Colleton Co. School Board takes no action on terminating superintendent

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - After nearly three hours of executive session, the Colleton County School Board took zero action on terminating their superintendent, Dr. Vallerie Cave.

The topic of her contract has been on the executive session agendas for months now, but this is the first time it appeared on an open session agenda. Cave has been with the district since May 2021.

The room fell silent when the board came back out from executive session to hear the decision. When they rattled off the motions, some showed confused faces and some clapped when no mentioning of the superintendent was brought up before the meeting adjourned.

The night started off with probably over 70 people in attendance and although the number dwindled down by the end, there were still a couple dozen people that stayed for an answer.

Most of the people that spoke in public comment said they want Cave to stay. However, around five people that spoke off camera say they want her out. One of the main reasons was because of the lack of accountability they’ve seen in schools regarding student behavior.

The Coalition for a Better Colleton held a press conference outside the district before the meeting. This organization promotes bettering Colleton County overall.

Hiram Davis, the chairman of the coalition, says they want Cave to stay because of her impact on priority schools, adding grant programs to the district and keeping a positive track record of money.

“She may not be able to please everybody and again, who can?” Davis said. “Can we all please everybody?... It takes 3-5 years to turn around a school district upon taking leadership. Dr. Cave has only been with the district a year and a half. They have not even given her an opportunity to even start some of the things that she has wanted to do in the district.”

Cave and board members declined to make any comment and there’s no information at this time of if or when the board will revisit this.

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