Chairwoman sets up separate discussion as school board considers getting its own legal counsel

The Beaufort County School Board will form an ad-hoc committee to continue discussion of separate legal counsel, board chairwoman Patricia Felton-Montgomery announced at the May 2 board meeting.

The decision comes after a more than hour-long discussion April 22 at the school board work session when three of the 11 board members were absent. Board member Earl Campbell recommended then that the topic be discussed at the next meeting when all 11 board members are present.

Felton-Montgomery, who before being sworn in as a board member in January told Hilton Head Monthly that the board should have its own solicitor, decided an ad-hoc committee would be a better vehicle for the discussion.

“I anticipated discussions about outside counsel would be extensive and would require considerable time and our board meetings are already several hours long,” Felton-Montgomery wrote in an email. “Therefore, establishing an ad hoc committee would provide a forum for in-depth discussion that would produce recommendations for the entire board to consider.”

Board member Bill Payne will chair the committee, which includes board members JoAnn Orischak, Cynthia Gregory-Smalls, Geri Kinton and David Striebinger.

Two of the five committee members — Orischak and Striebinger — requested the original discussion. Both have expressed reservations on how school district attorney Drew Davis has advised the board in the past.

Felton-Montgomery said in an email that she selected board members who have expressed interest in the issue and also serve in different areas of the district.

The first meeting is scheduled for May 15 at 4:30 p.m. at the district office. If a second meeting is needed, the meeting will take place May 17, also at 4:30 p.m. at the district office, district spokesman Jim Foster said in an email.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Chairwoman sets up separate discussion as school board considers getting its own legal counsel."