COLUMBIA, S.C. — An interim superintendent has been named for Richland School District Two following Tuesday's departure of Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis.
Nancy Gregory, the district's current chief instructional officer, will take on the role as the board works toward a permanent replacement. She began with Richland Two in the 1980s. Among her roles, she has been a teacher, assistant principal, and principal over the years.
The appointment came after a 6-1 vote from the school board, with Lashonda McFadden voting no.
"I think this is a good, natural step with my background in curriculum and instruction," Gregory said. "It will be a transition for many, but I am happy to be in that position and to help. I will continue to work with this board and with teachers to do what's best for students."
Davis resigned at a special called meeting Tuesday and the board accepted his resignation, which was effective immediately.
The district tells News19, Dr. Davis' contract had a "buy out" clause, and was supposed to end in June of 2026, but other details of his departure remain unclear.
"That cannot be discussed. I have no comment on that at this time," Board Chair Lindsay Agostini said of Davis' departure. "We were very anxious and excited to get a superintendent in place that the board had confidence in. We've made a great choice with Nancy Gregory. There will be, I foresee in the future, we will be doing a search for a superintendent."
The significant change comes after a shakeup on the school board that happened in the November general election. Going into the that contest, two members had chosen not to seek reelection.
Niki Porter, Tamika Washington, Angela Nash, and Joe Trapp were elected to the board in November, with former board chair Teresa Holmes losing her bid to keep her seat. Linda Agostini, Monica Scott, and Angela Nash remained on the board.
In late November, Agostini was named the new chair, Scott the vice-chair, and Nash the secretary.
Davis, a Columbia native, has over 25 years of experience in education. While at Richland Two, he was previously a principal at Spring Valley High School and was an assistant superintendent in the district. In 2016, he was named superintendent-elect to work alongside Dr. Debbie Hamm, who decided to retire from the district. He officially became superintendent on July 1, 2017.
The district has been dealing with the fallout and scrutiny of a South Carolina Inspector General report that pointedly criticized the district’s finances and the leadership, including the board. The report was ordered by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster last year after there were allegations of mismanagement.
The final report was issued last November, just days before the election. It looked at the school from a time period from July 2018 to June 2022.
In it, the inspector found the district didn’t have a policy on the use of purchasing cards, which led to improper use of funds, and sometimes comingled in the district with District Two foundation bank accounts. It also said that same foundation did not supply an annual audit.
But some of the harshest criticism came for the board itself. The report called them “dysfunctional” and questioned if they understood their role in overseeing the district. And said that during meeting they only focused on academic issues 14.2% of the time.
Chairwoman Agostini said Gregory could remain in her role until the end of the school year, as the search for a permeant replacement gets underway.