What’s happening in Lexington-Richland 5? A look at how SC school district got here

Many parents and students in the Lexington-Richland 5 school district have been thrown for a loop since last week, when their highly lauded superintendent, Christina Melton, suddenly resigned from her position leading the Chapin-Irmo area’s schools.

How did one of South Carolina’s top school districts find itself engulfed in controversy? Here’s a timeline of how and why the relationship between Melton and the district’s school board turned sour.

School reopening email exchanges

Sept. 14, 2020: The earliest signs of trouble arose at the beginning of the school year. At a school board meeting, the board voted 4-3 to follow Melton’s advice for a slow reopening process after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools, despite loud protests from parents calling for a return to full-time face-to-face instruction.

At this same board meeting at Irmo High School, a simmering feud over the construction of the new Piney Woods Elementary School led board members Beth Hutchison and Ed White to accuse their colleague Ken Loveless of an unethical business relationship with the firm building the new school.

Emails released by the district show Loveless was upset with Melton’s role in the meeting, where she stayed silent about the disagreement among board members.

“I have a hard time believing that you were part of group (sic) that aimed to hurt me on Monday night,” Loveless wrote. “How could you let them do that to me without saying anything? How sad is that? At least I know.”

Election shakes up school board members

Nov. 3, 2020: On Election Day, three of the four board members who supported Melton’s plan left the board. Hutchison did not seek re-election, while Michael Cates and Robert Gantt were defeated in their re-election bids. Rebecca Blackburn Hines, Matt Hogan and Catherine Huddle are elected in their stead, changing the shape of the board majority.

Lexington-Richland 5 reopening plans hit a snag

Nov. 30, 2020: The district’s reopening plan hits a snag, leading Melton to express the concern at a special Nov. 30 meeting that the district could have difficulty staffing schools unless classes reverted to the mix of in-person and online learning it started the school year with.

But the board adjourned without taking action on Melton’s proposal, which left a four-day in-person schedule in place.

Dec. 1: The next day, enough teachers called out that three high schools had to close for the day, in an apparent protest of the board’s decision.

Dec. 2: the board called another meeting and voted to revert to a hybrid schedule for the remainder of 2020.

Mask confusion between school board, attorney

May 4, 2021: With schools now back in session five days a week, the school board voted 4-2 to do away with a requirement that students wear masks in schools, in response to criticism from some parents over the policy. The policy is set to go into effect the next Monday, May 10, the same day as the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

May 6: The school district announces the mask policy will remain in place, after district officials consulted with attorney Andrea White over a potential conflict with the S.C. Department of Education’s mask guidelines and a potential lawsuit by employees over the change. A briefing was scheduled for Monday’s board meeting.

May 10: White briefed the board on the potential legal effects on the district of rescinding the mask policy, including the potential legal consequences of breaking from state guidelines. The board voted 5-2 to “encourage” students to wear masks but not to require it, with Ed White and Chair Jan Hammond voting against. More than one teacher told the board its decisions led them to leave their positions with the district. The next day, Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order voiding all local and district-level mask requirements.

Melton’s shock resignation

June 14: During a regular school board meeting, board member Ed White publicly resigns his seat and leaves the meeting, citing his opposition to the board’s settlement with Melton. The board then goes into an unscheduled, closed door executive session on “a contractual matter.” When the board reconvenes, Melton emotionally announces her resignation as superintendent effective June 30.

‘Hostile and abusive’

June 15: Now former board member Ed White accuses board members of Nikki Gardner, Catherine Huddle and Ken Loveless of creating a “hostile and abusive work environment” for Melton, and of forcing her to resign.

“They wanted to present the false façade that she had resigned and keep it from the public until after the school year adjourned, ostensibly to avoid the criticism they would receive for their actions. I refused to sign the agreement,” White said.

When contacted by The State, Gardner, Huddle and Loveless declined to comment, citing a board policy that only the chair should make comments to the media.

Closed-door deal

June 16: The State exclusively obtains a copy of the settlement agreement with Melton signed by board members at Monday’s board meeting. The agreement commits the board to pay Melton $226,368 on top of her regular salary as she resigns, and commits both Melton and the board to “not make any negative or disparaging statements or remarks concerning each other to any third person, entity or organization,” at risk of a $20,000 penalty.

The legality of the agreement is questioned as the board agreed to it in a closed-door session, and the document has never received a public vote or discussion in a school board meeting.

Tight-lipped school board speaks

June 17: The school board releases an unsigned statement making their first public comment on Melton’s departure. The statement denied any wrongdoing in how the board handled Melton’s departure, but did not otherwise explain Melton’s resignation or respond to public accusations the superintendent was pushed to resign.

Email drama, new interim schools chief

June 22: Emails detailing tensions between the board and Melton are reported by The State. That same day, the remaining board members name former Chapin High School principal and national principal of the year Akil Ross to be the district’s interim superintendent after meeting for nearly two hours behind closed doors. Around 45 parents and teachers protested outside the district headquarters ahead of the meeting.