When Will Those In Our Community Who Support The Present Leadership Look At The District As A Resource For All?

We are motivated this week to call your attention to some things going on in our school district. One of the reasons we feel motivated is that out of all the institutions within our community, the school system is most important. What happens within the school system can go a long way in determining the kinds of neighborhoods, towns, cities, and states we will have. That is why it is so troubling that so little genuine significance appears to be being paid to essential matters and go a long way toward showing what exists in a community, town, or nation, for that matter.

If you choose, you can continue to deceive yourselves by pretending the things you see or hear are not expressive of our town, and it's potential to be all most of us want it to be, or pretend that it is when we are expressing our feelings about Flo-town. Florence is a great place to live, and no matter how you may feel about what has happened here in the past, the truth is the past has brought us to the present. There are issues here, as there are in other places, but that only shows we are an imperfect town and constabulary that must pay attention and participate in fashioning a place in which we all can be genuinely proud. Like in every city, state, or nation, there comes a realization of the things occurring in our schools reflect what plays out in our homes, businesses, communities, and churches. Yes, good, or bad, what is going on all around us now is a microcosm of who we are, what we say, and what we do when we are supposedly ourselves within our comfort zones.

The negative things that have happened at some schools, including racial implications, are emblematic of what happens in communities and towns that fail to recognize the early signs of potential problems. People who are sensitive and caring about one another will be more likely to identify issues before they become full blown problems. Some are content to gamble our future away, thinking that allowing those who have hidden agendas to function as our school systems' face will not produce unwanted consequences. It is the same as turning a blind eye to those who only pretend to have our city's best interest at heart when they make one-sided decisions and plans for development. The actual proof is in the pudding.

The way we have allowed our school district to be driven off the "beaten path into the ditch" is becoming very apparent for those who are awake and paying attention. But that very fact points out how many in our municipality are either asleep or the facilitators, who have ordained such one sided development by supporting those who are only concerned with providing the best schools and programs in their neighborhoods. As indicated by what is happening nationally, many are being led to a trough containing no water to drink. What is mystifying is how so many are that gullible to allow their tax dollars to provide the best of everything for others while being disfranchised themselves.

The fact remains if you live in certain attendance zones, you are the recipient of old, dilapidated schools that more than likely have mold and other issues. Recently a Horry County Schools parent sued the district for failure to address an age-old mold problem. It makes you wonder why no such action has occurred in FSD1. Is it merely that parents put less value on their children here, or could it be a case of "going along to get along?" In either case, the children are the ones who pay the cost for parents continuing to support those who have demonstrated they don't possess the wherewithal to be fair or equitable in their treatment of all attendance zones.

Case and point, how long will we continue to allow ourselves to be manipulated by the situation being perpetrated on South Florence students? The question is, do we have the funds to construct a new Southside Middle School, or don't we? Enough with all the moving dirt around. We have heard numbers thrown around about the cost being about 30 to 40 million dollars. Still, if we are not mistaken, the last couple of elementary schools were also in that cost range when you include the cost overruns and other issues. There is a "pay as you go" method generated through a referendum from years ago (referenced as the eight percent money). This method only generates approximately 12 million dollars a year. How long will it take to generate enough funds to construct and pay for that school before they can fulfill promises made to others in other attendance zones? Or maybe the dirt shifting is only a stall tactic being used to buy time before another referendum is put before us that does not specify what will happen and in which order. If you think you got details last time, tell the rest of us when Savannah Grove, Williams, Wallace Gregg, West Florence, and other schools with tremendous needs for new facilities will ever appear on the radar? We know there is a redundancy to the questions being asked, but pardon us, if you will, because there are never any answers provided, LOL.

Our recommendation for you this week is to consider real and thoughtful collaboration that will produce the type of leadership that is crucial to unifying our school district. It is hardly likely we will be moving in the right direction any time soon. Without a shadow of a doubt, the current board and administration's actions have taken our district backward in several ways. Many of which appear to have escaped the attention of the stakeholders. At the risk of going into the area of redundancy again, we posit without a definitive plan that can be cogently shared with all the shareholders, we will never get to any degree of cohesiveness.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT; we know that discombobulation fits perfectly into the concept being perpetuated by some because it provides the cover from being accountable to most stakeholders. The problem is sooner or later, the stakeholders will tire of being nickeled and dimmed to death without being provided clarity as to the end game. Do you know what is going on with food service, bus drivers, maintenance, and other workers in our school district at present? Does it matter to you that morale is at an all-time low in many of our district's occupational areas? And it is not all due to the stress of COVID. Do you know how many lawsuits our school district is involved with currently? Does it matter to you no one is being held accountable for why we have had several changes in the people handling our district's finances in a relatively short time? Your vigilance and participation are genuinely needed if we will get on a path that will carry us to the desired destination of accountability, transparency, and equity for all.

SINCERELY YOURS, AN INVOLVED STAKEHOLDERS, CALLING ON YOU TO INVEST.

ELDER, JAMES W. WILLIAMS

CHAIRPERSON, ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION, LIFELINEPLUS