Legality of Berkeley Co. Schools’ decision to close elementary school questioned

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Ever since the Berkeley County School Board made the amendment to next school year’s final budget vote to close J.K. Gourdin Elementary and merge it with St. Stephen Elementary, its community has been questioning whether this decision was done lawfully.

The Berkeley County School District’s final budget vote resulted in two elementary schools merging together for the St. Stephen community. And with the amendment to close J.K. Gourdin not on the official agenda, it left many feeling left in the dark.

Retired law professor and attorney for the S.C. Broadcasters Association Jay Bender says that based on the S.C. Title 59 Education laws, there is not a definitive answer as to whether this vote was done legally.

But his legal opinion contradicts that.

“A long-term decision to close a school could not lawfully be adopted as an amendment to a budget,” Bender said.

He says this should have been on the agenda all along.

J.K. Gourdin Elementary parent Rebecca Woodard says she found out her kids’ school was closing from a Facebook post.

“It was like shady and it was a blindside,” Woodard said. “And even if it’s not in the law illegal, it’s morally wrong.”

Both Bender and J.K. Gourdin parents allege something had to happen behind closed doors.

“It seems clear that the school board majority met sometime outside the meeting and decided it was going to close this school,” Bender said.

Parent Jennifer Cook says she found out about the closing from her child’s friend and when she contacted a teacher to clarify, that teacher said they didn’t know any more details than she did.

“I feel like this was a group text message between some people and they talked about it, they discussed it outside of the board and they knew exactly what they were going to do when they got to that board meeting,” Cook said.

If these allegations are true, Bender says this would violate the Freedom of Information Act.

Additionally, Bender compares this amendment to the General Assembly adding provisos to their budget, which are only good for one year. He says that this decision being added to the school year budget which is also only valid for one year, it makes things tricky.

Bender also alleges that with the majority of the board who approved this merge to be white and the majority of the people impacted by it to be black, this can impose a whole other narrative.

“Beyond that, I expect there might be some racial discrimination issues that could be raised in litigation,” Bender said.

With both Woodard and Cook having white families, they say the race factor was never a question for them when determining where their kids went to school. Cook adds that it seems to only be a problem for those not in the community.

Bender says it is still possible to have this decision appealed to the circuit court within 30 days and he advises those opposed to it to contact elected officials.

“Find a member of the General Assembly who could write to the Attorney General to request an opinion on whether or not the procedure followed by the board majority was lawful,” Bender said. “...My notion is that it is likely illegal.”

He says some key questions to ask are whether or not it would be appropriate to include closing a school to a budget because it’s not based on the financial matters for the upcoming year, as well as if it requires a separate stand-alone motion.

“Even if it is not by law illegal, it feels like a crime against the community,” Woodard said.

Bender says if this happens now, there’s no question that it could happen again. He advises people to pay attention to future agendas to make sure they’re being accurately followed.

“If they get away with this, what happens next?” Cook said.

District Chief Communications and Engagement Officer Katie Tanner provided the following statement on behalf of the school board:

The closing of J.K. Gourdin was a matter within and pertaining to the budget, not outside of the budget. The matter came before the Berkeley County Board of Education, in public meetings, on June 3, June 17, and June 24. The request for information regarding the cost savings of the closing and merger was made during a public budget workshop on June 3, as a part of the budget discussion. The information regarding the cost savings was presented to the Board on June 17 during a public, livestreamed meeting of the Board and was included in the presentation of the first reading of the budget. At that meeting, members participated in a public debate regarding the information presented. A week later, on June 24, the Board held a public budget hearing and conducted a second reading of the budget, at which time the amendment was properly motioned and approved.

Additionally, pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 59-17-50, a board of education may consolidate whenever, in its judgment, such consolidation will promote the best interests of the cause of education in the county. Furthermore, South Carolina courts have recognized that school boards have broad discretion in exercising this authority.

As shared through public comment by a community member and confirmed by Board members during debate, previous boards have shared concerns regarding the viability and cost-efficiency of continuing operations of a school with approximately 100 students across the years, as recent as 2021. As evidenced by the Board discussion, the reasons for the closure centered on student count (approximately 106), cost per student to operate (approximately $20,000 a student), and ensuring that students are provided with the educational opportunities and diverse range of programs and resources needed to be successful.

As part of the final budget vote, the Berkeley County School Board approved the merging of J.K. Gourdin and St. Stephen Elementary Schools. The district says this merge will save them $1.5 million and give J.K. Gourdin students the same mental health resources as the St. Stephen Elementary kids.

The idea of the two schools merging was brought up as a consideration at the June 17 general fund budget first reading presentation.

The next school board meeting is Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the boardroom at 107 E. Main St. in Moncks Corner.