Building’s fate on hold

No decision expected until ’09 on District 17 facility

By MARY DOLAN
Item Staff Writer

A decision as to whether Sumter School District 17 will be able to construct the $3.5 million administration building it desires likely will not be made until early in 2009, per discussion at the meeting of the Consolidation Transition Committee on Thursday night.

The committee’s members, who were recently handed the responsibility of deciding the fate of the proposed building by a judge, spent more than two hours talking about how they wanted to approach the decision. Discussion revolved around who to hear from, what information to consider, further involvement by the judge and when to meet again.

The committee eventually laid the basic groundwork for its decision-making process, directed Co-Chairmen Bill Painter and Larry Blanding to inquire further of 4th Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Baxley and decided to avoid attempting a December meeting and agreed to meet again Jan. 8.

Worry about having to make such a controversial decision and the possibility of lawsuits from the community led the committee to direct Painter to determine: (a) whether the members can obtain some sort of insurance, and (b) whether the judge will protect and hold harmless the members of the committee from the community at large.

After a group of Sumter residents brought suit against District 17 to stop it from constructing the administrative facility, the matter spent a large part of the year in court before Baxley. Baxley decided last month that the committee, designed to oversee the merger of Sumter’s two school districts over the next several years, would be best suited to make the decision as to whether the district should be able to move forward.

Thursday’s meeting was the first full meeting of the committee since Baxley passed along the task to its members.

Painter spent about the first half of the meeting reviewing several questions the committee had submitted to Baxley pertaining to its handling of the decision and Baxley’s responses, per a conversation he had with Painter and Blanding on Thursday afternoon.

The co-chairs had asked whether members of the committee with conflicts of interest — attorney John Keffer, who works for the same law firm as attorney Ken Young, who is representing the petitioners against District 17, and the members of District 17’s board who serve on the committee — should be recused from discussion of the building matter. Painter relayed that Baxley felt it would be best for them to do so. The committee eventually put it to a vote and recused Keffer and District 17 board members Doug Mathis and Leola McFadden from being a part of this decision.

Painter and Blanding had also asked the judge his opinion on whether the committee should hear arguments from only District 17 and the petitioners or whether the public should be involved as well. Baxley made it clear he wanted public input to be a part of the decision-making process, Painter said.

The judge also advised the co-chairs that no part of the discussion should be held in executive session and that rather all talk and all votes should be carried out in public.

With further input from Painter and Blanding, the committee decided it would hold a special meeting at which it would hear comment from District 17 for a period of time no longer than 30 minutes, comment from the petitioners for period of a time of no longer than 30 minutes and comment from up to 10 members of the public in support of and up to 10 members of the public against the construction of the planned building for a time of no longer than three minutes apiece. All speakers — from the district, the petitioning side and the public — will have to submit a written outline to the committee 15 days prior to the meeting at which they will be speaking, the committee decided.

Though at points during the meeting, some committee members seemed tentative about the decision they’re faced with making, Painter said it’s a decision that has to be made.

“When we get down to the bottom line, this committee is going to make a decision on this issue ...,” Painter said.



Contact Staff Writer Mary Dolan at mdolan@theitem.com or (803) 774-1294.