Richland 1 cancels school Wednesday as teachers prepare to protest at State House

Richland 1 school district has announced it has canceled school Wednesday because “a high number” of teachers will be protesting for higher pay and better work conditions at the S.C. State House.

As of Tuesday, 712 teachers in Richland 1 have submitted leave requests, district spokeswoman Karen York said.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that our students are safe and well supervised,” Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a statement. “We have looked at the number of leave requests submitted across the district and determined that we would not have enough substitute teachers and staff members to cover all of those classrooms.”

Wednesday will still be a work day for employees who have not submitted a leave request, the statement said.

“All extended-day programs, including comprehensive remediation, 21st Century, child care and athletic tutorial programs, are canceled for Wednesday,” the statement said. “Students and parents should check with their respective schools regarding athletics practices and other extracurricular activities.”

Richland 1 isn’t the only Midlands school district to have cancelled classes ahead of the upcoming protest. Lexington-Richland 5 has also canceled classes, according to a previous article from The State. Lexington 1, however, has said it will not cancel classes, according to a previous article from The State.

Sumter School District announced Tuesday afternoon that it is closing its schools for Wednesday, due to “a high number of expected teacher absences.”

“Our top priority is to ensure the safety of our students and staff at all times,” a statement on the district’s Facebook page reads. “It is out of an abundance of caution that the decision to close schools Wednesday was made due to concerns about not having enough staff and substitutes to cover classes and supervise students in our schools.”

Sumter schools will likely make up the missed day at the end of the school year, since options for makeup days are limited, according to the district.

Though school has been canceled, any Richland 1 student can still get free lunch between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the following places, according to the release:

Elementary Schools

• Arden, Bradley, Brockman, Burton-Pack, Carver-Lyon, Caughman Road, Greenview, Hopkins, Hyatt Park, A.C. Moore, South Kilbourne, Edward E. Taylor, John P. Thomas, Gadsden, Webber and Watkins-Nance

Middle School

• St. Andrews

High Schools

• A.C. Flora, C.A. Johnson, Eau Claire and Lower Richland

This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 11:22 AM.