Richland 2 school board member charged for allegedly pushing sister of SC senator

A Richland District 2 school board member was arrested Thursday after an altercation following a school board meeting last week, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced.

Monica Elkins-Johnson, 51, was charged with disorderly conduct after she allegedly shoved the sister of a state senator after the Jan. 23 school board meeting, the sheriff’s department said.

Here is what happened, according to two police reports taken after the incident.

S.C. Sen. Mia McLeod, D-Richland, and her sister Erica Davis were leaving the school board meeting when they saw Elkins-Johnson and Stacy McKie, the husband of Richland 2 board chair Amelia McKie, arguing in the hallway.

Elkins-Johnson allegedly called him a motherf----- and threatened to kill him, the police report said.

Elkins-Johnson allegedly “aggressively came towards” McLeod, and Davis stepped in between them, according to the police report. Elkins-Johnson then allegedly pushed Davis.

Elkins-Johnson’s attorney denied she shoved anybody.

“The investigation revealed that Elkins-Johnson was disorderly and boisterous; further Elkins-Johnson did attack several individuals and said ‘B----, I asked you to get the f---- out of my face before I beat your ass,’” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Stacy McKie told police Elkins-Johnson punched “an unnamed victim in the chest area,” but the report provides no details regarding that allegation.

Following the altercation, Elkins-Johnson had to be restrained by Richland 2 security, the report says.

Elkins-Johnson’s attorney disputed that description of the incident.

“She’s not a danger to the community. She has no prior history,” said her attorney, Justin Kata of the Giese Law Firm. “What’s been reported in the newspaper and what’s written in the warrant is that she attacked people at a school board meeting. We adamantly deny she attacked anybody.”

The sheriff’s department stood by its report.

“She actually shoved Erica Davis, one of the (Richland) school district 2 parents, and I just think there should be a characterization when there’s a video, a school video that shows different,” said Joanna McDuffie, an attorney representing the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

McLeod declined to comment.

“We believe that once the matters have been reviewed or investigated further, we believe the situation will change regarding the magistrate level offense,” Margie Bright Matthews, the attorney for the victims who is also a state senator, said during the bond hearing.

Elkins-Johnson has served on the board since 2012 and is the current vice-chair, according to the district’s website. She ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2016 and currently works as an education consultant, according to her state ethics filings.

Elkins-Johnson turned herself in Thursday and was released from the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on a $237.50 personal recognizance bond, on the condition she has no contact with McLeod, McKie or Davis, court documents show.

The charges against Elkins-Johnson do not require her to leave the school board, Magistrate Mildred R. Metts said at the bond hearing.

The arrest of the board’s vice chair is the second time a top board member has been in trouble in recent weeks. Members of the public and a fellow board member called on Richland 2 board chair, Amelia McKie, to resign from her position as chair because she owes roughly $52,000 in fines to the S.C. Ethics Commission.

During the Jan. 23 board meeting — and just hours before the altercation — the board introduced a measure that would allow the board, with a super-majority vote, to strip a fellow member of his or her position as chair, vice chair or treasurer.

Board members didn’t vote on the policy last week, because it was the proposal’s first reading. The next board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation, 763 Fashion Drive.

This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 11:05 AM.