Dispute Between School Board And Board Of Commissioners Heats Up

The ongoing dispute between the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners took a dramatic turn on Monday with the remotely connected, but live streamed, meeting of the Board of Education.

After allowing Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell to speak for six minutes as a registered outside speaker, the School Board, led by Board Member Tim Burgess, spent 29 minutes responding critically.

Daniell said he wanted to address three issues with the Board: joint use of sports facilities, renovation of the Civic Center, and future joint Town Hall meetings.

Burgess spoke for more than six minutes about the Civic Center, saying the county had not kept the Board of Education adequately informed as it made plans for remodeling the facility, which the county manages under an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Board of Education.

Burgess then switched to construction on Malcom Bridge Road, which Daniell had not mentioned but which has been a subject of disagreement between the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education for more than a year.

Burgess dominated the more than 20 minute discussion that followed, but Board Members Wayne Bagley, Amy Parrish and Kim Argo joined in, in that order, thanking Burgess for making his comments.

For more on this story, with the embedded video from the meeting on Monday, please go to Oconee County Observations.