PICKENS COUNTY — The School District of Pickens County Board of Trustees is in for some changes due to new legislation from the Pickens delegation and newly elected Sen. Rex Rice that adds a controversial seventh seat.
The bill was initially introduced last year by Reps. Clary, Collins and Hiott and passed through the House before stalling in the Senate as former Sen. Larry Martin seemed reluctant to take up the issue.
Unwilling to let the seat go, Clary, Collins and Hiott introduced a new version of the bill that passed through the House this January.
The bill, known as H. 3346, was forwarded up to the Senate where it was introduced on Feb 1. From there, it was bounced back and from the Pickens Delegation before being recalled and amended to change the seat from an “at large” position to one with physical boundaries — the Crosswell district where Easley and Dacusville areas meet.
“In the 2018 general election, trustees will be elected for single-member Districts 2, 4, 6, and 7,” the bill reads. “Each trustee residing in single-member Districts 1, 3, and 5 shall continue to serve as the trustee for the single-member district in which he resides until his term ends in 2020 and his successor is elected and qualifies or until his office is vacated, whichever occurs first.”
Also addressed in the amended bill was an area that Pickens residents are particularly touchy about after recent events — school closings.
The bill states any vote to close a school will require will require at least three meetings with at least one meeting allowing public testimony. A buffer of “a minimum of six days between each meeting” will ensure no hasty decisions are made and the public will have a full opportunity to respond.
One of the meetings must also be held either at the school to be closed, or within one mile of its location.
But perhaps the most important amendment to the bill for County residents is Section 3, which states that if the Board does close a school, a petition signed by 15 percent of qualified electors of that district can request that decision be reversed — and if they refuse, it goes to the voters.
“If the Board of Trustees fails to reverse the vote, the adoption or repeal of the vote must be submitted to the electors not less than thirty days nor more than one year from the date the board takes its final vote thereon,” the bill reads. “The board may, in its discretion, and if no regular election is to be held within such period, provide for a special election.”
The bill passed its third reading on Friday and has been sent back to the House with the amendments where it is largely believed it will pass without issue.