SC school board member voted on projects that benefited her family, ethics charges say
A Lexington 2 school board member is facing ethics charges after investigators say she voted on multiple district construction programs that benefited her husband’s firm.
ElizaBeth Branham, the vice chair of the Lexington 2 school board, voted on at least 10 occasions for projects on which her husband’s architectural firm, Stevens and Wilkerson Architects, was providing work, according to findings by the S.C. Ethics Commission. The commission alleges these votes created a direct economic benefit to Branham’s family and thus violated the state Ethics Act.
The Ethics Commission will convene a formal hearing in the matter on April 21, 2022, during which attorneys for the two sides will be able to introduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses in a public hearing.
Branham and her attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The State on Monday.
The formal charges relate to a series of votes on projects at various schools in the Cayce-West Columbia district throughout 2017 and into 2018 and 2019. The Lexington 2 school board approved projects stemming from a 2014 bond referendum, which included work by the firm where Branham’s husband Keith Branham worked as head of engineering.
In a response to the commission’s investigation, Branham’s attorney points out that Stevens and Wilkinson worked as part of the team of consultants for Jumper Carter Sease, the firm that actually held the contract with Lexington 2 for the work.
The district was not involved in selecting those consultants, and Branham recused herself from any actions that directly involved her husband’s firm, attorney Scott Winburn said in a filing.
“The school board does not have control or oversight of the subcontracts made by the architect firms hired by the District,” he argues. “In fact, the architect firms also can hire/fire any subcontractors on their project without notifying the District.”
Branham spoke to the district’s attorney, the S.C. School Boards Association and the Ethics Commission about the situation, and “Based upon the response from the Ethics Commission, Ms. Branham determined she would not be required to recuse on subsequent votes on projects as there was no direct link between S&W and the District,” Winburn said.
Those votes required the board to sign off on design work and phases of construction, he said, not award contracts for that work. Winburn also pointed to other votes where Branham recused herself “if she believed or felt the scope of the project was increasing or there would be any appearance of conflict.”
Branham could face a $2,000 fine for each of the 10 charges she faces. The commission can also refer charges to the S.C. attorney general if it determines a criminal case is warranted.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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