BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Tensions were high during Tuesday night’s school board meeting as most board members voted to terminate the employment of Dr. Tiffany Richardson, the Berkeley County School District’s in-house general counsel and BCSD Superintendent Deon Jackson.
The board voted 6 to 3 to fire Richardson and Jackson in separate motions.
David Barrow, Crystal Wigfall and Yvonne Bradley opposed the terminations.
The firings took some people in the audience by surprise and prompted others to walk out of the meeting.
“How dare you,” one person said.
Richardson was the first BCSD employee to be voted out of a job during the regularly scheduled meeting. She exited the school board meeting following the vote.
Along with Richardson’s termination, board members Michael Ramsey, Mac McQuillin, Joe Baker, Kathy Littleton, Jimmy Hinson and Sally Wofford voted to retain the legal services of Brandon Gaskins, an attorney for Moore & Van Allen, effective immediately.
The three board members who opposed Richardson’s termination demanded to know the reason behind it and questioned the costs associated with her replacement.
“You mean to tell me you give up a set fee? That makes no sense to a common person like me. Walking in off the street, money matters,” Bradley said at the board meeting.
“He bills $375 per hour. Now that is part-time. We’re not talking about an in-house general counsel who is a full-time employee at $145,000 a year,” Barrow said during the meeting as he then proceeded to pull out a stack of invoices to demonstrate the costs associated with outside legal counsel for the school district.
“Those are invoices front and back for legal fees that total $1.6 million at a cost per month on average of $25,946.84,” Barrow continued. “The legal fees that Dr. Richardson receives at $145,000 per year is $11,066 – a difference of $14,000 a month. So if we’re talking about fiscal accountability, where is it now?”
Throughout the meeting Board Chairman McQuillin made several attempts to quiet the audience. In response to the board members who opposed Richardson’s termination, he stated that he was, “not going to discuss personnel matters” during a public meeting.
Following Richardson’s termination, with Superintendent Jackson seated beside him, McQuillin made a motion to terminate his employment effective immediately, again prompting criticism from Barrow, Wigfall and Bradley.
“I was not notified of any of these resolutions or recommendations. It is unbelievable that on the first night of a new board that such things would come up. Unbelievable,” Bradley said.
“I’d like to know the justification and the reasoning for firing an individual who was proficient in his first annual evaluation?” Barrow, the most vocal board member opposed to the terminations questioned.
“This is a travesty. If the superintendent is being terminated, for what cause? If they are going to terminate the superintendent, why not have a superintendent search?” he continued. “This is a sham. This is a political hit job. It is an absolute travesty. I am absolutely embarrassed to be on this board.”
Again, McQuillin said he would not “discuss personnel matters” in an open session and attempted to minimize some of the criticism coming from members of the audience.
“At the end of the day, we need to respectfully disagree and set good examples for our folks,” he said.
Following his termination, Jackson got up from his chair and exited through the back door while the meeting was still in session.
In a 6 to 1 vote, the board voted to name Anthony Dixon as BCSD’s new superintendent and authorize him to hire a new deputy superintendent and chief academic officer.
“Dr. Dixon has extensive and diverse leadership experience, specifically as a proven academic leader who has focused on re-building educational systems in need,” McQuillin said in a news release. “Dr. Dixon also has a history with Berkeley County and Berkeley County School District. He has built invaluable relationships with employees and community members throughout the years, and that will be paramount to the success of the District as we continue to make improvements in all areas of academic achievement and student success.”
Barrow was the only one to oppose the motion. Wigfall and Bradley did not vote. They left their seats following the motion to terminate Jackson.
According to the school district, Dixon returned to Berkeley County following his service as Chief of Schools in Charleston County School District. Previously, Dr. Dixon served Berkeley County School District as the Chief Academics and Innovation Officer and as the Chief Administrative Officer – School Services (Secondary Schools).
Prior to those roles, he served as the Executive Director of Academics and Innovation as well as principal of Sanders-Clyde and Memminger School of Global Studies. He served as principal for Philip Simmons High School, Philip Simmons Middle School and Cainhoy Elementary School. He also previously served as an Assistant Principal at Daniel Island School and Boulder Bluff Elementary School, and as a Special Education Teacher at St. Stephen and Memminger Elementary Schools.
“Berkeley County is home for me, and I am humbled to receive a call to serve the students, staff, and communities that I care for deeply,” said Dixon. “Leading the students, staff, families, and communities of Berkeley County is the pinnacle of a life of service in education and a dream come true. I know that my transition will need to be both thoughtful and deliberate, and I am committed to doing the work that needs to be done to ensure that our District focuses on our students and provides support to our staff so that they can serve and lead schools and students well.”
Dixon earned his Ed.D. and Ed.S. degrees from South Carolina State University, Master of Arts in Teaching in Special Education: Learning and Emotional Disabilities from the University of Charleston and a B.S. from College of Charleston.
Dixon is also active in the Berkeley County community, serving as the President of the Moncks Corner Panhellenic Council, Polemarch of the Moncks Corner Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and as a Steward Board member and director of Christian Education at Mount Zion AME Church, Charleston, SC.
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