Most Beaufort school board members decline comment on hiring of superintendent's wife
This story was updated Sept. 23, 2014 to correct the date on which board members discussed Darlene Moss' potential hire.
Amid the cacophony of reaction to the controversial hiring of Superintendent Jeff Moss' wife to a newly created, highly paid position within the Beaufort County School District, one group has for the most part been noticeably and oddly quiet: the people elected to deal with situations just like this.
The hiring of Darlene Moss was first reported by The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette on Sunday, and subsequent reports have shown that her husband, who has been superintendent since 2013, recently changed the district's nepotism rule dealing with the hiring of a superintendent's family members.
To this point, however, seven of the 11 members of the board have remained mum on the controversy, refusing to make their thoughts public with those who elected them. The lack of leadership is maddening to some.
John Crangle, director of Common Cause South Carolina, a nonpartisan government transparency and accountability advocacy group, said public officials have a duty to take a stand on issues.
"You can't just abdicate responsibility and say you're not going to comment on a public matter if it's under your jurisdiction," Crangle said. "If they're not interested in doing their jobs, then maybe they should get somebody else."
Those who have refused to take a public stance are Evva Anderson, Laura Bush, Earl Campbell, Mary Cordray, Joseph Dunkle, Geri Kinton and Paul Roth. Each board member campaigned for the job and now receives $50 per school board meeting, a travel allowance and a $7,500 salary. Board chairman Bill Evans chooses not to accept the stipend and receives only a salary of $8,500.
Evans is one of only four members who have made clear where they stand: Evans and Bill Payne support the hiring and the circumstances around it; JoAnn Orischak and Michael Rivers have criticized the move. Others have been difficult to pin down.
Several board members have voiced their general support for Jeff Moss and defended Darlene Moss' qualifications, but they would not respond when asked directly whether the hire and its circumstances were appropriate.
Anderson at first said she had no problem with Darlene Moss working for the district but said she couldn't comment further without more information, such as copies of the old and revised rules that Jeff Moss changed. When a reporter read the two rules aloud to her, she repeated she needed more information and later would not respond to reporters' requests for comment.
The silence is drawing criticism from the community.
"What does 'no comment' mean?" said Dot Gnann, a former district teacher, principal and a board member from 1977 to 1983. "To me, it's a cop-out."
Though she said she respects both Moss and Evans, Gnann added that the situation points to serious dysfunction on the school board and in the district office.
"If you ask a public official an opinion about something, they have a responsibility to respond," Gnann said. "Where is the school board leadership that it falls in line behind such questionable decisions?"
One school board member, Rivers, agrees, saying his colleagues should communicate their opinions.
"We have an obligation to keep the public's best interests at heart," Rivers said. "We must remember how we got employed, and it's by the voters, the taxpayers selecting us for the job. If it concerns the public, it should concern us."
One of those concerned is Charles Cornett, a Beaufort resident and former schools superintendent in Ohio. Cornett said he is astounded that some board members seem to be taking Darlene Moss' hiring as business as usual.
"I'm apoplectic," he said. "This doesn't have the appearance of impropriety. It is improper."
Cornett said superintendents must hold themselves to a high standard.
When he led county and school systems in Ohio, he said, he would never have considered allowing a close family member to provide services -- free or paid -- to his schools. The appearance of nepotism matters more than a relative's experience in the system.
"God forbid, I never even thought about hiring (one)," Cornett said.
Darlene Moss applied for the director of innovation job on July 28, three days after the job description was posted online, according to district spokesman Jim Foster. Jeff Moss said he then notified Bill Evans of his wife's interest in the job -- and received Evans' go-ahead for Darlene Moss to potentially work for the district. Jeff Moss said he assured Evans that he would not supervise his wife if she got the job. Instead, Darlene Moss will be supervised by an administrator who reports to the superintendent.
That information, however, doesn't appear to have gotten to the rest of the board. So far, three school board members have said the board was not included in the discussions and that they only learned Darlene Moss was a candidate around Sept. 1 -- after she had been selected for the job by a five-member district panel and approved by chief instructional services officer Dereck Rhoads, who now serves as her boss, and her husband, Jeff Moss.
The same three board members and Evans also said they were not aware that Moss had revised the district's policy on nepotism, which Jeff Moss says he did in late July or early August.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette asked each of the 11 members of the Beaufort County Board of Education whether the hiring of Darlene Moss, the wife of Superintendent Jeff Moss, was appropriate.
Bill Evans, District 2 - Beaufort, Lady's Island
(843) 301-6858 - Cell
bill.evans@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Yes.
"I have a complete belief in (Jeff Moss') integrity and if he said he made the (nepotism rule) change without any regard to this position, then I believe he made the change without any regard to his position."
Mary Cordray, District 8 - Bluffton
District 8 - Bluffton
(843) 681-9838 - Home
(803) 312-1196 - Cell
mary.cordray@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Declined to comment.
Laura Bush, District 9 - Bluffton
Declined to comment.
(843) 757-2638
laura.bush@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Evva Anderson, District 7 - Pritchardville
(843) 683-0680
evva.anderson@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Declined to comment.
Joseph Dunkle, District 4 - Port Royal
(843) 321-9031
joseph.dunkle@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Declined to comment.
Earl Campbell, District 1 - Gray's Hill, Lobeco
(843) 846-4531 - Home
(843) 476-7512 - Cell
earl.campbell@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Declined to comment
Geri Kinton, District 5 - Okatie, Beaufort
(843) 846-2366
geri.kinton@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Yes.
"Given the current research I've been able to do, it was an appropriate hire, if uncomfortable for some," Kinton said, adding, "I'm very disappointed that I was not aware of the change in the administrative rule, but it is administrative rule and at this point, that's the way it works."
JoAnn Orischak, District 11 - southern Hilton Head Island
(843) 338-1737
joann.orischak@beaufort.k12.sc.us
No.
Orischak said she initially thought the hiring was appropriate, but changed her mind after learning the superintendent also revised the district's rule on nepotism in the same time period as Darlene Moss was selected for the job.
Michael Rivers, District 3 - St. Helena Island
(843) 263-8467 - Cell
michael.rivers@beaufort.k12.sc.us
No.
"The human element always plays a part ... Once you become one, you can never be two. ... If you're married, you're married."
Paul Roth, District 6 - Okatie
(843) 422-3528
paul.roth@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Declined to comment.
Bill Payne, District 10 - northern Hilton Head Island
(843) 682-3285 - Home
(310) 600-0873 - Cell
bill.payne@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Yes.
"We just make sure all policies are being followed to the letter, and everything is done legally. ... Based upon our policies, based upon the legality, I would say I trust the human resources department to hire her."
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
Related content:
- Hiring doesn't come up at school meeting, but 2 board members, resident see issues, September 15, 2015
- Superintendent changed nepotism rule: Questions arise following wife's hire for new position, September 14, 2015
- Superintendent's wife hired as new Beaufort County School District administrator, September 12, 2015
This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Most Beaufort school board members decline comment on hiring of superintendent's wife."