LR5 board censures Ed White after his resignation, letter decrying their actions

IRMO, S.C. (WIS) - Monday, the Lexington Richland School District 5 Board of Trustees censured one of its own.

The board voted 4-2 to censure board member Ed White.

Board members Matt Hogan and Rebecca Blackburn Hines dissented.

White resigned on June 14 in response to Superintendent Dr. Christina Melton’s resignation. In a letter distributed to news outlets, he later called the board “hostile” and “abusive” and said members forced her resignation.

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White did not attend the meeting, but the board policy states he remains a member of the board for 30 days. In a statement admonishing him, the board said he will remain a member until July 14.

The censure carries no penalty other than the disapproval of the board. In the meeting, board chair Jan Hammond made the motion, stating White made false allegations, violated attorney-client privilege, published the work of another attorney for personal use, and cause irreparable harm to the district and Dr. Melton.

“We really should not operate, as individual rogue board members without consequences,” she said.

She declined to answer questions or elaborate after the meeting, but the district did release a written version of her statement.

Hogan and Blackburn Hines both agreed White’s actions were wrong, expressed questions about what the censure would accomplish, and raised concerns about a lack of policy on the issue.

“For all intensive purposes, he is no longer on our board, his last day is technically on July 14th, so what are we hoping to accomplish by this censure?” Blackburn asked.

This was the first meeting where the public could address the board since Melton’s resignation.

A group of teachers presented the board with just under 500 letters/gifts for Melton to express their gratitude for her work.

Melton’s last day as district superintendent is June 30, but her settlement agreement stipulated she would use vacation days to end her time with the district.

RELATED STORY | Interim superintendent named for LR5 as district releases settlement info with Dr. Melton

Her successor, Dr. Akil Ross, takes over on July 1.

This story will be updated.

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