The Columbia County Board of Education received an update on the school district’s building program, approved a new technology contract and heard concerns about sexual assault policy during the school board meeting on Tuesday – the first after a board retreat in Savannah on June 9.
“So at this point, you know children are being violated in your schools, and you refuse to do anything about it other than hide it,” said Katie Allen before the board during the public participation session of the meeting.
Allen, who has regularly spoken during school meetings over the last year regarding her concerns about the availability of inappropriate materials in school libraries, referred this time to the case of Scott Hooker, a former Burke County high school teacher who was charged with criminal sexual contact with a student in April.
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In 2017, Hooker was investigated while he was a teacher at Evans High School for inappropriately touching a 16-year-old student. Hooker was formally reprimanded by the school and the district for the incident, but was not fired. He later resigned from Evans but went on to work in Richmond and Burke County school districts.
Madison Cooksey, the student who accused Hooker of misconduct in 2017, expressed her grievances about the inadequacy of the district’s response to the incident and its sexual harassment policies during the May 11 school board meeting.
In the June 14 meeting, Allen also expressed dissatisfaction with the school district’s sexual misconduct protocols, connecting the Scott Hooker case with another case at Evans High School, in August 2021 in which a transgender student was accused by another student, 14, of peeping on her in the restroom; and yet by another student of groping her.
No charges were ultimately filed, but the incident stirred concerns about accommodating restrooms for transgender students.
“I hear about Scott Hooker and read how he was allowed to continue working in our schools under your watch, despite multiple documented offenses,” said Allen, who then went on to mention the August incident. “Yet you still created no policy on who can access which bathrooms and refuse to even have a conversation with the public. You bury the incident as if it never happened. So at this point, you know children are being violated in your schools, and you refuse to do anything about it other than hide it.”
Janet Duggan also addressed the school board on a similar issue, saying she retrieved documents via open records requests that a Harlem Elementary School principal emailed to “another leader” on Feb. 27, 2021, information from a principal’s conference held on Feb. 21, 2021 saying that they are going to continue to allow transgender students certain rights such as accommodating restrooms and use of pronouns and that this is not to be discussed with staff.
Duggan also spoke of an LGBTQ resiliency group at Grovetown High School.
“You also have a wraparound counselor encouraging staff to use certain pronouns, also known as compelled speech,” Duggan said. “Again, why is it important to have policy in place? A clear written policy is necessary because it protects students, teachers, administrators and the taxpayers. Policy sets a standard and an expectation; policy protects from lawsuits.”
The school board unanimously voted to approve a bid by Prosis Technologies for $941,970 to purchase technology and equipment such as computers, monitors, docking stations and keyboard for schools in the district.
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“This year we replace nearly about 1,000 or more than 1,000 devices,” said James Van Meter, the district’s Communication Information Officer, when board member Judy Teasley asked how much equipment is being acquired and dispensed to how many schools.
Van Meter explained that this year five schools would receive 1,000 items including Chromebooks and student laptops, but that the schools in the district would be able to buy new devices over a six-year period.
“We don’t replace everything all at once,” he said.
School Superintendent Steven Flynt cited the progress of Harlem High School—which is in getting 22 additional classrooms built—and Grovetown High Schools’ latest renovations, noting the installation heating, ventilation and air conditioning units, along with electrical and plumbing upgrades.
Flynt also brought attention to the progress of the Evans High School athletic field, which along with Lakeside High School’s field is scheduled to have their tracks resurfaced in July.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
