Authority over boards necessary

Dear Editor,

Like I said early on about the Pickens County School Board closing A.R. Lewis and Holly Springs, the root of the problem was “an utter and complete breakdown of representative government.”

The public had a loud, broad and unanimous opposition to closing any schools. Let’s face it, trustees Judy Edwards, Phil Bowers, Brian Swords and Herb Cooper and superintendent Dr. Danny Merck didn’t hear the message, and voted to close the schools anyway.

Stating it another way, the public owns the school system, hires trustees to not only listen, but hear, and when the directives from the public are clear, broad and unanimous, the trustees are to follow them. That process broke down miserably.

This is a nationwide problem with our government, reflecting in the rise of Donald Trump. When candidates get into office and move just beyond the reach of the voters for another four years, too many then do what they want or even the opposite of what they promised during their campaigns. That is frustrating the heck out of people, and rightly so, so it must change.

But how change it? At the county level, the solution might be in giving the public petition/referendum power to repeal items passed by the school board. This would put a little decision-making power in the hands of the people directly — what they yearn for, and such veto authority could be used any time the board goes wayward on an issue like our school board did last week.

If such a law was in effect now, residents of Pickens County could start a petition against the closures (signatures equal to 15 percent of registered voters) and submit that petition to the board chairman. If the board refused to reverse their decision, the item would then be put on the ballot for all voters in November for repeal.

Looking at Title 5, Chapter 17 (cities) and Title 4, Chapter 9 (counties) of the state code, residents have similar authority already with their city councils and the county council. Residents in all counties of the state need similar authority over their school boards.

Alex Saitta

School board trustee

Pickens

A tyrannical school board

Dear Editor,

Tyranny is “cruel and unfair treatment by people with powers over others” according to Webster. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”

This is exactly what has happened with the Pickens County School Board with the recent closing of two rural schools against the will of the people. Is that not unfair and cruel?

The overwhelming majority of the citizens of Pickens County did not want these two schools closed and made their wishes known to board members. Only two school board members listened to the will of the people — Alex Saitta and Henry Wilson. They obviously don’t believe in tyranny.

The other four members shut people out in the rain when the decision was made and ignored motion after motion by Saitta and Wilson to give more time and thought for the will of the people to prevail.

After a call-in blitz that was held recently, it has become quite clear that the S.C. State Board of Education will do nothing even though they do have the ultimate authority over education, according to the S.C. Constitution.

It has become quite clear that Gov. Nikki Haley is not going to intervene.

None of our Pickens County Legislative Delegation members have offered any solutions.

Isn’t it interesting that all of the above elected officials will get involved in situations that “they” think are important, like taking down the Confederate flag? But yet when we the people feel there is an unjust tyrannical school board holding our schools hostage for ransom we get just a … “sorry, we can’t help.” When the board threatens to close schools because you aren’t giving them enough money, that is extortion!

Edmond Burke once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

Don’t remain silent, people, or there will be more tyrannical decisions made by these tyrants!

Johnnelle Raines

Pickens

Editorial full of irony

Dear Editor,

It is ironic that Senator Tim Scott, in his recent editorial regarding the appointment of the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, went on at great length about the importance of politicians following “the will of the people,” while the leaders of his own party are laying awake at night trying to devise a backdoor scheme to deny their party’s nomination for president to the voters’ clear choice, and to hand the nomination to the distant third-place candidate. So much for “the will of the people.”

The people expressed their will quite clearly a little more than three years ago, when they re-elected President Obama to his second four-year term. That’s four years, not three.

The Constitution is clear in describing the president’s responsibility for nominating a replacement for a vacancy on the court, and for the Senate’s responsibility for considering that nominee for confirmation. There is no ambiguity, and certainly no mention of a cut-off point in a president’s term of office beyond which a president’s constitutional responsibilities are put on hold until after the next election.

Sen. Scott cited Joe Biden’s comments made 24 years ago in which Biden questioned whether the then-incumbent president should recommend a replacement to fill a Supreme Court vacancy during the last days of the president’s term of office. What he does not mention is the fact that the Republican who spoke in opposition to Biden’s question was South Carolina’s own Sen. Strom Thurmond, who said (correctly) that there is no rule that would prevent an incumbent president from making an appointment at any time during his term of office. The state of today’s Republican party is almost enough to make one nostalgic for Strom Thurmond.

The objection by the Republicans to President Obama’s exercising his constitutional responsibility to put forward a nominee for Justice Scalia’s replacement is nothing more than continuation of their overt stated policy of obstruction of the nation’s business for cheap political gain. The responsibilities of the president and the Senate are clear. Let’s get on with it.

John Landers

Liberty