Education
School board votes to keep federal oversight in place
Georgetown County School Board voted unanimously this week to remain under a desegregation order that has provided more than 50 years of federal oversight.
“I haven’t seen things go away as a result. I think it is important to have public trust, and not just trust, but just be real about what we can see,” said Chairman Keith Moore. “I can name things that Carvers Bay area schools still don’t have that other schools have. So there are some things that we need to be mindful of as far as not having oversight. It is what it is.”
Morris Johnson, past president of the Georgetown chapter of the NAACP who filed the complaints in 1969 and 1997, said during public comment that he would’ve challenged the board’s decision had it gone the other way.
“You hadn’t changed anything in Georgetown County. Nope. Still the same,” Johnson said.
Board Member Fallon Bordner, the youngest member of the board, said she did not feel comfortable moving forward without the trust of those she and the board represent.
“It’s not about our opinions. It is about who we represent,” she said. “We need to make sure we move forward with the trust of the citizens of this county as we make our vote.”
“My vote will be to keep it in place, just to show we’re worthy of that trust,” said Board Member Scott DuBose.
Under a 1997 consent decree that stems from a 1969 complaint, the district was required to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for school openings, school closures, magnet programs, attendance zones and facility improvements.
The district was required to create Carvers Bay Middle and High schools by combining Choppee and Pleasant Hill attendance zones under the consent decree.
Felicia Cooper of Pleasant Hill said Choppee High School was still segregated by the time she graduated in 1998.
Cooper said she was relieved when the board voted to remain under the order.
“We have to realize the school district did not willingly desegregate,” she said. “It wasn’t like we all came together and just agreed this was the best solution. It was forced upon a lot of people, and those people still reside in the district who don’t want to see the harmonious collusion of both races, of both student bodies.”
The five areas in which a school district can seek unitary status are referred to as “Green factors,” originating from the 1968 Supreme Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County.
The school district and DOJ filed a motion in 2017 with the U.S. Dstrict Court in Charleston seeking partial unitary status. The court granted partial unitary status in transportation, extracurricular activities and facilities. Student and staff assignments are the two remaining Green factors which require federal oversight.
DOJ offered the district an option to move away from the order in January. A Trump administration directive had the department review desegregation orders to determine if districts would seek unitary status.
Dave Duff, the attorney for the district, said the district has eliminated remnants of the prior dual system to the extent that is “satisfactory” to the court.
The school board’s March meeting drew comments from community members in favor of the decree. They cited staffing and equal investment as reasons to keep it.
Board Member Patti Hammel said the district carefully hires and places teachers in all schools to satisfy those remaining factors.
“Some areas that we haven’t satisfied could be humanly impossible at this time in the economic and teacher vacancy situation in our country, in our state because there are not that many people teaching,” Hammel said. “We’re very fortunate to find educators that are certified in all these areas to meet these needs.”
She suggested if there are concerns, that the board table the item until they are addressed.
Hammel said she was concerned about perception versus reality in the district.
Bordner agreed. “But sometimes those perceptions are reality,” she added. There were multiple “amens” from the audience.
Board Member Jarrod Ownbey said he and other members went into the community to hear from residents and staff.
“An order doesn’t make what we have to do, on a daily basis, any easier or any harder. We have to do the right thing, regardless of the existence of the order,” he said. “It’s important for us to listen to those who we represent and who are affected most by the decisions we make here.”
Superintendent Bethany Giles, who took over in 2024, said the DOJ’s role was more active when she was in previous roles. It made visits to the district and collected data.
“Under my tenure, that has not been happening. We have not had oversight that has been very active,” she said.
Duff will present the board’s decision to the DOJ, which could overturn the decision or continue on with “more aggressive oversight,” Giles said.
Bordner proposed that the board draft a plan to show the community what they will do moving forward to satisfy the remaining factors.
