Editorial: The public deserves to know what happened between Sumter school board, Martin-Knox
I have yet to write an editorial since arriving to The Sumter Item in 2017. It's time.
Yet another superintendent is gone from Sumter County. That's four in 11 years. The public deserves to know why, but Sumter School District's Board of Trustees' lips are sealed.
Quick disclaimer: I've written columns and commentary before, mainly about the pandemic or the importance of supporting local news. Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. Our reporters remain fair, objective and separate from editorials.
OK, back to business.
My memories of Penelope Martin-Knox are of her dancing with children, visiting their schools, reading to them on social media nearly every night of the pandemic. Teachers liked her. Parents liked her. (Not every single one, obviously. But generally.)
Being liked as a leader is nice, but it's not the bottom line. How you manage the bottom line is the bottom line.
Let's draw this out, shall we?
The district endured a net loss of about $4.4 million in fiscal 2016 because of overspending that dropped its bank account to $106,449. A school district serving thousands of children, the county's largest employer other than Shaw Air Force Base, had enough money to buy a 2016-priced 1,200-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. No garage.
Savings have been reported every year since, including $11 million in 2020.
The district's general fund balance at the end of fiscal 2021 stood at $32.6 million. Up from $106,449.
Some of that can be attributed to attrition and teacher vacancies, but the balance is now in what is considered best practices by the Government Finance Officers Association rather than a state-declared fiscal emergency. And the $7.3 million net income the district enjoyed in 2021 was even after employees got a total of $4.1 million in bonuses.
The superintendent in 2016? Current board member Frank Baker.
The board member who made a surprise, sudden motion in 2013 to remove the word "interim" from before Baker's title as superintendent? Current board member Daryl McGhaney.
So, Martin-Knox enjoyed general support from those she served. Amid a pandemic and the fallout of a budgetary crisis. She helped continue the upward trend in finances. She received the highest possible score in her first evaluation in October 2020.
What happened?
The school board's attorney said The Sumter Item's request for text messages and voicemails between board members concerning the superintendent was "absurd" and couldn't fathom how to furnish them. The attorney spoke on behalf of the whole board, yet two of them (and the promise of a third) and Martin-Knox complied on their own. Emails requested show an inconsistent method of communication.
The board majority that voted Martin-Knox out might be playing politics, playing revenge, playing anything but what's best for Sumter County's children, their parents and their teachers, and they might not be held accountable tomorrow for making administration changes without a stated reason for doing so and by an illegal vote.
All this while the words "student" and "children" seem to be forgotten by the ones leading policy over their education. All this while seasoned teachers continue to retire, leaving less opportunity for mentorship in new, younger teachers, who continue to burn out and quit. All this while enrollment declines and both teachers and students find new places for education in alternative options (of the five most recent District Teachers of the Year, one now works at CSPAN and two took jobs at Sumter's new public charter school).
While the public's trust in Sumter School District crashes like glaciers.
The board majority has violated its moral duty to serve the children and district staff. Sumter has so much going for it and is growing and improving in so many ways. We have exceptional teachers here who love their jobs and their students but don't feel supported. Who would want to send their kid to school in this district?
It's our job at The Sumter Item to help you with the "what happened." With the "why." To hold them accountable and shine light. To be a public service to our readers and the Sumter community.
In the meantime, bear with us. This is a first step. But it's not the last one. When a Freedom of Information Act request is submitted, the subject has 10 business days just to say whether they will comply or not. Then they have 30 calendar days, in most cases, to furnish the request.
But there's a wonderful thing about this country. They can be held accountable. By you. On the ballot. Six of the board's nine members are up for election this November, and four of them voted to remove Martin-Knox without an explanation to you.
Kayla Green is executive editor of The Sumter Item.