Riverview Charter School hires Beaufort Co. official as its new interim director
Riverview Charter School has named a new interim director — and his name will be familiar to those who follow county government.
Robert Bechtold, the current interim Beaufort County deputy administrator, will take over the position from current interim director Sarah Cox on April 19 when the school returns from spring break.
Cox, who previously served as a fifth-grade teacher at the school, will move into the deputy director position. She “will be responsible for the school’s academics and other duties as Bechtold familiarizes himself with the daily operations of the thriving charter school,” according to a school press release.
The announcement comes amid seismic leadership changes in both the county government and at the school.
According to the release, the school’s leadership team has several openings due to retirements and mid-year resignations, and all three finalists for Riverview’s permanent director job withdrew from consideration. Two withdrew on March 29, hours before a scheduled public forum for parents and staff to meet the candidates.
The remaining finalist, sixth-grade teacher Karen Miller, withdrew from consideration Thursday but “expressed interest in joining the school leadership team,” according to the release.
Bechtold said Saturday that Riverview approached him about the job around two weeks ago, conducted an initial interview Monday and gave him a tour of the school Tuesday before selecting him for the job at Friday’s board of directors meeting.
Bechtold lives in St. Helena and served for 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including serving combat tours in the Middle East and acting as a drill instructor at Parris Island.
At Camp Johnson in North Carolina, he served as the lead faculty advisor for the Leadership Academy, supervising curriculum and assessments for 400 to 600 Marines. He does not have previous educational experience with children.
Bechtold said his contract with Riverview is through the end of the 2021-22 school year.
“I was enamored by the school and by the staff,” he said. “My kids have been through 20 or 30 schools, maybe even more, throughout my time in the military.”
He said walking into Riverview was the first time he walked into a school where he could see the school’s core values and beliefs “in every classroom.”
“I anticipate that I’ll want to remain a part of that Riverview family,” he added when asked whether he’ll apply for the permanent position.
His role in Beaufort County government
Bechtold worked as an unpaid International City/County Management Association fellow with Beaufort County starting in June 2020. Former County Administrator Ashley Jacobs appointed him as her interim second in command three months later, in August.
Serving as interim deputy administrator, Bechtold oversaw the operations of all county departments. In October, County Council members forced Administrator Jacobs to resign — a move that was criticized by many of Jacobs’ supporters and the public.
In the wake of Jacobs’ departure, Bechtold frequently advocated for the county to be more open and transparent with the public. In his role, Bechtold also oversaw public records requests and served as a quasi-public information officer, urging his staff to speak with reporters and citizens.
But Bechtold’s hire with Riverview comes as his future with Beaufort County appeared to be in doubt.
During a March 22 county caucus meeting, council member Gerald Dawson caught several officials — including Bechtold — off guard, stating that interim County Administrator Eric Greenway planned to hire someone to fill Bechtold’s position with the county due to dissatisfaction with Bechtold’s performance.
Greenway, in response, refused to discuss the issue in public, only stating repeatedly that the County Council had not given him any “official direction” to make personnel changes.
Called after the meeting, Dawson told a reporter he brought up his discussion with Greenway because he felt that “some council members” were trying to “undo some of the appointments that Ashley Jacobs left in place.” He said he wanted the rest of the council to know what was going on.
“I don’t feel like Ashley got a fair shake when council voted to get rid of her. This is a continuation of trying to dismantle some of her appointees,” he said. “Clearly, (Greenway) had some communications with some council members who were not happy with (Bechtold). He didn’t divulge who they were and I didn’t ask.”
The open deputy administrator position was posted on the county’s hiring website days after the meeting. Bechtold learned from a reporter that the county had posted his job. He later said he applied.
Bechtold said that his last day with the county is April 16.
Why did Riverview’s previous director resign?
Sarah Cox has served as the Port Royal school’s interim director since Nov. 1 following the abrupt resignation of longtime director Alison Thomas.
Thomas announced her resignation Oct. 19, one week before the school transitioned from a hybrid “half-day” schedule to four days a week of full-time, face-to-face classes.
The decision to begin full-time classes was made by the board of directors and opposed by Thomas, who wanted to return to full-day instruction on Nov. 9, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
The school switched to virtual learning in December following COVID-19 exposure that led the entire sixth grade to quarantine and caused a staffing shortage at the school.
The school returned to four days a week of full-time, in-person classes (along with a continuing virtual option) in January following winter break, and is now open five days a week for in-person learning with a continuing virtual option, according to Bechtold.
This story was originally published April 10, 2021 at 1:15 PM.
