COLUMBIA – Following last week’s disruption at a Richland Two school board meeting that involved the superintendent and his wife, who some witnesses say cursed at a student, the district released a statement categorically disputing that the superintendent and his wife were in any way unruly toward a student, a parent, a candidate for the school board or a man who allegedly set off the incident by speaking to the superintendent’s wife.
Blythewoodian Joe Trapp, a candidate running for a seat on the Richland Two school board, and who said he was a witness to the incident, posted on his Facebook page that the district’s statement “must be challenged.”
The District’s statement read in part:
“Richland School District Two disputes any statement that Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis was the aggressor or instigator in an incident that occurred prior to the school board meeting on January 25, 2022….
“Prior to the beginning of the meeting on Tuesday, one of the individuals approached Mrs. Davis. She firmly declined to engage in conversation. He refused to respect her boundary and continued trying to engage her. Security personnel intervened and directed the individual to a seat. A short time later, the individual continued to try to engage Mrs. Davis. At this time the second individual joined the conversation. Security personnel intervened. The individual who first engaged Mrs. Davis refused several commands by security to take a seat and insisted on continuing to speak with Mrs. Davis. This resulted in the first individual being escorted from the room and informed he would be placed on trespass notice.
“Once Dr. Davis became aware that his wife had been harassed, and with the past inappropriate behavior of these individuals in mind, he became concerned for the safety of Mrs. Davis and others in the room. As he checked on her, he observed that she was visibly shaken. Dr. Davis then asked the second individual if he had questions to direct them to him. The individual took a step forward and responded loudly. Security personnel were nearby because of the earlier interaction and they created a barrier between Dr. Davis and the second individual. At no time did Dr. Davis make any physical or verbal threats toward the individual. Following this, the second individual was escorted from the room and informed he would be put on trespass notice…”
Trapp commented on his Facebook page that he was “disappointed in the district’s response.”
“The district’s statement is incomplete…missing important details that reflect poorly on the superintendent,” Trapp wrote.
No one has been charged in the incident.
The Voice has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Richland County Sheriff’s office for witness statements and other information in regard to the disturbance and is waiting for a response.
School Board Retreat set for Friday
The Richland Two school board will hold a retreat on Friday, Feb. 4 starting at 9 am, at the R2I2 Conference located at 763 Fashion Dr., in Sandhills. Those attending must wear masks and adhere to social distancing.
Follow the link below to access the agenda for the retreat: go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=CASP6R6083B5
The responses by RSD2 to the January 25th incident are called “spin”. Not only were they incomplete, they were FALSE. In other words, the District lied.
I did NOT introduce myself to the superintendent’s wife, contrary to reports by RSD2 and local media. What I did was introduce myself to a woman I did not know and had never seen before. The woman shouted, “I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! DON’T TALK TO ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!”
Approximate 10 minutes later I was told she was the superintendent’s wife.
Pamela Davis lied on WIS-TV on January 28 when her softball interview with Judi Gatson was aired.