Hello Dedicated and Concerned Citizens of Pickens County! Thank-you for your many questions and concerns regarding accreditation and the sale of the Gettys property. You have some excellent questions, as do we, and one of the most frequent has been “Why is the sale of the Getty’s property relevant to the accreditation issue?” The following letter to the SDPC board of trustees members provides clarity: February 2, 2014 To the Board of Directors: As a citizen of Pickens County, I am writing you to express my concern of a potential vote to sell the old Gettys Middle School property. In my opinion, the board has not communicated adequately with the public on this matter. I would like to see the following questions answered: 1) Has the property been publicly listed for sale? If not, why? 2) Has the appraisal been made available to the public? If so, where? If not, why? 3) What is the cost of renovation or demolition based upon? Has the building actually been tested to see what toxic materials (e.g., asbestos) are present? 4) Who has made offers on the property? What are the offers? 5) Is the board taking the highest offer? If not, why? 6) Some members of the board seem set on selling to a charter school that will not be under the control of the board. If so, how does that help our school district? I have heard many rumors about this issue. In my opinion, this is because the board has not done its job of communicating with the public. I also think this goes directly to some of the issues outlined in the recent accreditation report. Specifically: Instances of conflict of interest were noted with respect to some property matters as well as personnel decisions. Finally, the agenda for the February 3rd meeting does not list public input. I consider this disrespectful of our citizens. I also think this has the appearance of trying to push through a decision without public input, especially since this very issue was voted on in December 2013. With the very serious issue of accreditation still to be resolved, I think the board voting on this matter on February 3rd is a mistake. I believe it will only further damage attempts to solve the accreditation problem. The appraisal, the different offers, and the reasons for accepting any particular offer need to be discussed publicly and with public input. Sincerely, John Miller
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:06:24 +0000
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