COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina State Board of Education (SCBE) met on November 12, 2019 to discuss disciplinary action against Lee County School District superintendent Dr. Wanda Andrews.
In their order of public reprimand they detailed allegations of "unprofessional conduct." Stating that Dr. Andrews failed to fully conduct evaluations of principals for the 2017-2018 school year and instead falsified the reports presented to the state board of education.
According to the order she also "ordered the installation of covert cameras and microphones for the purpose of surveilling two employees, falsely inserted in a teacher's personnel file that he was being investigated by SLED, and presented the teacher with an improvement plan as a condition of his contract that made the false investigation.
She was also accused of failing to maintain proper composure in dealing with the public, specifically asking police to remove activists from school board meetings.
Back in May WLTX reported that SLED was investigating finances within the school district dealing with Dr. Andrews receiving $17,500 for her work consulting Clarendon School District One and Clarendon One's superintendent receiving $75,000 for her work consulting for Lee County Schools. Andrews wrote a letter to staff explaining that our reporting was false.
According to the order, SCBE believes Dr. Andrews "dishonestly informed staff that the district was not being investigated by SLED."
Throughout all of this Dr. Andrews denied any wrong doing and sent a statement saying:
"I firmly maintain my innocence in this matter. I am exploring my legal options."
According to the order, the hearing officer's report recommended that Dr. Andrews' educator certificate be suspended for three years, but SCBE, after considering all of the evidence, testimony and recommendations, decided on the public reprimand.
While that ruling will stay on her record both in South Carolina and nationally, Dr. Andrews can remain the district's superintendent.