Richland 2 Superintendent Davis resigns after lengthy closed-door board meeting
.JPG "Richland 2 school superintendent Baron Davis resigned Tuesday night, Jan. 17.")
Richland 2 Superintendent Baron Davis resigned Tuesday night after a nearly six-hour, closed-door meeting of the school board.
The board voted unanimously to accept Davis’ resignation. He had been superintendent of the northeast Richland County school district since 2017.
Davis had received a contract extension in September, but only after a narrow 4-3 vote of the board. The board makeup changed after the November election. Those who voted against extending the contract — Lindsay Agostini, Monica Scott and Lashonda McFadden — remain on the board. The four who voted in favor of the extension are no longer board members.
Davis, the district’s first Black superintendent, had replaced Debbie Hamm as superintendent after she retired. He had previously been the district’s assistant superintendent and a principal in Richland 1, Richland 2 and Orangeburg schools.
He is a graduate of Francis Marion University and the University of South Carolina. He received a doctoral degree in educational counseling from USC.
James Manning, a former R2 board chair, told The State earlier this month that some board members had been unhappy with Davis for some time.
“He held board members accountable for their actions and they did not like that,” Manning said.
Davis’ resignation is effective immediately. The board voted to authorize chair Agostini to execute an agreement with Davis following his resignation, which was reviewed in executive session.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 10:41 PM.
