School board member’s email sheds new light on departure of Irmo High School principal
After recent controversies at Irmo High School, a member of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board has criticized the leadership of the high school’s principal in an email provided to The State newspaper.
Board member Nikki Gardner responded to a parent’s email on Feb. 2 saying that she was aware of concerns about student safety at Irmo High, following reports that an off-campus shooting earlier that week was tied to fights between students on the St. Andrews Road campus.
“I could not agree with you more on the state of IHS,” Gardner wrote. “That is of course why we are in the process of changing the leadership. (Irmo High Principal Robin) Hardy has stated she is not coming back next year, but from what I hear from inside the school she is hiding in her office and doing nothing to help the situation. We are getting better leadership and that is what matters to get this school back on track. We know there are problems, and we do lay the blame at the feet of the leadership.”
She later said, “We have had to change the leadership from the top down to get this moving. The changes we have made have not contributed to the problem, only brought it to light.”
Hardy, who has been the principal at Irmo High School for the last four years, previously announced that she would not return next school year. Since concerns among students about the administration’s response to safety issues led to a classroom walkout on Feb. 4, the school has said Hardy will be on medical leave for “several weeks.” The school district has denied that safety concerns are related to Hardy’s exit.
But the email suggests at least one board member does lay the blame for the situation on Hardy, and suggests it could be behind her decision to leave.
Hardy declined to comment on the contents of the email when contacted by The State.
When contacted by The State, Gardner said she sent the email to someone she knows, and didn’t think it would “get forwarded around.”
She said it had already been announced at the time that Hardy would not be returning next school year, so “of course” the board is looking for new leadership at Irmo High School. She also said her criticism of “the leadership” was not directly related to Hardy.
“We have a lot of leadership. I’m a leader,” Gardner said.
But Gardner did say she repeated a “rumor” she heard about Hardy’s behavior during the student walkout earlier this month.
“Someone said that during the walkout, she was nowhere to be found,” Gardner said. “When we needed her, she’s not there.”
Asked what Hardy should have done, Gardner said, “I don’t micromanage, I just expect you to do a good job.”
Irmo High School has been the scene of at least 25 fights, assaults and threats reported to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department during the fall school semester, far higher than other Midlands high schools reported during the same period. The situation has been a rising concern among parents, especially since the student walkout.
Irmo High School subsequently switched to virtual learning for two days afterward as the school set up a new “Nest” alternative school within Irmo High for students with behavioral issues.
The parent in the email exchange later responded defending the principal, saying “Dr. Hardy does not hide in her office. In fact, she has a reputation of being highly visible... In this day of COVID, I would guess that she has meetings where she has to be in her office, but that is not her norm.”
She went on to say that Hardy’s “leaving is seen as a loss for the district.”
“As a board member, I do not believe it is appropriate for you to speak about a district employee in this fashion,” she said. “It made me uncomfortable to read it... I would have been very upset if a board member had spoken about me with a parent in this way.”
The State asked for copies of the emails from Lexington-Richland 5 under Freedom of Information Act, but received copies with the statements related to Hardy and leadership changes redacted, along with the parent’s response defending the principal. When asked for a justification for the redactions, the district said they included “information of a personal nature that, if disclosed, would violate an employee’s privacy.”
Three other sources provided The State with information from the unredacted email.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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