COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Richland One School Board wants to meet with the South Carolina State Department of Education to better understand what is missing from its financial recovery plan.
This request comes after we reported one week ago that the state's Department of Education sent a letter to the district saying their plan was "deficient."
Some Richland One School Board commissioners expressed confusion and want clarification after receiving a letter last week from the South Carolina Department of Education saying their fiscal recovery plan was "incomplete."
"I think it's insulting to know we've had a technical team come in and work with us to do what needed to be done, and then we get a letter that tells us that we're deficient. So, who was deficient, us and the technical team? Or just us by ourselves?" said Commissioner Cheryl Harris.
All seven school board members and the Richland One superintendent met Friday afternoon to discuss this letter and what to do next. They cited the need for a meeting with the State Superintendent of Education.
"We did respond to it, but the scope of what was asked of us we addressed, and the scope got wider," Board Chairman Aaron Bishop said. "I think that's what is needed more than ever because, as Commissioner Devine said, email is just correspondence, and I think this requires a conversation."
However, some commissioners had lingering questions about how Richland One answered questions to the department on Oct. 11.
"They said that it was not clear when the question was raised about budgetary impact with declining student enrollment," Commissioner Barbara Weston said. "How this is going to be done? So they're looking beyond that to say, with the student enrollment going down, and you're building a facility that was not approved, then how are you going to keep this up, get teachers and transportation and cafeteria people and all of this? And you keep saying it's embedded in there, but my way of looking at it may not see how it's embedded because it has not clearly answered."
"How much will this bind us to operationally each year because we know that's going to come out of the general fund budget, and that's why I asked that question," Commissioner Robert Lominack said.
The South Carolina Department of Education responded to additional questions from WLTX on Friday.
"The Department's October 31, 2024, letter addressing multiple, overlapping fiscal concerns raised in the State Inspector General's (SIG) July report speaks for itself," the department said in a written statement. "The public should not be confused by diversionary tactics. The department looks forward to working closely with the new Board to implement necessary fiscal improvements and rebuild the trust that the Richland One community deserves."
The board's next meeting is Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Stevenson Administration Building.