Hafner assumes role as Sumter School District superintendent, but media attorney maintains vote was illegal

Sumter School District's second-in-command administrator is now the district's leader, though there is question as to whether the initial vote to promote her was done legally.

A district spokeswoman emailed a two-sentence statement to The Sumter Item Wednesday afternoon that Brenda Hafner has been named lead administrator of the district "while the superintendent search continues.”

The statement came "as a result of board action" on Feb. 28.

On Monday, the district's Board of Trustees voted after returning from executive session 5-4 to pay Penelope Martin-Knox the remaining balance of her contract and allow her to walk away, effective immediately. The motion also included the appointment of Hafner to the role.

Jay Bender, a Columbia-based attorney with open meeting and open records laws who serves as legal counsel for the South Carolina Press Association, maintains the motion, vote and ensuing action were illegal under the Freedom of Information Act because they were not on the agenda.

He told The Sumter Item on Tuesday that the board effectively fired Martin-Knox, even though the word "termination” was not used in the motion.

"It was illegal on the executive session and on the vote to end the superintendent's employment immediately and to place someone in her position immediately. Those items needed to be on the agenda in clear terms, and they weren't, and the vote to do so was illegal," he said Tuesday.

According to Martin-Knox's contract, her termination must be approved by a super-majority of the full school board. The board on Monday fell one vote shy of that six-member threshold.

The motion was brought by Daryl McGhaney and immediately seconded by Sherril Ray. Others voting in favor of the motion were Matthew "Mac" McLeod, Johnny Hilton and Frank Baker, who is vice chairman of the board.

Those against were Chairwoman Barbara Jackson, Brian Alston, Shawn Ragin and Gloria Lee.

In open session, Martin-Knox said Monday she is not in agreement with the terms.

Hafner joined Sumter School District as assistant superintendent for leadership and school excellence in 2018 with duties to "work directly with school principals to help ensure activities in the district office support academic achievement in the schools." She had since been the chief of schools.

She applied for and was named a finalist for superintendent positions in Lexington 2 and Newberry County districts, according to various news outlets including The Columbia Star and Newberry Observer, in 2020 and 2021.

The Columbia Star reported she was a principal in Richland School District 2 and has experience as a founding lead teacher, assistant principal and social studies teacher. The newspaper reported Hafner earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University, "her master of arts in teaching, secondary and middle level social studies from The Citadel and her bachelor of arts in political science from the University of South Carolina."

“It is my pleasure to serve the Board of Trustees, our staff, parents, and community in this capacity. I look forward to collaborating with all stakeholders as we continue the work of the district while providing excellent educational opportunities for our students," Hafner wrote in the second sentence of Wednesday's statement sent from the district.

Eight current members of the nine-member board voted unanimously to name Martin-Knox its superintendent in March 2019, and she officially began in her role on July 1, 2019.

In her first evaluation in October 2020, she received the top score possible from the board.

The performance evaluation for her second year in the district - July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021 - was conducted in December.

During that evaluation, Martin-Knox said she was not seeking an extension past June 30 of this year, and the evaluation was never formally completed.

At the Jan. 10 board meeting, the trustees voted 5-4 to not extend her contract beyond that date. The board's vote that night was the same as Monday's vote. McGhaney, Baker, Ray and McLeod are a consistent voting bloc and have been joined by Hilton on this issue. Jackson, Alston, Ragin and Lee have voted on the other side, with Alston and Ragin being consistent outspoken supporters of Martin-Knox.

After the Jan. 10 vote, Martin-Knox said she would have been receptive to an extension if it had passed because it would be a sign to continue to move forward.

There has been no public statement, whether from an individual or group, about what created the rift between the board majority and the superintendent.

On Feb. 19, Raytown School District in Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, named Martin-Knox its incoming superintendent, effective July 1.

* Related story: https://www.theitem.com/stories/sumter-school-district-board-ousts-martin-knox-before-her-contract-ends-sc-press-association,379037