How much does it cost to see SC school board member’s Black History Month emails?
The Lexington 1 school district says it will cost hundreds of dollars for district staff to review a school board member’s emails about a controversial high school fashion show.
The State asked Lexington 1 to provide copies of any emails sent to or from board member Katie McCown that referenced a Black History Month fashion show that set off a controversy over McCown’s criticism of the student-run show.
The State requested McCown’s communications for the month following the River Bluff event under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. The school district’s general counsel said Lexington 1 had 1,096 emails that reference McCown containing the phrases “Black History Month,” “fashion show” or “River Bluff” in the district’s internal communications system. They expected it would take more than 36 hours for district personnel to review the emails and redact any confidential information about students, at a cost of $730.
McCown had lambasted the Feb. 20 show at River Bluff High School in since-deleted Facebook comments, calling it a “disgusting,” “disgraceful display” that showcased “vulgar and ghetto behavior.”
The comments drew protesters to a school board meeting on March 9 — before the meeting was canceled when a majority of the board failed to show up — and led to a confrontation between McCown and several students involved in the show at a community forum a week later.
If The State’s request were limited to only those emails that referenced Black History Month, the total number of emails would drop to 168. The district said it would take 5.6 hours to review those emails at a cost of $112, or $20 per hour.
The state’s Freedom of Information Act makes public records generated by a public body or public official available to members of the public upon request. But the agency can charge for costs associated with searching for, retrieving or redacting the requested records, and the cost has to be assessed in line with the prorated hourly salary of the lowest-paid employee qualified to do the work.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
.jpg)