct an investigation by the State Inspector General has been met,” Brandon Charochak, a spokesman for the governor, said in a statement.
Last year, the Inspector General did investigate Richland School District 2 at the behest of the governor. The probe was prompted by complaints from parents.
The scathing report called the Richland 2 school board “dysfunctional,” and found that only 14% of the board’s agenda items related to academic concerns. It also flagged the district’s lack of a procurement card policy, its diversion of district funds to its nonprofit foundation and its lack of an internal auditor.
Both Richland 1 and 2 have have been put on fiscal watch by the state Department of Education.
Clyburn’s youngest daughter, Angela Clyburn, is a member of the Richland 1 school board. She was elected to her first term in 2020.
