Council chairwoman says Jasper board member should resign
As questions surround a Jasper County school board member whose son attends a Beaufort County public school, the chairman of the County Council says she should give up her seat.
Alina Hamilton-Clark holds the District 1 seat representing the Ridgeland area on the Jasper County Board of Trustees.
However, some say she cannot truly represent that district if she lives outside the county -- even if she still has property in Jasper County, as Hamilton-Clark indicated Monday.
"I don't think that she should be serving on the board," according to Jasper County Council Chairwoman Barbara Clark, who is a former school board member. "She should have relinquished her position the moment she decided she was going to Beaufort County."
Barbara Clark, no relation, said she learned of Hamilton-Clark's move from a friend who overheard the school board member say at the Aug. 22 Hilton Head Island High School football game -- against Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School -- that her family had recently moved to Hilton Head.
Hamilton-Clark's son has attended private Hilton Head Christian Academy for the past three years, but transferred this summer for his senior year to Hilton Head High, where he is a wide receiver.
There was no update Thursday on the football eligibility of DeAngelo Clark, though indications are he remains eligible to compete for the high school.
Attempts Wednesday and Thursday to reach Hamilton-Clark were unsuccessful.
Some community members say she can't serve on the Jasper County board while her son attends a Beaufort County public school.
"Her son cannot be a legal student of Beaufort County if she is not a resident there, but then that means she can't serve on this board," said Jasper County resident Denise Davidson, who lives in Ridgeland but in a district Hamilton-Clark does not represent. "She disqualified herself -- no one disqualified her. So she needs to take responsibility for that."
However, determining a board member's eligibility is not easy, according to Scott Price, an attorney with the S.C. School Board Association.
He said many factors -- including where property taxes are paid, where they vote, what is listed on their driver's license -- determine residency and eligibility for office.
If there are questions or concerns about a school board member's residency, Price said, those complaints often should be made to the local elections commission for initial review.
The director of the Jasper County Elections and Voter Registration Office, Jeanine Bostick, said she has not received any complaints regarding Hamilton-Clark's residency.
Barbara Clark and Davidson said they know of residents, some who live in Hamilton-Clark's district, who think she should resign her seat.
On Monday, Hamilton-Clark said it is "not anybody else's business" where she lives or sends her son to school.
Fellow board member Tedd Moyd, who represents parts of Hardeeville, agreed.
"A parent and their child's education is up to them," he said. "And if the parent chooses to send their child to a certain school because they think it is in the best interest of their child, then that is their decision."
But Barbara Clark said it is a "slap in the face to the public" if a school board member doesn't think it is in her son's best interest to attend a Jasper County school.
During the past several years, Jasper County's scores on state tests have continued to decline, and the district earned back-to-back "F" grades on federal accountability standards.
Hamilton-Clark has been among the Jasper County board members who have defended the district and its superintendent, Vashti Washington, against public criticism.
"If the public schools in Jasper County are not good enough for your child to attend, and you are sending him to another public school system while you sit on the board for Jasper County schools," Barbara Clark said, "then what statement and message does that send to parents?"
Follow reporter Sarah Bowman on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Sarah.
Related content:
- Jasper school board member sends son to Beaufort County public school, August 26, 2014
- Indications are Hilton Head Island's DeAngelo Clark will remain eligible, August 28, 2014
- Alina Hamilton-Clark school board profile
- Gray areas have Seahawks, Singleton in quite a mess, August 28, 2011
This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Council chairwoman says Jasper board member should resign."