Is It Time To Consider Term Limits On The School Board?

This week we would like you to consider the ramifications of the local school board becoming willing participants in the land grab business. We were listening to a news broadcast when we heard about how local school boards have begun to take part in the latest land grab efforts. The article caught our attention because we remember going to a school board meeting and seeing a local real estate person waiting to participate in an executive session where there would be some discussion on the potential purchase of land. Unfortunately, the real estate participant was listed on the agenda as “land business” without specifics on what was being discussed or why.

It may catch most of you by surprise now that we are putting things together with the revelation of the land grab allegations because it has nothing to do with education. But it brings clarity to the function of our local school board. Our local school board has always been more interested in purchasing outside land than in the operation and organization of our local schools. As we consider the cast of characters who make up our local school board, it introduces an interesting dynamic as to why so many of them seem to be permanent fixtures on the board.

Now, let’s discuss whether it makes sense to have someone at your primary educational institution whose primary interest is acquiring land instead of developing our educational facilities and curriculums. Could that be why they were so quickly redirected toward athletics rather than academics? Now it almost makes a little sense why they were so remiss in providing leadership when it came to educational or academic issues in the past. They were waiting for someone to come in and provide the wherewithal to allow them to move forward. Then we have what we’ve got now, a dictator of a leader. The fact is that with that kind of board surrounding him, all he has to do is recommend something, and they are ready and willing to go along. We guess they are just waiting for the next land purchase opportunity. Considering the situation is perfect for those types of endeavors. All they need is a few willing people to participate, and they’ve got plenty of taxpayer dollars to deal with. We can only imagine how Timmonsville factors into their dealings!

Someone should look into how much excess land the school board controls. All that would be required is going to a school board meeting and requesting land acquisitions. It would be nice to know how much land they own. Some of which might not have anything to do with the building of schools but more or less to give them great economic liberties. The time has come for us to consider term limits on the school board. That is one way to ensure no one gets to stay long enough to develop nefarious agendas. For far too long, our school board has operated in the dark as far as allowing the public to know what happens with taxpayers’ money. But the time has come for transparency to be more than just a promotion slogan. Hasn’t anybody wondered why so many lawsuits get settled secretly in FSD1? We always hear about surrounding school districts through the media and other means. That results from FSD1’s carefully built relationship with the Morning News to keep whatever they don’t want to be posted from getting out. We only ever publicly hear of the good they do, which in and of itself, could be a good thing. But leaving any entity to report on itself also could be a recipe for cover-ups and keeping things from the public they need to know. Our school district has enjoyed that kind of anonymity for far too long. Whatever happened to the lawsuit with the sporting goods store? That and many other things deserve the light of day to be shined on them.

So my recommendation for you this week is to become more mindful of what is happening with your tax dollars. There is more than you might think. Remember, nothing will change until we do! Wake Up!

Sincerely Yours,

What Are The Benefits Of Having Career Board Members?

Elder, James W. Williams

Chairperson, Advocacy Organization, Lifelineplus