COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina's superintendent of schools is asking one of the state's largest school districts to halt construction of a controversial early childhood education center.
Richland County School District 1 received an elevated financial level of concern from the state earlier this month after an investigation found the school board violated the law and wasted funds on the Vince Ford Early Learning Center project.
A letter sent Thursday by South Carolina Superintendent of Schools Ellen Weaver said Richland One should not continue construction on the Vince Ford Early Learning Center in order to “protect remaining taxpayer assets to the greatest extent possible.”
Richland One School District Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said at a press conference last month that the district still plans to resume construction on the project.
Weaver's scathing letter accused Richland One of “a tendency to ignore its legal authority” and said it was “difficult to imagine a scenario in which it would be financially prudent” to continue building the center.
Richland One is currently in a state of fiscal alert, the second of three budgetary alert levels the state can place on a district, and Weaver has warned that he will put Richland One in fiscal emergency if construction on the project continues without the district essentially starting over from scratch.
In the event of a fiscal emergency, Weaver may recommend to the South Carolina State Board of Education that it take over the district's financial operations. The state can take over a district's finances if the district reaches a fiscal emergency, the third and highest level of budgetary concern.
“Make it now, think about it later”
The state's letter states Richland One's approach to construction is “build now, think later.” Weaver's letter also indicates the district has failed to clarify the original purpose of the building and that the district has a “general willingness to say whatever it takes” to build an early childhood education center.
A state inspection referenced in Weaver's letter found that the district violated the law by starting construction on the project without proper permits, wasting more than $350,000.
Witherspoon said last month that the district disagrees with descriptions in a state inspector general's report that Richland One is engaged in wasteful spending and argued the learning centers are necessary.
“There's a need and we want to do it right, and we want to take the report and make sure the permits and all the other things are in place to get the facility done,” Witherspoon said.
Weaver's letter disagrees with Witherspoon and says the Vince Ford Early Learning Center is unnecessary. Her letter points to declining enrollment at Richland One and a lack of research analyzing the needs of the area.
“The Department is not aware of any studies of facility utilization or capacity of the district’s current infrastructure that would justify the district’s need for facilities. [Vince Ford Early Learning Center]”Based on enrollment trends, we will determine whether the facility will function as a childcare center or a school,” Weaver's letter said.
As of Thursday, the district also had not been able to assess the financial costs of the Vince Ford Early Learning Center, a point Weaver used to suggest district officials had not fully considered building the facility.
Stormwater claims
So far, two residents living near the construction site have filed lawsuits alleging the district failed to properly manage storm water at the site.
The military families claim that construction has caused their property to continue to flood with “no end in sight,” according to the lawsuit. Another woman suing the district said conditions in her home are “unlivable” because of flooding caused by the construction alleged in the lawsuit.
Weaver's letter said the district should “work with appropriate Richland County officials to review and mitigate the stormwater issues allegedly associated with the site.”
Permission issues
Construction on the project was halted in January after Weaver said the district was unable to obtain the necessary permits for the project.
The findings of the S.C. Inspector General's report, released July 25, “vindicated” the Education Department's initial concerns.
According to a timeline in the inspector general's report, the district withdrew its rezoning request to Richland County in August 2023, meaning the district will not be able to serve children at the facility as the board intended, Weaver's letter stressed.
The district's architect then changed the room labels on the Vince Ford Early Learning Center plans without board approval, saying:[ed] “This is to conceal the building's intended programming and to avoid the need to pursue rezoning as required by law,” Weaver's letter stressed.
“No substantive changes have been made to the original plans after May 8, 2023, other than the renaming of the rooms. Simply changing the name of a room to a 'classroom' or 'health room' does not establish a public school building under this act,” Weaver's letter said.
In his Thursday letter, Weaver also reaffirmed the department's December decision that the center, which Richland One can provide, is outside the scope of what the department can permit in its current construction state.
Richland One could also go back to the Richland County Planning and Development Commission and reapply for the proper permits and zoning, but Weaver is not a supporter of this approach.
“The school board has received the letter from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ellen Weaver and will be discussing the letter at our next meeting,” school board Chairman Aaron Bishop said in response to WIS News' request for comment.
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