Firm hired to help Richland 2 find leader has 1 SC consultant: R2’s ex-superintendent
The search firm hired to assist Richland School District 2 choose a new superintendent says it has one consultant in South Carolina: Baron Davis, who resigned as the district’s superintendent earlier this year.
The district announced on Monday it would be hiring McPherson & Jacobson LLC, a Nebraska-based superintendent search firm to look for its new leader. The company website lists only Davis as a South Carolina consultant.
Davis abruptly resigned from his post in January following a six-hour, closed door school board meeting. The board unanimously accepted the resignation, and agreed to pay him more than $600,000 in a settlement agreement days later. He had spent six years as superintendent.
Judy Sclair-Stein, a member of the McPherson & Jacobson board of directors, said she and Carl Harris, a North Carolina consultant for the firm, will be conducting the search for Richland 2’s next superintendent.
Sclair-Stein said she will be in the district next week to begin the process.
Board chair Lindsay Agostini said Monday evening the board considered five companies to aid in the search for the district’s new leader. She said that South Carolina had no listed consultant when McPherson & Jacobson was presented to the district, and that there was no consultant listed on the company’s website at that time. Now that the firm has been chosen, Agostini said that no South Carolina resident will be involved in the search for a new superintendent.
Emails obtained by The State Tuesday morning revealed that Agostini emailed the firm on Monday asking when a South Carolina consultant was hired, and why Richland 2 wasn’t told.
McPherson & Jacobson replied offering the district an apology.
“I understand what a difficult situation, to say the least, this has created for you, your board and your community,” the email read.
According to the email, there was a miscommunication about the firm’s South Carolina consultant and when the he was hired.
“On behalf of (redacted) and myself, we are embarrassed by this situation and so very sorry that it has occurred,” the email from McPherson & Jacobson read.
.JPG "rich2super58 (1).JPG")
On Monday, Davis’ connection to the search firm caused an uproar on a district Facebook group.
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest???” one person commented on a post.
“This is unbelievable and unacceptable!” wrote another.
“This either was a lack of due diligence on the part of our board or a lack of understanding what conflict of interest is,” another group member commented. “No business would ask a fired employee to return to participate in his successor’s job interview.”
Board member Joe Trapp commented on the post, saying the board “can’t check everything” and promising to discuss the issue at Monday night’s board meeting.
“The last thing I would have ever thought was out of all the firms in this country that do this kind of business that one of them would hire our former superintendent and conceal that from us,” Trapp said in a Facebook comment. “I will find out tonight how much information I can share with the public about all of this because I for one am tired of the public being in the dark.”
Trapp then said that had the district released the final search firms under consideration before choosing McPherson & Jacobson, the public may have flagged the potential conflict of interest sooner. Trapp could not be reached for comment.
Another board member, Lashonda McFadden, also expressed concern about the firm on Facebook.
“Transparency and accountability is what I am after,” McFadden said in a Facebook comment. “... Call it piss poor if you want to, but piss poor might be why this firm was selected.”
McFadden told The State she was unable to comment further on the firm’s hiring because she was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Board secretary Angela Nash posted on Facebook regarding the concerns, and explained that because of South Carolina’s procurement code, board members signed nondisclosure agreements and cannot speak on the process.
“I hope our constituents would know that we WOULD NOT KNOWINGLY enter in to a business relationship with with a firm that has a conflict of interest,” Nash wrote. “We are looking in to this conflict of interest and I will provide information once I have more information.”
Davis referred all questions to the firm, but said he is “excited and honored to be the South Carolina consultant for McPherson & Jacobson.”
The district will pay the firm $39,9000, according to a statement of award. According to a Richland 2 news release, the school board is hoping to hire a its next superintendent by July 1. The newcomer will succeed interim superintendent Nancy Gregory, who took over the position in January.
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 3:42 PM.
