Jasper Co. charter school director resigns, citing health concerns. What happens next?
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the governance system for Riverview Charter School. The story has been updated.
Melissa Crosby will step down as executive director of Ridgeland’s Polaris Tech charter school on Nov. 30, a decision the school’s board of directors approved Tuesday night.
Lloyd Newton, the chairman of Polaris Tech’s board, said Wednesday that Crosby resigned “to take care of family medical concerns” that are unrelated to coronavirus.
Crosby will stay on with the school “in a reduced capacity as an education advisor,” according to a Wednesday press release.
Brandi Boseman, the school’s director of teaching and learning, will take over as interim director.
Crosby was hired as the school’s first executive director in 2018. She oversaw its construction, hired its staff and opened it “on time and under budget” in summer 2018.
Charter schools are public schools, and students don’t pay tuition — they apply to go to the charter school instead of their neighborhood’s public school, and generally participate in an enrollment lottery if demand exceeds school capacity.
Most charter schools in South Carolina, including Polaris Tech, are governed by the statewide Public Charter School District and have individual boards of directors rather than a county’s school district and school board.
Boseman was one of Crosby’s first hires as executive director, according to the release.
The two worked together at their previous jobs. Crosby was director and Boseman the science facilitator for Colleton County High School’s Cougar New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy in Walterboro.
In the release, Crosby called her tenure at Polaris Tech “the most fulfilling years of my career.”
“I have worked alongside some of the finest educators and most committed board stakeholders in the country,” she said. “The opportunities that I have been afforded to turn the dream of Polaris Tech into a reality are unrivaled.”
As education advisor, the former director will be available for questions and guidance for the board, Boseman and school staff.
Newton said Crosby’s salary, which was around $95,000 as executive director, will be reduced in her new role. Boseman’s salary will be raised to match her new responsibilities.
“Dr. Crosby and I have worked together long enough that I know we will move ahead the rest of this school year as planned,” Boseman said. “The pandemic keeps everyone flexible, but we work closely with our students and their families to keep everyone connected.”
The school will begin a national search for a permanent director in the near future, per the release. A similar search was used to find Crosby.
“We would be very pleased if (Boseman) competes as well, but we’ll go outside to find applicants that are the best fit for Polaris Tech,” Newton said of the search.
Crosby is the second Lowcountry charter school director to tender a resignation this month. On Nov. 1, Alison Thomas stepped down as the longtime director of Port Royal’s Riverview Charter School, which is a part of Beaufort County School District. She had abruptly announced her resignation a week prior.
Thomas had reportedly clashed with the school’s board of directors on their decision to reopen the building for four full days of instruction per week prior to resigning. She was replaced by interim director Sarah Cox, a fifth-grade teacher at the school.
Polaris Tech serves more than fifth- through eighth-grade students from Jasper, Colleton, Hampton and Beaufort counties and focuses on aerospace, health sciences and business management training.
The school returned to all-virtual instruction on Nov. 4, when the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control labeled Jasper County as “high-risk” for the spread of COVID-19.
As of Monday, DHEC has not reported any COVID-19 cases among students or staff at Polaris Tech.
The school has not set a date to return to hybrid learning and will continue to monitor DHEC’s metrics, Newton said.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 4:30 AM.