BCSD board chair issues statement on superintendent’s termination

The Berkeley County School Board’s saga over the firing of superintendent Deon Jackson and in-house counsel Dr. Tiffany Richardson continues as both the board chair and a coalition of Berkeley County residents spoke out about the terminations.

 

On the eve of Thanksgiving, a week after a newly elected Berkeley County School District school board abruptly fired and replaced its superintendent and legal counsel on Nov. 15 without public explanation, school board chair Mac McQuillin issued a three-page statement with supporting emails and letters explaining the rationale for the terminations and for the hiring of Dr. Anthony Dixon as the new superintendent. (Read the entire statement online at bcsdschools.net/berkeley.)

 

Earlier the same day, a coalition questioning the terminations held a press conference asking Gov. Henry McMaster to have the South Carolina Inspector General intervene.   

 

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR ISSUES STATEMENT

 

In his statement, McQuillin acknowledged that “the failure to offer reasons for the action at the recent Board meeting could have created the perception that we were not being fully transparent with the public. That is a legitimate criticism, but I want to assure the public that we have nothing to hide. The rationale of our action was not fully explained during open session of the meeting because the public discussion of personnel matters is fraught with legal risks that potentially expose the District to liability that is ultimately borne by taxpayers.”

 

McQuillin cited a litany of reasons and allegations to explain the firings, noting academic decline across the district, a “damaged” relationship with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and a “frayed” relationship with the S.C. Department of Social Services, and a lack of transparency with media inquiries. 

 

“We lacked trust and confidence in Mr. Jackson to lead the district,” McQuillin stated. He further noted in the statement, “Mr. Jackson was not the first choice for superintendent of four members of the Board who were just re-elected and voted to terminate him, and it should come as no surprise that those four members would maintain a preference for leadership other than Mr. Jackson.”

 

When the board voted 6-2 to hire Jackson in May 2021, McQuillin and Kathy Littleton both voted no and Sally Ballentine Wofford was absent from the meeting.

 

RATIONALE FOR FIRINGS

 

Academic Performance

 

McQuillin’s statement noted that since Jackson took over as superintendent in July 2021, data contained in the school reports show that the district performed below the state average in all areas except English. He stressed that 13 schools rated below average in academic achievement and four rated unsatisfactory. 

 

“While the cause of this academic decline can be debated, there can be no debate that deliberate action is necessary to reverse this trend,” McQuillin’s statement said. “... We simply cannot risk our children’s academic future on the hope that things will get better by adhering to the status quo.”

 

Report card results can be viewed at screportcards.com/?y=2018. 

 

The school report cards were released before the October 25 school board meeting where the board unanimously voted to give Mr. Jackson a proficient rating, just three weeks before he was terminated. 

 

In a follow-up email, McQuillin said that although he voted with the board to give Mr. Jackson a proficient rating, he was only voting “to confirm that the cumulative votes of board members indicated proficient. I did not give him a proficient rating. Proficient was just the average of all of the board members’ reviews. Some reviews were good and others were bad.”

 

Relationship with SLED

 

McQuillin cited a lack of cooperation with SLED and questioned Jackson’s and Richardson’s professional judgment with the investigation into the sexual crimes allegedly committed by a school resource officer at Stratford High School. 

 

McQuillin shared correspondence between SLED and Richardson showing strong disagreement between SLED and the district on how SLED conducted the investigation. McQuillin claimed the following the areas of concerns with the district leadership: instructing at least one high-ranking district employee not to talk with SLED, requiring SLED to issue a subpoena for certain requested materials, and accusing SLED of “browbeating and intimidation,” and trying to “take down the district.”

 

Relation with DSS 

 

As for the alleged frayed relationship with DSS, McQuillin said that DSS was on the verge of filing civil litigation against the district to enjoin the district’s practices of refusing DSS access to students to conduct interviews of child abuse or neglect unless a school counselor or social worker is present in the interview. 

 

McQuillin noted that since the change of leadership, the district has changed its policy and avoided legal action, sharing a letter from DSS supporting his statement. 

 

Media Requests 

 

McQuillin’s statement claims that district leadership “failed to demonstrate a commitment to transparency” in response to information as requested under the Freedom of Information Act,” citing lack of cooperation and excessive charges for gathering information in response to FOIA requests.

 

Terminations Possibly Violated Open Meeting Laws 

 

McQuillin’s statement also addresses whether or not any Freedom of Information or open government meeting laws were violated.

 

“Turning to the process that culminated in Mr. Jackson’s termination, I unequivocally deny that the decision was made in a meeting – whether in person, on the phone, virtually, or otherwise – prior to the Board meeting on Tuesday, November 15th.”

 

McQuillin did admit that “one-on-one discussions” with fellow board members about the possibility of a change in leadership took place before the meeting that resulted in Jackson’s and Richardson’s terminations. McQuillin also noted that he personally contacted Dixon to “gauge his interest in the position.”

 

McQuillin contended that four members of the board who were re-elected were not supportive of Jackson’s leadership and that having informal one-on-one discussions was not illegal. 

 

Jay Bender, an attorney for the South Carolina Press Association and a retired media law professor at the University of South Carolina disagrees. 

 

“The statement discusses one-on-one discussions regarding the superintendent. At a minimum that suggests a polling of board members to adopt a course of action which would be in violation of the law,” Bender opined.  

 

WHAT OTHER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE SAYING

 

The votes in favor to fire Jackson and Richardson included: McQuillin, vice chair Wofford, secretary Michael Ramsey, Joe Baker, Littleton and Jimmy Hinson. The board members who opposed the firings were David Barrow, Yvonne Bradley and Crystal Wigfall. 

 

Ramsey voted in favor of hiring Jackson during the May 2021 meeting. He is the only incumbent board member who changed his stance.  

 

The motion to terminate Jackson was introduced by McQuillin. The motion to terminate Richardson was made by Littleton. 

 

In response to an email, Bradley, the only new board member who voted against the firing, said she never received or discussed any information with the board regarding Jackson or Richardson to base her decision prior to the vote. “Personally, I received no info. Therefore, having no info, positively or negatively, I voted as I did,” she wrote.  

 

Hinson replied that he could not discuss “personnel issues with other individuals.” Board members Wofford, Littleton, Baker, Ramsey, Barrow and Wigfall did not respond. 

 

COALITION OF BERKELEY COUNTY CITIZENS

 

Former Berkeley County supervisor candidate Tory Liferidge, organizer of a coalition of concerned Berkeley Co. residents, held a press conference outside of BCSD headquarters Nov. 23. Liferidge contends that, in accordance with SC Code of Laws Section 59-19-315, the

term of office of every elected trustee of a school district must commence one week following the certification of his election. 

 

According to Rose M. Brown, director of Voter Registration & Elections for Berkeley County, “Certification was held on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 at 10 a.m. Although Berkeley County Government was closed for Veterans Day we were open for Certification of the Statewide General Election.”

 

The S.C. State Election Commission confirmed that local races were certified on Nov. 11 and that statewide and federal races were certified on Nov. 17.

 

The board was sworn in and acted on Nov. 15.

 

The coalition, which has since received more than 2,300 signatures on its change.org petition, plans to appeal to Gov. Henry McMaster to intervene with the inspector general to investigate the actions of the board. The petition can be found at change.org.

 

Requests for comments from an election law lawyer and an election law professor were not received prior to going to print.

 

“Public education is a core of our society and we need the governor to help us restore the public trust,” Liferidge said. “In addition, there is uncertainty in our schools and that is not an optimal environment for learning or working. Our students, teachers, staff and administrators need the voices of their citizens to help in this crisis.”

 

BCSD’s administration has had five superintendents in the last 10 years: Rodney Thompson (2011-15), Brenda Blackburn (2015-17), Dr. Eddie Ingram (2017-21), Deon Jackson (2021-22) and Dr. Anthony Dixon (present). Additionally, Archie Franchini served as interim after Thompson. Jackson served as interim when Blackburn resigned.  

 

Jackson’s tenure as superintendent lasted 16 months until he was terminated and replaced with Dixon, who was a semifinalist for the position that Jackson was elected to in 2021. 

 

Suzanne Detar contributed to this story.