The school district said it “needs additional information” before moving forward with a decision on the controversial project.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Richland One School District met Tuesday night at A.C. Flora High School, but barely before the meeting began, board members announced they would not be discussing or making any decisions about the Vince Ford Early Learning Center, which has faced legal action and criticism.
The school years and programs the centers will implement have been at the center of confusion, with officials initially saying the project would serve children from birth to age 4 but then changing it to serve children through second grade, according to the school district's website.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ellen Weaver requested an investigation into the procurement of the Vince Ford Early Learning Center in January.
In a letter last week, Weaver urged district officials to halt construction on the project, saying the district's “build now, think later” approach leads officials to ignore their legal authority.
A report released in July by the state inspector general found that the district violated the law in its procurement processes by failing to obtain proper permits, but did not find any criminal activity or misuse of funds.
Tuesday's School District 1 board agenda opened the door for the school board to potentially approve a $25 million contract to continue construction at the site, which has seen no activity for months.
We reached out to Richland One Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon for additional comment on the Vince Ford project, but he declined our request.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting, Richland resident Scott Barber said it's time to reconsider the project.
“Is it necessary? Is it a good use of the $31 million that they're going to spend? And I think that's just the tip of the iceberg. My understanding is that the $31 million is to build school buildings. It's not to hire staff. It's not to operate school buildings. I wonder why that money isn't being used more effectively in K-12 classrooms that are already understaffed,” Barber said.
The next Richland One School Board meeting will be held on Sept. 10 in the Stevenson Administration Building.
There is no mention of whether the Vince Ford Early Learning Center will be discussed at that time.