(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . National Economic Action to Correct Failed CHS School Board Leadership Set to Begin Bridge Run Week [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-22 Hand colored HANDS for Everyone's Schools in Button Press Feb. 15 Released- February 22, 2013 CORRECTION- Our previous version of this release gave the wrong name for the Charleston County School Board Chairman. Last week, Pamela McKinney replaced former Chairman Ed Kelly. Charleston, SC, USA- After last night’s Charleston County School Board meeting ran to over five hours in length, Lowcountry Up is Good, PAC, acting through its HANDS initiative has determined that nothing less than a global economic action focused on the area’s vital tourism industry will have the impact necessary to correct the dysfunctional leadership of some of the board’s members. That action will be announced at 10 am on March 30. Performative Right Wing Politics Devouring the Time and Energy of Charleston Community Finished buttons made by the Author for distribution to press On Tuesday, February 21, the Charleston County School Board held a meeting which lasted over five hours. More than 175 members of the public, including some of the community’s most productive and important leaders attended the meeting, sacrificing time from their children, families, community efforts and charitable enterprises. Former Board Chairman Ed Kelley made Freedom of Information Act compliance by the previous board a major element of his campaign while running for the school board last summer. Kelly obtained the SC Attorney General’s intervention to prevent practices he found objectionable https://www.live5news.com/2022/08/16/sc-attorney-general-questions-charleston-co-school-board-potential-foia-violations/ last summer. Now Chairman Former Chainman Kelly's fellow conservative leaders are struggling with basic FOIA compliance errors regarding the public posting of meeting agendas which arose under his leadership. The board has been forced to revisit and revote on issues argued and supposedly decided at previous meetings, wasting more time and effort. https://www.live5news.com/2023/02/22/charleston-co-school-board-effort-replace-controversial-curriculum-fails/?outputType=amp online. Dozens of school district staff are forced to attend these lengthy and sometimes fruitless meetings which now run late into the night. Charleston County is lucky and proud to claim a massive nonprofit and volunteer sector. Over 3000 nonprofit organizations serve the community. As right wing school board members struggle to implement the agenda of the out of state organizations they serve, time and leadership in these nonprofit organizations are trapped for hours attending these lengthy and unproductive meetings. A Serious and Unnecessary Conflict Divides Community Resources Next week the area’s largest and most powerful public advocacy group, the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) will hold is critical Nehemiah Rally (https://charlestonareajusticeministry.org/event/2023-nehemiah-rally/ online). The rally energizes the annual campaign which CAJM’s 1800 members, and 25 member churches will conduct in the community. This year’s rally will focus on environmental issues in a region where development, climate change, increased hurricane activity and sea level rise pose an existential threat to the Lowcountry's survival. The school board meeting that evening conflicts with the Nehemiah Rally, requiring our community’s leaders, including many prominent faith leaders, to choose between protecting our children from inadequate right wing agenda driven education or protecting our region from environmental catastrophe. Coloring sheet used to make buttons at events with background If the school board could conduct efficient, productive meetings our community’s leaders might be able to attend both events since the board meeting starts at 5:15 and the Nehemiah Rally begins at 7, but the right-wing members of the board have already proven they won’t allow business to be done efficiently. Next Monday they’ll be voting on prayer at board meetings, a bit of performative politics they were supposed to have decided last week, but were unable to vote on because they posted incomplete and inconsistent versions of their agenda in violation of the Freedom of Information act. Next Monday, 1800 Community leaders from 25 churches will be forced to choose between attending a school board meeting on prayer and a prayer meeting about the survival of the Lowcountry’s natural environment. Jesus Christ admonished his disciples to pray secretly, in a closed room (Mathew 6, 5-8). Perhaps people in the Lowcountry should go into their rooms, close the door and pray for the right wing members of their school board, including Mr. Kelly who voted against himself in the Board’s first of three board leadership elections in two months. The prayers of the 14 thousand people who attend Seacoast Church with Former Chairman Kelly have not apparently been enough. National Economic Action to Launch March 30 On Thursday, March 30th the day before the Cooper River Bridge Run weekend at 10 am, Lowcountry Up is Good’s HANDS initiative will announce a major boycott effort targeting an element of the area’s tourism industry to gain national support for the effort to keep Charleston County Schools from falling under right-wing control. Five members of the board who are now serving have been endorsed by the Moms for Liberty, a right wing group opposed to inclusive education, valid science in the classroom and guidance counselor’s office, diversity efforts and efforts to nurture students who identify with groups traditionally discriminated against. The time and location of the initial press conference on March 30 will be announced earlier that week, but it will be within the Lowcountry’s urban core and on a reliable CARTA bus line. The announcement will be followed up by demonstrations and outreach efforts over the Cooper River Bridge run weekend and will include an effort to reach the international media so that people around the world will be able to bring their economic pressure to bear on the struggle to ensure that Charleston Country's schools remain schools for everyone. Lowcountry Up is Good hopes these efforts will prove more effective than prayers have been up to now. Lowcountry Up is Good’s HANDS initiative focuses on making sure our Charleston County Schools remain schools for everyone by retaining their practice of teaching history and science fairly and completely, by nurturing our students and honoring diversity within our community. Lowcountry Up is Good, PAC is primarily dedicated to working for better transit, affordable housing and the living wage as well as progressive community leadership development. The organization leafleted the public at the February 20th. Meeting, provided HANDS buttons to all 8 school board members, conducted media interviews and is setting up community educational HANDS button making events around the Lowcountry. Logo for Lowcountry Up is Good For more information on Lowcountry Up is Good and the HANDS initiative, see https://www.facebook.com/lowcountry.up.is.good.PAC or contact Executive Director William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or wjhamilton29464@gmail.com. END END END [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/22/2154460/-National-Economic-Action-to-Correct-Failed-CHS-School-Board-Leadership-Set-to-Begin-Bridge-Run-Week Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/