A Midlands school board entangled in multiple controversies will add four newcomers

A Midlands school district embroiled in multiple controversies over the last two years is expected to see a slate of new faces on its board of trustees.

Voters have elected four newcomers to the Lexington-Richland 5 school board.

All three incumbents who sought to keep their seats on the board lost their races Tuesday. One incumbent, Ken Loveless, lost by just 14 votes.

It is not yet clear if there will be a recount in the Lexington-Richland 5 race. Lexington County Elections Director Lenice Shoemaker said the county is conducting a hand-count audit at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

“We will know Friday after certification if or when there will be a hand count audit for the school boards,” Shoemaker said via email.

Numbers reported Wednesday morning have business owner Elizabeth Barnhardt earning the most votes in the race for two Lexington County representatives on the board, with 23.64% of votes. Former Chapin High School principal Mike Satterfield followed, edging ahead of Loveless.

On the Richland County side, South Carolina Bar diversity and membership services manager Kimberly Snipes easily secured one of two seats, earning the most votes in that race with 29.49% of votes.

Kevin Scully, who was sued by Loveless for criticizing him on Facebook, secured the second seat, with 28.83% of votes.

Incumbents Nikki Gardner and Tifani Moore both lost their Richland County seats, trailing Snipes and Sully by more than 1,000 votes each.

Snipes said she doesn’t know yet what the first priorities will be until she joins the board and can see things from that perspective. She added that her election is particularly exciting as there are not yet any Black women on the school board.

“That’s a really big deal in a district where we have such a diverse group of kids, and I’m so excited that I’m able to add something to the board that shows just a little bit more the makeup of students in our district,” she said.

Changing dynamics

“I think it’s good for new board members to come into play,” said current board chair Jan Hammond, who did not seek reelection and whose term ends this year.

“I’m not surprised it was close,” she said, referencing the 14-vote gap between Loveless and Satterfield. “I think people are very interested in school boards. I think COVID shined a light on schools, and more people maybe paid attention to what kids are doing in class.”

Hammond endorsed Barnhardt and said she was “tickled” to see her win but added she also would have liked to see Loveless keep his seat.

Loveless has been a controversial character on the board. He’s been the subject of an S.C. Ethics Commission inquiry about a relationship with one of the district’s construction contractors, and he has filed multiple lawsuits against constituents who have criticized him on Facebook, including Scully, who won one of the open Richland County seats on the board Tuesday.

The new faces will join a board entangled in multiple controversies.

“There’s certainly nerves that come along with that, because you are walking into a situation where things are a little strained in certain areas,” Snipes said, but added she believes the board will work together to move beyond past issues.

Heartburn over the handling of the resignation of former superintendent Christina Melton has caused a number of problems for the board.

Another former superintendent, Stephen Hefner, raised questions about how the district hired Melton’s temporary replacement, Akil Ross. The district sued Hefner for writing the complaint, then dropped the lawsuit, only for Hefner to countersue. The district has now spent nearly $9,000 on that legal action.

It is not the only legal action the district is engaged in related to Melton’s resignation.

After the board approved a $226,368 settlement with Melton behind closed doors prior to her resignation, The State Media Co. sued the district, alleging it had violated the state’s open meeting laws by not presenting the settlement to the public before approving it.

A judge dismissed that suit after a procedural requirement was not met. The State is appealing that decision.

Earlier this year, board attorney Andrea White resigned, stating in a letter to the board’s chair, “a lawyer may withdraw where the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement.” The letter does not specify which legal action led her to resign.

Other ongoing issues in the district include an audit on construction work for Chapin’s Piney Woods Elementary School that alleges the firm Contract Construction fraudulently went 50% over budget on the project. The firm has denied the allegations and criticized the audit report.

The Lexington-Richland 5 school district has also caught recent attention for its removal of a children’s book about Black culture and identity, called “Black is a Rainbow Color,” by Angela Joy. On Wednesday, a district committee reviewed the complaint and ruled that the book is appropriate and will remain in schools.