1 of 2 Beaufort County school board candidates stands with 3 members against Moss review
Three members of the Beaufort County school board say they disagree with the full board's recent decision not to investigate superintendent Jeff Moss' changing of the district's nepotism rule.
A fourth voice may join that chorus following a special election on Feb. 2 to fill a vacant school board seat.
"If anything, the nepotism issue has shown the board needs to ask some more penetrating questions," said David Striebinger of St. Helena Island, one of two candidates who has filed for the open seat.
The filing period ended Tuesday to represent District 2, comprised of portions of Beaufort, St. Helena Island, Lady's Island and Fripp Island.
Former school board chairman Bill Evans vacated the seat in October amid public outcry over Moss changing the district's nepotism rule and approving the hiring of his wife to a job that paid $90,000.
The other candidate in the race, Rebecca Cooper of Lady's Island, declined to comment on whether a review was needed.
"It appears to me that (members of the school board) have put that behind them and they are moving to the next chapter," Cooper said, a former Savannah-area educator who is now president of the Beaufort branch of the American Association for University Women.
Last week, the 10-member board released a statement about its decision not to conduct a separate review of Moss' conduct so far this school year, acknowledging its shared responsibility and "dissatisfaction with the way the matter unfolded."
Ultimately, though, the board said the "issue has been dealt with appropriately."
One board member, JoAnn Orsichak, said the board removed a more strongly-worded sentence from the statement after she left the meeting at 10 p.m., about an hour before it ended. The missing language noted the superintendent did not provide the board with adequate information, possibly influencing the course of events, she said.
"I think that it lost some of the meaning," Orischak said, although she added that it probably wouldn't matter to most residents. "It's not giving the response they're looking for so the statement is frankly neither here nor there."
Board member Michael Rivers said the final statement did not reflect the opinions of the "minority," referring to himself, Orischak and Joseph Dunkle, another vocal critic of Moss.
"It did not say as much as it could have said," Rivers said. "What you see is what the majority agreed to."
Rivers and Orischak said they look forward to the results of a review of the nepotism rule change by the S.C. Ethics Commission. The agency has received at least one complaint, but it will not confirm nor deny it is investigating the issue.
"Until there is some external review or eyes, it's going to be hard to bring closure to this because a lot of people in the public do not feel comfortable with the board policing itself or policing Dr. Moss," Rivers said.
On Sept. 21, two days after Darlene Moss resigned as innovation director, the board spoke with Moss behind closed doors and implemented several changes to increase oversight, namely crafting its own nepotism policy, approving all district hires and involving itself in the district's rule changes.
The board continued its efforts to write a nepotism policy at a human resources committee meeting Thursday afternoon, when it approved a draft to bring to the full board.
Still, in gathering residents' signatures for his petition, Striebinger said a majority of residents he spoke with take issue with how Moss handled the hiring of his wife.
"Regardless of technicalities and legal entanglements there, I believe that Dr. Moss should have known that that was not consistent with the spirit of the nepotism rule," Striebinger said. "And I know he said there are people who have a grudge against him and knowing that should have made him even more sensitive to not doing that."
"If in fact there are people out to get him for any reason, you don't hand them something on a silver platter like that."
While their views differ, both Striebinger and Cooper said there is nothing left to do about the nepotism episode.
"I think that something a little sterner would have been in order based upon the damage those actions have done to the district's reputation, the board's reputation and the superintendent's reputation," said Striebinger. But "once the board has said that's the end, there's probably no reason to keep trying to pick at that scab."
Regardless of who is elected Feb. 2, a board shift is unlikely until next November, when Orischak, Laura Bush, Earl Campbell and Paul Roth are up for re-election, Rivers said.
"There's going to be some new board members," Rivers said. "I think Dr. Moss is shrewd enough to realize that some things are going to change."
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
Related content:
- Beaufort County superintendent Jeff Moss gets high marks in school board evaluation; wife's hiring left out, November 25, 2015
- Beaufort County parent announces run for school board, November 8, 2015
- Former school administrator to run for Beaufort County school board, November 16, 2015
This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "1 of 2 Beaufort County school board candidates stands with 3 members against Moss review."