Schools & Learning
Riverview board stays neutral in racial numbers investigation
Riverview board stays neutral in racial numbers investigation
Following is a public statement released by the board of directors of Riverview Charter School on Monday, March 1: [ read article ... ]
School board meets Tuesday, March 2, agenda here
School board meets Tuesday
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a regular meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 5. Preceding this public session the board will convene at 4:00 p.m. in executive session. The meeting will be held in the chambers of Beaufort county council, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. Here is the agenda: [ read article ... ]
Letter to editor: School board members need close voter scrutiny
Reader: School board members need close voter scrutiny
Dear Editor,
It appears to me that all of us, with or without children in school, should be paying much closer attention to who is being elected to the Beaufort County Board of Education. [ read article ... ]
Riverview insiders report SC attorney general seeks racial “falsification” info
Riverview insiders: Attorney gen’l seeks racial “falsification” info
Riverview Charter School insiders have reported to The Beaufort Tribune that the S.C. attorney general is asking the state auditor’s office to look into the racial numbers issued by the Beaufort County School District and report any malfeasance. [ read article ... ]
School board’s Riverview racial “error” approximates 5%
School board’s Riverview racial “error” approximates 5%
The Beaufort Tribune has obtained spreadsheets showing that the “error” in the racial composition of the Beaufort County public schools reported by the Beaufort County School District was skewed approximately 5% in favor of African-American students. [ read article ... ]
Riverview parents: We want an independent investigation of the school district
Riverview parents: We want an independent investigation of the school district
The Beaufort Tribune has obtained the following letter, which is being distributed by Riverview Charter School supporters to all Riverview parents to obtain their signatures on the attached letter to the school board:
Dear Riverview Parents:
Please take a moment to review the attached letter to the Beaufort County Board of Education. As we are now well-aware, there are serious questions surrounding the data released by the District to Riverview and the Office of Civil Rights regarding the actual diversity numbers of children in the County. [ read article ... ]
Reader: An open letter to the voters, hold school board members accountable
Reader: An open letter to the voters, hold school board members accountable
To the voters of Beaufort County:
With the current turmoil regarding the Beaufort County School District’s Board of Education and Riverview Charter School, it is relevant to point out 2010 is an election year where voters have the opportunity to hold particular board members accountable. [ read article ... ]
Riverview supporter says school district’s racial data “falsification”
Dear Concerned Riverview Parents:
I am sure that we were all relieved, celebratory and jubilant when we got the news earlier this week that RCS [Riverview Charter School] has dodged a bullet. But, like a real-life near miss, once the relief subsides, one starts to wonder: where did that bullet come from, how was the gun aimed so accurately and who was pulling the trigger? [ read article ... ]
Editorial cartoon: Riverview outsmarts them
Riverview Charter School says school board racial numbers are wrong, goes forward with lottery plans
Riverview: School board racial numbers wrong, onward with lottery
Riverview Charter School’s board of directors announced late Tuesday afternoon it has obtained SC Board of Education statistics on the racial makeup of students in Beaufort County public schools refuting claims by our local school board of a high African-American percentage. “The average white population in grades K – 6 in Beaufort County is at least 4 percentage points higher than what was originally provided to Riverview by the Beaufort County School District”, the announcement stated. “We look forward to holding our enrollment lottery as soon as possible.” [ read article ... ]
Jonathan Green, noted artist of the Lowcountry, supports Riverview Charter School
Jonathan Green, noted artist of the Lowcountry, supports Riverview Charter School
In a letter directed to Fred Washington, chairman of the Beaufort County Board of Education, the noted Lowcountry artist Jonathan Green has issued a plea to the school board to support Riverview Charter School. Here is Jonathon Green’s letter in full: [ read article ... ]
Riverview calls meeting after board of education’s non-support
Riverview calls meeting after school board’s non-support
In a letter from Mary Foster, communications chairperson of the Riverview Charter School board of directors, Riverview’s leaders have called on the Riverview family of supporters to attend a “Town Hall meeting” tonight, Thursday, February 18, in The Commons. The purpose of the meeting is to “clear up any confusion you may have about information that was presented there [at the school board meeting Tuesday], and answer questions that still linger”. [ read article ... ]
Two important school district meetings today and tomorrow
Two important school district meetings today and tomorrow
The Beaufort County Board of Education will hold two important meetings today and tomorrow: [ read article ... ]
Fred Washington, chairman, Beaufort County Board of Education: An open letter to General Assembly members
An open letter to General Assembly members
The following is a open letter released today, February 3, 2010, by Fred Washington, chairman, Beaufort County Board of education to the members of the South Carolina General Assembly. Because of its importance in focusing attention on the dire need in our society to care for at-risk children beginning at age zero, we are publishing his letter verbatim in full:
I do not envy you and the challenges you face in governing our state during these difficult economic times. [ read article ... ]
Op Ed: Speaker Pro Tempore of SC House of Representatives endorses school choice
Op Ed: Speaker Pro Tempore of SC House of Representatives endorses school choice
The following is op-ed article released this week by Harry F. Cato, speaker pro tempore of the SC House of Representatives:
A few years ago I read an article that asked the question, what do Ronald Reagan, Dianne Feinstein, Thomas Jefferson, Milton Friedman, DC Mayor Anthony Williams, both Presidents Bush, and former US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan have in common? [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School hires interim director
Riverview Charter School hires interim director
The Riverview Charter School board of directors has hired Dr. Eileen C. Williams, Ed.D., as interim director of the school while the board continues to search for a permanent director, according to an announcement following the board’s meeting Sunday evening. The move comes after the board fired the school’s first director, Eleanore Bednarsh, after only six months. [ read article ... ]
News release: School “Adequate Yearly Progress” increases due to changes in testing
News release: School “Adequate Yearly Progress” increases due to changes in testing
Officials have released details of this year’s public school rankings and parents are in for a surprise. While Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores for elementary and middle schools across South Carolina have risen slightly, changes in the testing, not higher levels of student achievement, are the cause. [ read article ... ]
Twelve of 27 Beaufort County schools meet “Adequate Yearly Progress” requirement
Twelve of 27 Beaufort County schools meet “Adequate Yearly Progress” requirement
Twelve of the 27 Beaufort County public schools met “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) for 2009, according to data released today by the South Carolina Department of Education. None of the 12 is a high school and only one is a middle school. The other 11 schools meeting the objectives are all elementary schools. Nine of the twelve schools are located north of the Broad River, and three of the twelve are located south of the Broad River. [ read article ... ]
School board member Jim Bequette pays The Beaufort Tribune the ultimate compliment
School board member Jim Bequette pays The Beaufort Tribune the ultimate compliment
If imitation, as it is often said, is the sincerest form of flattery, then Beaufort County Board of Education member Jim Bequette has today paid The Beaufort Tribune and its editor the ultimate compliment. In an email message sent far and wide by Bequette today that refers to the bankrupt Bluffton Today as if it were somehow superior to us, he said: [ read article ... ]
SC schools given “D” for student achievement
SC schools given “D” for student achievement
Weary parents in South Carolina were given more bad news about their public schools this week. Education Week, a national school watchdog, issued its annual “Quality Counts” report card on which South Carolina earned a “D” for student achievement. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School receives 105 new applications in one week
Riverview Charter School receives 105 new applications in one week
After beginning the school’s open enrollment period just one short week ago, Riverview Charter School has already received 105 new applications for openings in the 2010-11 school year. Due to the overwhelming response, new Riverview students next year will once again be selected by lottery. [ read article ... ]
School board meets today to discuss civil rights desegregation agreement
School board meets today to discuss civil rights desegregation agreement
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a work session meeting starting at 9:00 a.m. Friday, January 8. The meeting will begin with a one-hour executive session to discuss the school district’s civil rights desegregation agreement with the US Office for Civil Rights. The meeting will be held in the school district’s board room, 1300 King Street, Beaufort. Here is the agenda:
School board meets Tuesday, first time in 2010, agenda here
School board meets Tuesday
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a regular meeting starting at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 5. Preceding the public session the board will convene in executive session starting at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the chambers of Beaufort county council, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. Here is the agenda: [ read article ... ]
Eleanore Bednarsh departs as principal of Riverview Charter School
Eleanore Bednarsh departs as principal of Riverview Charter School
Eleanore Bednarsh, the principal of Riverview Charter School, also known as the “director”, has departed, according to an announcement by Alison Thomas, the school’s chairperson.
Here is the entire text of the announcement to parents by email at 5:30 am Monday: [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School opens enrollment for new students
Riverview Charter School opens enrollment for new students
Riverview Charter School announced Sunday that it is now accepting kindergarten through 6th grade applications for the 2010-11 school year. Open enrollment will run through January 31. Applications must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. January 31, 2010, to be considered part of open enrollment and included in any ensuing lottery. [ read article ... ]
Letter to the editor: Public school reform
Dear Beaufort Tribune Editor,
I hope you will consider this editorial for publication in your Beaufort Tribune. It deals with public school reform and was authored by Randy Page, president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government and a board member of the Palmetto Family Council.
Thank you,
Neil Mellen
Great schools are not just an economic necessity for our state; they are a fundamental right for the children living in South Carolina. [ read article ... ]
School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale’s salary frozen, academic results withheld, employment contract renewed
School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale’s salary frozen, academic results withheld, employment contract renewed
Beaufort County School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale received a renewal of her employment contract but a frozen salary at the school board’s meeting yesterday. The board announced last month that any salary increase for Truesdale was dependent on receipt from the state of the results of student achievement tests. Yesterday the board withheld from public view the achievement test results but refused to increase Truesdales’ salary, signalling that the test results were not favorable to Truesdale. [ read article ... ]
School board meets today to embargo PASS scores, Truesdale contract nowhere to be seen, agenda here
School board meets today to embargo PASS scores
The 11-member Beaufort County Board of Education will hold a regular meeting today starting at 4:15 p.m. in executive session and 6:00 p.m. in public session. The executive session includes an item called “Embargo PASS data”, which means the board intends to keep secret the State level student achievement data contained in what is know as the PASS scores until a certain date. Consideration of Superintendent Valerie Truesdale’s employment contract, announced in November for this meeting, is not stated on the agenda. [ read article ... ]
Student report cards distinguish Riverview Charter School
Student report cards distinguish Riverview Charter School
Student report cards are a distinguishing mark at Riverview Charter School, according to the most recent issue of Riverview’s monthly newsletter released yesterday, titled Currents. [ read article ... ]
Watchdog group reports statewide drop in high school exit exam scores
Watchdog group reports statewide drop in high school exit exam scores
On the same day the Beaufort County Board of Education stated it is withholding its evaluation of Superintendent Valerie Truesdale’s 2008-2009 performance on academic results until receipt of State level student achievement data, the watchdog organization South Carolinians for Responsible Government reported the results of this year’s Exit Exam, an academic test administered to public high school students across South Carolina. According to figures from the State Department of Education, only 76.1% of students passed both the English/Language Art and Math portions of the exam, down from 80.8% last school year. [ read article ... ]
Board of Education issues statement about superintendent’s job performance, delays evaluation of her academic results
School Board makes statement about superintendent’s job performance
The Beaufort County Board of Education announced Tuesday it is withholding its evaluation of Superintendent Truesdale’s 2008-2009 academic results until after receipt of State level student achievement data. After the board’s executive-session meeting Tuesday, the board issued a statement about its evaluation of Truesdale’s 2008-2009 job performance excluding academic results. The statement said that “excluding academic results which are not yet available, the results of that review yielded the collective opinion of the Board that overall the Superintendent has exceeded expectations”. [ read article ... ]
Special school board meeting Tuesday to evaluate Superintendent Truesdale, agenda here
Special school board meeting Tuesday to evaluate Superintendent Truesdale
The 11-member Beaufort County board of education will hold a special meeting in executive session Tuesday at 4:30 pm, November 24. The purpose of the meeting is to conduct the 2008-2009 evaluation of the superintendent, Valerie Truesdale, and for personnel matters. [ read article ... ]
Editorial cartoon: School board agenda
School board meets tomorrow, Truesdale’s evaluation on the agenda
School board meets tomorrow, Truesdale’s evaluation on the agenda
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a regular meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening, November 17. Preceding the public session the board will convene in executive session starting at 4:00 p.m. for the 2008-2009 evaluation of the superintendent, Valerie Truesdale, and for personnel matters. [ read article ... ]
Pressure grows for phase-out of SC’s Educational Oversight Committee
Pressure grows for phase-out of SC’s Educational Oversight Committee
A member of the South Carolina state legislature is leading the crusade that classroom teachers, not consultants and bureaucrats, ought to be the top priority in the South Carolina public school budgets, That contention has come from critics of the local Beaufort County public school system too. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School second grade newsletter emphasizes reading, writing and arithmetic
Riverview second grade newsletter
Riverview Charter School’s second grade newsletter of November 6 strikes all the right chords– reading, writing & arithmetic. “In reader’s workshop, we will be focusing on voice and how the use of voice (and good descriptions) helps the reader understand the story in the way the writer intended,” the newsletter says. For writing “we will be focusing on strong sentence formation and proper punctuation.” And for arithmetic “this week our mathematicians worked on numbers and number patterns to 10.” [ read article ... ]
Op Ed: State Senator Tom Davis supports school spending reform
Tom Davis supports school spending reform
When it comes to public education in South Carolina, the bad news is all too familiar — almost half of our children do not graduate from high school in four years, and of those who do graduate, far too many score at the bottom of national academic assessments. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School seeks board member
Riverview Charter School seeks board member
Riverview Charter School is seeking from the community at-large nominees for a one-year term on its board of directors. Members are elected annually to the board of directors by the parents and faculty of the school. [ read article ... ]
School board meets tonight, agenda available here
School board meets tonight
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a regular meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. this evening, November 3. The meeting will be held in the chambers of Beaufort county council, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. [ read article ... ]
St. Helena Elementary students get new bicycles for good behavior
St. Helena Elementary students get new bicycles for good behavior
Two outstanding St. Helena Elementary School students were presented new bicycles and safety helmets on Friday as part of the school’s behavior management program. [ read article ... ]
School Board’s two-day retreat Friday & Saturday, superintendent under review
School Board retreats Friday & Saturday, Truesdale reviewed
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a two-day retreat at its main office, 1200 King Street, Beaufort, on Friday and Saturday. The sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day and are open to the public. On the Saturday agenda is a two-hour executive session to conduct the 2008-2009 performance review/evaluation of the superintendent, Valerie Truesdale. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort county youth speak out today against drugs, violence & gangs
Beaufort county youth speak out against drugs, violence & gangs
The group Citizens Against Violence Everywhere (CAVE) invites local teenagers to attend a Youth Speak-Out Saturday at noon at Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL), Ribaut Road, Beaufort. The gathering will take place in TCL’s auditorium. [ read article ... ]
South Carolina’s public schools ranks 48th in high school graduation rate
SC public schools rank 48th in high school graduation rate
Out of 50 states, South Carolina ranks 48th in “Average Freshman Graduation Rate” (AFGR), a measure of freshman who go on to receive full high school diplomas, according to a new report by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta GA that helps government and education leaders in its 16 member states work together to advance education. [ read article ... ]
Southern Regional Education Board sets goals for education
SREB sets goals for education
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has established these goals for education. They are built on the groundbreaking education goals SREB adopted in 1988 and on an ongoing effort to promote actions and measure progress. The goals raise further the sights of the 16 SREB states and challenge them to lead the nation. [ read article ... ]
Editorial observation: Famed New York Times columnist joins criticism of public school system
Criticism of public school system rises
One of the most widely read and highly respected journalists in The New York Times, Thomas Friedman, has joined the rising chorus of criticism of the public school system. Writing as an op-ed columnist in the Times’ October 20 edition, Friedman said “We need to understand that it is not only our financial system that needs a reboot and an upgrade, but also our public school system….We’re not going back to the good old days without fixing our schools as well as our banks.” [ read article ... ]
South Carolina official data shows public school spending continues to climb
Public school spending continues to climb
Data recently released by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board show that K-12 public schools across the state increased their spending by 4.5 percent last year to $8.4 billion for 2008. [ read article ... ]
Here’s agenda for school board meeting today
School board meets today
The 11-member Beaufort County Board of Education will hold a regular meeting today starting at 5:30 p.m. in executive session and 6:00 p.m. in public session. [ read article ... ]
Letter to editor: South Carolina lowers standards to make student test scores “rise”
Reader: SC lowers standards to make student test scores “rise”
Recently, state lawmakers and the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee bowed to the special interests of the South Carolina School Boards and School Administrators Associations to weaken the new PASS test (PACT’s replacement) for assessing student academic achievement. [ read article ... ]
Columnist catalogs what makes a good school
Columnist catalogs what makes a good school
Columnist Nicholas Kristof listed good teachers as the most important element in public school education in a column published by The New York Times yesterday. “Research has underscored that what matters most in education — more than class size or spending or anything — is access to good teachers,” he wrote. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County School District to be recommended for accreditation
School district to be recommended for accreditation
This past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday a 12-member AdvancEd accreditation team visited 12 Beaufort County public schools, completed 59 classroom observations and conducted 398 interviews with eight school board members, 64 administrators, 110 teachers, 35 support staff, 81 parents, community and business partners, and 100 students, according to a press release by the school district. [ read article ... ]
Youth football: Bull Dogs versus the Jags!
Bull Dogs versus the Jags!
Beaufort County in conjunction with WJWJ-TV have recorded and will broadcast the game played last Saturday, October 10, between Beaufort County’s youth football league teams, the Port Royal Bull Dogs and the Lady’s Island Jaguars. The teams are comprised of ten- and eleven-year-old players. [ read article ... ]
Focus on Beaufort County’s public schools: Riverview Charter School
Riverview Charter School is up and running
Riverview Charter School, the first and only charter school in our county’s public-school system, opened its doors to children from kindergarten to 5th grade for the first time this past August 17. Pictured above is the kindergarten class, slated to graduate from high school in 2022. [ read article ... ]
Editor: An open letter to our readers
An open letter to our readers
We are reporting to you on a failure by school board members to engage in public discourse regarding our public schools. Last Tuesday, following county council’s rejection of the school district/school board’s request for a $2.4 million mid-year school tax increase, The Beaufort Tribune sent the following email to the school district’s community services coordinator: [ read article ... ]
Editor: An open letter to Jim Bequette, a member of Beaufort County Board of Education
An open letter to Jim Bequette, a member of Beaufort County Board of Education
Dear Mr. Bequette,
Regarding your voicemail message of yesterday to us complaining about our articles about school spending and other school matters, which can be heard by our readers by clicking here, we want you to know that The Beaufort Tribune has not received any email messages or other correspondence from you within the past two months. If you sent the messages you described in your voicemail, they did not reach us, so please read on. [ read article ... ]
Editor: An open letter to Valerie Truesdale, superintendent of education
Editor: An open letter to Valerie Truesdale, superintendent of education
Dear Ms. Truesdale,
Please answer as many of the questions we asked in our editorial as you feel comfortable answering. We addressed those questions both to you and to the school board members, so we hope the board members will also respond. [ read article ... ]
School district announces “Topping Off Ceremony” for Whale Branch High School
“Topping Off Ceremony” for new high school announced
The “Topping-Off Ceremony” for the new Whale Branch High School will be held Tuesday, November 3, at 3:00 p.m. , according to an announcement from the school district’s community services office. [ read article ... ]
School board meets tomorrow afternoon
School board meets tomorrow afternoon
The Beaufort County Board of Education will hold a regular meeting Tuesday afternoon in county council chambers, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. The meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. with an executive session for one hour to discuss “personnel and student services matters”, followed by a public session beginning at 6:00 p.m. [ read article ... ]
Editorial observation: School district is starting a propaganda campaign
Here are questions the school district & school board need to answer
The Beaufort County School District issued a press release yesterday, a Sunday, which is an unusual day for the administrators of our school district to be at work for any reason, much less to write and send out a press release. The press release is unusual for another reason–it purports to be a statement from the school district, but it is actually a statement from the school board, or is it? [ read article ... ]
Of 22 elected officials, only two answer Tribune’s request for explanation of rejection of $2.4 million school tax increase
22 elected officials asked, only two answer on $2.4 million school tax rejection
Of the 11 elected members of the Beaufort County Board of Education and the 11 members of the Beaufort County Council, a total of 22 elected officials, only two responded with substantive answers to The Beaufort Tribune’s request for their comments on county council’s rejection on Monday of the school district’s $2.4 million tax-increase request. A third promised his comments later, and a fourth made irrelevant comments. [ read article ... ]
School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale explains why district wanted $2.4 million more
School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale explains $2.4 million request
Beaufort County School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale, left, provided the following statement yesterday afternoon to The Beaufort Tribune in response to our request for her comments on Beaufort County Council’s rejection on Monday of the school district’s request for a $2.4 million mid-year increase in school taxes: [ read article ... ]
Sea Island Rotary Club receives $16,000 from Beaufort High School student donations
Sea Island Rotary Club receives $16,000 from student donations
Meredith Keene and Marc Fisher of Sea Island Rotary receive $16,000 check from Dan Durbin, Beaufort High School principal.
Sea Island Rotary Club of Beaufort received a $16,000 check from Beaufort High School students at last weekend’s homecoming football game. The funds will benefit Polio Plus, one of the club’s chosen charities that is also a beneficiary of the club’s Adopt A Shrimp charity race to be held Saturday during the Beaufort Shrimp Festival. [ read article ... ]
Historic first: County council stands up to school board and votes down school tax increase
County council kills school board tax increase
In an historic first, Beaufort County Council at its regular meeting last night killed a mid-year tax increase demanded by the Beaufort County Board of Education. The council’s vote was 7-3 against the tax increase with one member of the 11-person council absent. [ read article ... ]
$2.4 million school tax increase on county council agenda for Monday
$2.4 million school tax increase on council agenda Monday
Beaufort County Council will hold a regular meeting starting at 4:00 p.m. Monday in council chambers, Ribaut Road, Beaufort. On the agenda is the proposal by the Beaufort County Board of Education to increase spending and school taxes by $2.4 million. This happens to be the exact amount of money the school system has contributed to the operation of the new Riverview Charter School, approved by the board after the budget was acopted in June, though the board asserts the increase is not due to Riverview. [ read article ... ]
Letter to editor: Administrators and school boards want to dumb down SC’s school evaluations
School critic: Don’t dumb down student performance measures
There is one sector of the South Carolina economy where government employee unions (or self-styled “public sector professional associations”) thrive and a powerful but self-serving minority constantly threatens the broader long-term public good. That anomalous exception is the public school system. [ read article ... ]
Here is the Beaufort County School District bureaucracy
Meet your school district bureaucracy
Below is the organizational chart of the Beaufort County School District “Leadership Team”, according to the school district’s web site. What are the names of the people who compose this bureaucracy? Why are school teachers not shown as part of this “Leadership Team”? Why aren’t students shown as the focal point of all of this leadership?
Click here to view the organizational chart.
State oversight agency says Beaufort County’s public school system is “below average” and “in jeopardy”, trend is downward
Beaufort County’s public schools get D for “below average”, trend is downward toward flunking
The independent, nonpartisan group set up by the South Carolina state legislature to oversee improvement in our state’s K-12 public education system has given Beaufort County’s public schools a D for performance, which is “below average” and “in jeopardy” of not meeting next year’s performance goals. Our school system’s performance trend is downward compared to previous years, in the direction of flunking out. [ read article ... ]
YouTube: Jim Rex, our state’s superintendent of education, opposes public school choice
State Education Superintendent Jim Rex opposes school choice
The following is a YouTube presentation created by The Voice for School Choice, an initiative of the non-profit South Carolinians for Responsible Government in Columbia SC. The organization is in favor of legislation to allow parents more choice in where they send their children to school in order to improve the level of primary and secondary education of children in South Carolina. Jim Rex, the current state superintendent of education, states in this video that he is opposed to school choice.
Editorial cartoon: Tax and spend is for the kids, NOT!
At $15,240 per student, Beaufort County’s spending is already at the highest level in South Carolina, according to a study recently concluded by The Voice for School Choice, an initiative of South Carolinians for Responsible Government (SCRG). [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County Board of Education meets today, agenda available here
Board of Education meets today
Video: Riverview Charter School presents video of first three weeks of school
Riverview Charter School’s first three weeks
Riverview Charter School, which opened its doors to students for the first time on August 17, celebrated its first student assembly this past Friday, September 4. The assembly included a video of the first three weeks of school, which The Beaufort Tribune is pleased to present for everyone to see. [ read article ... ]
Letter to editor: What about the public schools?
Reader wants more news about public schools
Beaufort Academy is a private school with good people. But what about the public schools? [ read article ... ]
250-pound high school student chokes 70-pound sixth grader on county school bus
Beaufort County Detention Center mug shot of Marcus Anderson-Wright, age 17, weight 250 pounds, booked on felony charges of choking boy, age 12, weight 70 pounds, released on $35,000 bond
250-pound high schooler chokes 70-pound middle schooler on county school bus
A 17-year-old Bluffton High School student weighing 250 pounds choked a sixth grade middle school boy weighing 70 pounds on a Beaufort County school bus Tuesday, according to a press release from the Bluffton Police Department. [ read article ... ]
School board votes to increase property taxes, places burden on commercial property and non-owner-occupied residences
School board increases property taxes in split vote
At the reconvened meeting of the Beaufort County Board of Education yesterday afternoon, the board voted 8-3 to raise the property taxes on commercial property and non-owner occupied homes by 1.4 mils to cover a predicted $2.4 million “shortfall”. [ read article ... ]
Here are the members of the Beaufort County Board of Education
Meet your board of education representative
Here are the members of the 11-person Beaufort County Board of Education. They hold elective office positions.
Each member of the board represents the voters in a single geographical district in Beaufort county. As the result of a change in law by county council in the 1980s, there are no longer any at-large representatives on the board of education representing the collective view of all the voters in the county.
This means each voter elects only one representative on the Beaufort County Board of Education, the representative from the voter’s district.
Do you know who is your board of education representative? Find him or her below.
School board ponders increasing property taxes, reconvenes today
School board adjourns overnight, reconvenes today to consider raising property taxes
In what has been described as an unprecedented move, the Beaufort County Board of Education adjourned its regular meeting last night and will reconvene today. The reason for coming back is to take up the question of raising the mileage rate on property taxes to cover what school district officials called an “unanticipated budget deficit”. [ read article ... ]
Agenda for tomorrow’s Board of Education meeting available here
Board Of Education meets tomorrow
The Beaufort County Board Of Education will hold a regular meeting September 1, 5:00 p.m., county council chambers, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. Click here for the agenda.
Riverview Charter School seeks volunteers
Riverview Charter School, which opened its doors to students for the first time yesterday, is seeking a corps of volunteers from the community to help with a variety of tasks at the new school throughout this school year. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County schools begin 2009-2010 session today; complete list of schools here
Classes begin today in 32 county schools
Classes begin today for the 2009-2010 session in the 32 schools comprising the Beaufort County School District–21 elementary, 6 middle, and 5 high schools . Approximately 18,000 students will arrive to begin their studies in classes that range from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. [ read article ... ]
Here is agenda for tomorrow’s board of education meeting
Beaufort County Board of Education meets Tuesday
The Beaufort County Board of Education will hold a regular public meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, starting at 6:00 p.m. in county council chambers, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. An executive session to discuss a confidential personnel matter will take place at 5:00 p.m. before the public meeting. Here is the agenda: [ read article ... ]
News brief: Beaufort High School’s 40th reunion class of 1969
40th reunion: Beaufort High School class of 1969
The Beaufort High School class of 1969 is having its 40th reunion the weekend of August 28 and 29, Friday night at Harold’s Country Club and Saturday at the Amvets in Port Royal. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort High School class of 1959 plans 50th reunion
50th Beaufort High School reunion: The Tidal Wave rolls on
Members of Beaufort High School’s class of 1959 (above in 1959) are celebrating their 50th reunion the weekend of October 9-11. So far 47 classmates have registered to attend the events, some from as far away as California and Colorado. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County spends $15,240 to educate each public school child, highest spending level in state
Beaufort County’s public school spending at highest in state
At $15,240 per student, Beaufort County’s spending is the highest spending of any large school district in South Carolina, according to a study recently concluded by The Voice for School Choice, an initiative of South Carolinians for Responsible Government (SCRG). [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School needs classroom items
Riverview Charter School seeks donations of classroom items
Riverview Charter School is seeking donations of items to equip its classrooms for the start of the school year. This Saturday, August 8, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and Monday, August 10 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Riverview will be accepting donations at the school building, 302 Burroughs Avenue, Beaufort, of items needed. [ read article ... ]
Ethnic composition of Beaufort County public schools released
African Americans are 95.7% in one Beaufort County public school
At the request of The Beaufort Tribune following the recent imposition of a fixed quota of African Americans on the new Riverview Charter School in order to reach “racial diversity”, the Beaufort County School District has released a spreadsheet showing the ethnic composition of each school in the county’s public system.
The figures, printed below, show that 95.7% of the students in one of the schools, James J. Davis Elementary, are African Americans, the most racially concentrated school in the district. [ read article ... ]
Get accurate student uniform chart here for Beaufort County’s public schools
Uniforms required for elementary & middle schools
Elementary and middle school children in the Beaufort County public school system are required to wear uniforms to school this year.
Printed below is the revised chart of uniforms for elementary and middle school children. It is accurate according to officials at the Beaufort County School District’s head office. [ read article ... ]
Here is agenda for tomorrow’s board of education meeting
Beaufort County board of education meets Tuesday
The Beaufort County board of education will hold a regular public meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, starting at 6:00 p.m. in county council chambers, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. An executive session to discuss personnel matters will take place at 5:00 p.m. before the public meeting. Here is the agenda: [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County Board of Education picks award-winner as new principal
Jennifer Morillo heads Beaufort Elementary School
Jennifer Morillo, an award-winning middle school assistant principal of the year, was named principal of Beaufort Elementary School by the Beaufort County Board of Education at an executive-session meeting on Monday.
Ms. Morillo has been with the school district since 2001, serving as a mathematics teacher at H. E. McCracken Middle School 2001–2004 and, most recently, as assistant principal at Lady’s Island Middle School.
During her tenure at Lady’s Island Middle School, Ms. Morillo was named middle school assistant principal of the year by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators. [ read article ... ]
Editorial: Beaufort County School District ignores Riverview Charter School
The biggest news in public education in northern Beaufort county for the past two years has been the herculean effort by hundreds of leaders, families and supporters to open Riverview Charter School. Riverview is a county public school under the purview of the Beaufort County School District. Yet one would never know Riverview Charter School exists if one were to visit the school district’s web site. [ read article ... ]
Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964: Overview of the law
The following is a summary of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination based on race, color or national origin, as stated on the web site of the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education: [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School shows entrepreneurial spirit
Riverview Charter School’s leaders have stepped out smartly to complete the tasks necessary to open the school on August 17, following last Saturday’s approval of the school by the Beaufort County board of education. Proof is no further away than the following letter to Riverview’s families and supporters from Riverview’s volunteers and enrichment chairperson, Mary Foster. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School adjusts to racial quota requirements
In a rapid response to the imposition on Saturday of a fixed racial quota of African-American students and teachers at the new Riverview Charter School by the Beaufort County Board of Education and the U.S. Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the school’s leaders announced yesterday immediate steps to comply with the requirements. [ read article ... ]
Editorial comment: Press access to governmental information “a necessary ingredient of good government” says S.C. Attorney General
The recent and ongoing inability of The Beaufort Tribune readily and easily to obtain public information from the Beaufort County Board of Education and the Beaufort County School District brings us to publish today the complete text of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
The Attorney General of South Carolina says it best in his preface to the act: “A diligent and alert press is a necessary ingredient of good government, and as public officials we have a duty to assist members of the media in the exercise of their responsibilities.” [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School leaders, families and supporters celebrate approval
Riverview Charter School leaders, families and supporters are celebrating today approval of their school to open on August 17 as the first charter school in the Beaufort County public school system. [ read article ... ]
Breaking news: Beaufort County Board of Education imposes racial quota on Riverview Charter School
The Beaufort County Board of Education voted this morning to impose a racial quota on Riverview Charter School to guarantee a fixed minimum percentage of African-American students as the price of its willingness to approve the school for opening on August 17. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School organizers say school board will approve today
Riverview Charter School organizers announced by email late Friday afternoon to the 170 families of the students chosen by lottery to attend the school that “the Board of Education will formally vote on our charter at their retreat tomorrow (Saturday, July 18) at 9:00 A.M. in the School District offices on King St.” [ read article ... ]
Complete text of email message from Riverview Charter School
The following is the complete text of the email message from Riverview Charter School to the 170 families planning to send children to Riverview: [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County Board of Education meets tomorrow, agenda unavailable
The 11 members of the Beaufort County Board of Education will meet for their summer “retreat” tomorrow. The agenda for the meeting is not known to The Beaufort Tribune because public information about the board’s agendas, and about the operations of the school district, are not readily available to the public. [ read article ... ]
Editorial comment: Beaufort County School District flunks “transparency” test
Transparency is the process of conducting the public’s business so that the public knows what is going on. The impenetrable wall blocking public access to public information is supposed to be torn down, replaced by transparent gossamer through which public information flows freely to the public. [ read article ... ]
Local parish church offers kindergarten classes
St. Helena Preschool in downtown Beaufort is expanding to offer a kindergarten class for 5-year-olds for the upcoming 2009-2010 academic school year. [ read article ... ]
Truesdale says Riverview may not open, other schools not change
In a tortuously worded, reluctantly released statement, Beaufort County School District’s superintendent of education, Valerie Truesdale, revealed late last week that Riverview Charter School may not open in August and other schools in the district may not change due to decisions that “adversely affect racial composition.” [ read article ... ]
Full text of statement by School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale
The following is the full text of the statement by School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale: [ read article ... ]
Beaufort County Education Board cancels July 21 meeting, retreats on July 18, agenda unknown
The Beaufort County Board of Education has cancelled its July 21 regularly scheduled meeting, which had been planned to follow its summer retreat on July 18. [ read article ... ]
Riverview Charter School issues statement, continues hopeful
Riverview Charter School leaders continue hopeful that the school will be approved by the school board and will be open on August 17, according to a statement e-mailed by Geri Kinton, the school’s communications chairperson, to Riverview’s 170 families this past Thursday, July 9. [ read article ... ]
School district acknowledges role of The Beaufort Tribune in informing public
The Beaufort County School District acknowledged on Friday the role of The Beaufort Tribune in keeping the public informed about the Riverview Charter School situation. [ read article ... ]
Editorial cartoon: Beaufort County School District, where learning has to wait on the OCR
Cartoon by Michael Benton
School board delays decision on Riverview Charter School again
Anticipated by supporters of Riverview Charter School to be the “drop-dead date” for a decision on approval of their new school (click here for related article), today proved to be a non-date when the Beaufort County Board of Education failed to place the issue on its 6:00 p.m. meeting agenda. [ read article ... ]
Today is apparent deadline for civil rights office to seal fate of Riverview Charter School
Riverview Charter School’s fate remains uncertain
Today, June 30, is the self-imposed deadline of the U.S. Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to decide whether to approve the opening of Riverview Charter School in August, according to Geri Kenton, the school’s communications director. [ read article ... ]
Quarter billion dollar county and school budgets to be adopted on Monday
County and schools
spend $1,055,545 a day
Beaufort county council is poised to pass on third and final reading the county’s $103,769,730 budget and the school district’s $171,425,974 budget at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday.
Taken together, the budgets total $275,195,704, more than a quarter billion dollars in local public spending for county government and county schools. That is a spending rate of $1,055,545 every work day [ read article ... ]
School board delays vote on charter school approval; civil rights office expresses concerns
Riverview supporters shocked by school board’s delay
“Yes, tonight’s the night folks!”, Riverview Charter School’s publicity chairperson, Geri Kinton, announced in advance of Beaufort County’s school board meeting on Tuesday to the 170 families planning to send their 247 children to the long-anticipated charter school. [ read article ... ]
$102,517 academic improvement officer in public school system to lead local private academy
Randy Wall hired as new Beaufort Academy headmaster
Beaufort, Thursday, June 4, 2009. Randy Wall, currently the academic improvement officer in the Beaufort County public school system, has been chosen by the Beaufort Academy board of trustees as headmaster. [ read article ... ]
Beaufort High cadet honored
Beaufort, Thursday, June 4, 2009. The Gen. Richard H. Anderson Camp of the Son’s of Confederate Veterans (SCV) honored Beaufort High School’s Air Force JROTC Cadet Col. Chase Metzger with the JROTC H. L. Hunley Award to a standing ovation of over 40 members, guests and Chase’s mother on Monday, June 1. [ read article ... ]
Two Battery Creek High School Marine JROTC cadets receive awards
Beaufort, Wednesday, May 20, 2009. Gerald Wynn of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) presented Cadet 2nd Lt. Niels McCullers (pictured above) with the H. L. Hunley Medal, named for the Confederate submarine and first submersible craft to sink a vessel in combat. [ read article ... ]
