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‘Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Misconduct’ Alleged In Jasper County School District
Report alleges ethics violations, financial mismanagement and conflicts of interest by former county superintendent.
5 comments
In a state of five and a half or so million residents, 750,00 or so school aged “chil’ren” and 84+- school districts, it isn’t surprising that we have a bad apple in the bunch – were it that there was only one bad apple.
Jasper is just the latest in a long line of mismanaged and often flat out fraudulently run school districts (like Sumter 17, Richland 1, Laurens 55, Lee, Rich-Lex 5…). In a state with 46 counties, there should be 46 (or fewer) school districts. Micro districts (like Jasper and more than half the state) often invite fraud due to the lack of scrutiny. County wide (or larger) districts invite economies of scale not possible in a district of fewer than 10,000 students (McCormick 01, Allendale 01 and Greenwood 51 have fewer than 1,000 students – McCormick has 500!). Greenwood County has three districts for fewer than 12,00 students. Spartanburg (one of our poorest performing group of districts as a whole has 7 districts for just over 50,000 students while Greenville County right next door has 1 district with 77,000 students and they whip Sparkle County’s schools in every metric.
The state took over Jasper’s district in December and we’re just now figuring out they were cooking the accreditation books while lining the pockets of an educrat? If we’re going to do better (and there’s been some question if we really have the desire to do better), we’ve got to start at the top. Reorganize the @*&@^ district system, eliminate at least half the districts (cutting admin costs significantly). No more than 1 district per county with counties of less than 10,000 students being combined. Make technology purchases at a state level rather than the local level (still an opportunity for fraud but a whole lot more scrutiny). Stop building the “shrines to sports” that many districts seem to be doing now unless they’re paid for by private, donated for that purpose, money. (If you’re wondering about this one, look at Brooklyn Cayce and AC Flora’s sports complexes)
Jasper County Senators Margie Bright Matthews and Tom Davis have been chasing Treasurer Loftis for two years and came up with nothing other than a Kremlin styled “show me the man and I will show you the crime” style witch hunt. I guess they were trying to take attention away from their local problems, scandals and criminality by attacking others.
Dr. Andersen’s continuous ‘fleecing’ of Jasper County + her Cognia* duplicity/direct conflicts of interest over time + outright lies regarding her residency + undermining the local board + duplicity with DSS demonstrates a talent for deception which is thorough and well-conceived. There are no “ifs, and, or buts” about her criminal intent here. THROW HER UNDER THE JAIL!
* DOE would be well-advised to void any contract with Cognia regarding accreditation in South Carolina. They cannot be held blameless in this!
Where is SC Attorney General Alan Wilson?
Being that this SC school district also taps into federal funds, the US Department of Justice has to be brought in.
When superintendents began to think about the students and the staffs in the school that work hand on with students to give them the best education. Superintendents has doctors degrees to steal money for their own grain. Students some of them don’t have homes, parents no food
and grandparents are raising them to the best of their abilities. Superintendents continue to steal from the students because they are not being held accountable for their actions. Anderson needs to held accountable.