Will LR5 sue their critics in ongoing staffing drama? The school board will let them
The Lexington-Richland 5 school board gave approval to taking legal action in response to recent challenges to the resignation of the district’s former superintendent and the hiring of an interim replacement.
The board approved the district taking legal action against three former superintendents and two former school board chairmen who filed a complaint with the district’s accrediting agency challenging the contract with Interim Superintendent Akil Ross.
In making the motion at Monday’s school board meeting, vice chairman Ken Loveless said the district will file a lawsuit for malicious interference with the contract, “In the event the individuals who filed the complaint, do not withdraw that complaint and apologize to the district and Dr. Ross,” Loveless said.
In their complaint to the accrediting agency, the former school district leaders challenged the terms of Ross’ interim superintendent contract. Rather than employ Ross directly, board members reached an agreement with HeartEd LLC, Ross’ private education consulting firm, to provide “superintendent services” for the district for up to a year.
The complaint challenges that arrangement. It also raises questions about some board members’ relationship with HeartEd Youth Zone, a non-profit entity started by Ross that provides after-school services in the Irmo area. Both Loveless and board member Catherine Huddle have donated money to HeartEd Youth Zone.
Board members point out that the youth zone non-profit and the consulting firm the district contracts with are legally separate entities.
School board attorney Andrea White told the board that contracting with a private firm like HeartEd in these circumstances “Is not unusual, when you’re talking about an interim versus a permanent superintendent.”
Former superintendent Stephen Hefner, one of the group pursuing the accrediting complaint, said Tuesday morning that he was unaware of the board vote Monday night and declined to comment.
By a 6-0 vote, the board also authorized the district to file a counterclaim to a lawsuit filed by The State’s senior editor Paul Osmundson, challenging the board reaching a closed-door settlement with former superintendent Christina Melton prior to Melton’s resignation in June. The suit, brought on behalf of The State newspaper, argues that agreement violates South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, which limits what public bodies can do without discussion and a vote in a public meeting.
Board members argued the suit is moot because since it was filed, the school board approved a settlement agreement with Melton in a public vote on Aug. 9, more than a month after Melton left the district. The State’s lawsuit also challenges Lexington-Richland 5’s policy of holding closed door meetings of board officers ahead of its public board meetings to set those meetings’ agenda. Earlier this month the district began announcing its officers’ meetings as public meetings.
On June 14, former board member Ed White resigned his seat over Melton’s settlement, which he claimed was engineered by board members hostile to Melton who wanted to force her out. The district said in a statement at the time that the agreement between Melton and the district went into effect June 22.
The settlement paid Melton $226,368 at the time of her resignation, on top of her regular salary and benefits.
Last year, a judge invalidated a similar payout to former Richland County Administrator Gerald Seals, ruling in part that Richland County Council had decided to accept the $1 million settlement behind closed doors without a public vote or discussion.
The board later voted to censure Ed White for publicly discussing the board’s executive session discussion of Melton’s resignation.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
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