[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6138601,"mediaKeyId","5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4","parentId",5582077,"title","Superintendent Moore reports improved staffing, graduation gains and summer program outcomes","audioSeconds",1199,"startMs",3612000,"endMs",4811000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4&start=3612&end=4811","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4/thumbnail_3612000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6138601/South-Carolina/Superintendent-Moore-reports-improved-staffing-graduation-gains-and-summer-program-outcomes","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6138601-ff68fae0402ad27250b1000550706204/orig.mp4?Expires=1775386176&Signature=Sbg2mEu1cfKA9VGTloUZaj7rxdwX5ZopM1~GqNNIUdl95-IVihbb~e2soijSsPaIL3-i52fKeF7-USblHcvmAVWGMwN~KhOd~RLmqopreMvqu6nGKsZCBWUIZYORi6r1z6-xCPhhru6bcvCI1sKbPAmfeGIksxmEbtQtlsPosWdCNOehhj8Le~hRh1zG0s97UuS1yoHsiruyqj7fwDdnCdXfC6PEkqAtAcAjPmjRRz6r--ZUiEtUxomsRRyAH01nbYYZ~ejPj87UOfJ6R3ULRbbfUoecgZp~6~iO9TGD2G--TitkiLMJOTx2Oqq2e5~y~LIV6jNcwR8WldfFQcob7A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Richland 02 School District","date","2025-08-13T19:40:13Z","article","Superintendent Doctor Moore reported to the Richland School District Two Board of Trustees on Aug. 12 that the district reduced certified vacancies by more than half compared with the previous school year, summarized spring graduation and summer program outcomes, and outlined several staffing and professional development initiatives.

Key data and takeaways

- Graduates: Moore reported preliminary numbers for the spring 2025 graduating cohort, noting the state has not finalized totals. The district’s preliminary total was 2,142 graduates across high school and adult education ceremonies.
- College and career readiness: Moore said 73.2% of the graduating cohort met the district’s college-and-career-ready measure; 71.1% met career-ready measures.
- Career and technical education: The district reported 598 CTE completers and 961 industry certifications.
- Summer academic programs: The district ran a required summer reading camp for eligible third graders (Bridal Creek Elementary) with 168 students offered placement and a staff of 39; Superintendent Moore said 23 students met the higher cut score this year after statewide standards were raised, and noted an appeal process exists for families. Middle school summer programming had 96 participating students and a 99% success rate; high school summer options showed 51 students with a reported success rate of 96%.
- Staffing: Moore said districtwide certified vacancies declined from about 60 classroom teacher vacancies (2024–25 start) to 25 classroom vacancies for 2025–26, and other certified positions fell from 19 to 15. She credited targeted recruiting, sign-on/referral bonuses, streamlined hiring and outreach to colleges as contributors to progress.
- Professional learning: The district offered 43 professional-learning sessions this summer (math and science-of-reading focus), with more than 2,000 participants and roughly $301,000 paid in participant stipends.

Why it matters: the reductions in vacancies and the success rates in summer programming are directly tied to classroom stability and students’ progress toward graduation and postsecondary or workforce readiness.

Board questions and follow-up

Trustee Nikki Porter asked for percentage-based visuals to help the board interpret raw numbers for graduation and other measures; Porter requested success-rate visuals for elementary summer programs that were included for middle and high school. Trustee Doctor Elkins Scott thanked Moore for the detail and said the report was helpful; Trustee Mister Dennis singled out the decline in chronic absenteeism as notable.

What the superintendent said about challenges

Moore described barriers to expanding some CTE internships, including transportation limits and scheduling conflicts with employer requirements. She also noted state certification limits affect some vendor and program counts and that ongoing conversations with employers and community partners are part of the district’s strategy.

Ending

Moore concluded by saying the district will continue active recruitment for hard-to-fill roles (special education, middle school social science, speech-language pathology and school psychology), and will use the board’s retreat work to align board priorities with district strategic goals. Trustees asked for follow-up visuals and more frequent updates on metrics tied to strategic goals.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Richland School District Two Board of Trustees Meeting | August 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Superintendent Doctor Moore told the board the district reduced teacher vacancies more than 50% from last year, reported preliminary graduation figures and summarized summer academic programs and staff professional learning.","taxTitle","Richland 02, School Districts, South Carolina","taxId",14819,"location","South Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6138607,"Parent warns Pontiac fifth-grade portables lack phones, WiFi and smart boards on first days of school",159,2338000,2497000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4&start=2338&end=2497","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4/thumbnail_2338000.jpg","/articles/6138607/South-Carolina/Parent-warns-Pontiac-fifth-grade-portables-lack-phones-WiFi-and-smart-boards-on-first-days-of-school","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6138607-fa8c2a69cf4ee2b9ef709441d948ea24/orig.mp4?Expires=1775386176&Signature=LGk4rWlsEqJTudD6Xp0VKWmm8Ei-7qRstVa3GUyo9FWSuOWFPZKtI75lvGjPCaEX11cV~XzlG1xktcPKvI-sdCju9By-z8BCa75NF4W7H9zG8tlqSCOQbVX8chHnpjdkKc8l9ipggrD9qf24FgaGdMqDgGewGbjbipgt-5tYIU8NbTH6afktakVPKYKN~NZUJriF2h4f-cTXkSZGIkOxgnbhaYCf6dsEGbA3yq68BwN8Kg3LRgc5HJjPKl3zX8gZzYxE5H7l-hnOgP9ELLXR9UTdwo4HEXvoDC0UP59FI2vQwTXHsmQElo9byBiKxzCGynK2Ei5pU9c-7UMSy~u3Qg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A parent and district employee told the Richland School District Two Board of Trustees on Aug. 12 that fifth-grade classrooms in portable units at Pontiac Elementary were missing classroom telephones, WiFi and installed Clear Touch interactive boards during the first days of the 2025–26 school year.

The speaker, identified in the meeting as Doctor Anna Parish, said school administrators had submitted work orders well in advance and that the missing classroom infrastructure left teachers and students without technology other classes were using.

Parish said the absence of technology did not reflect administrators’ efforts. “Fifth grade teachers and portables at Pontiac have had to teach like they were back in the eighties during the first days of this school year,” she said. “As of today, there's still no WiFi or classroom phones in the fifth grade portables where teaching and learning is expected.”

Why it matters: classroom phones are used for school-to-classroom communication and safety; WiFi and interactive boards are widely used for instruction. The speaker said the problem reduced instructional capacity and reflected poorly on the district’s operational readiness at the start of the school year.

What the speaker asked for

Parish urged the board to ensure classroom work orders are completed promptly, to make sure every classroom has the same access to instructional technology from day one and to communicate that the district values staff and student needs.

Board response and next steps

The comment was delivered during the public participation portion of the meeting; there was no formal board action recorded on the issue at the Aug. 12 meeting. Superintendent Doctor Moore later provided a districtwide operational report in the meeting that included staffing and program updates but did not offer an immediate remediation timeline for the Pontiac work orders during that session.

Ending

Parish asked the board to treat incomplete work orders as an operational priority and noted that unresolved classroom-technology issues are visible to students and families during the school’s opening days. The board’s agenda shows ordinary operational updates and a procurement discussion on future meeting agendas; the transcript does not record a follow-up timetable for the Pontiac work orders.","A Pontiac Elementary parent told the Richland 2 board that fifth-grade students in portables lacked classroom phones, WiFi and installed interactive boards during the first days of school, saying work orders remained incomplete.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6138613,"Richland 2 trustees postpone vote on minority utilization plan after heated debate",1613,640000,2253000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4&start=640&end=2253","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5582077-413c7a65366f005bae062db3c89dede4/thumbnail_640000.jpg","/articles/6138613/South-Carolina/Richland-2-trustees-postpone-vote-on-minority-utilization-plan-after-heated-debate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6138613-e1a4bcb7a2f45f61fc5ef9d46d313661/orig.mp4?Expires=1775386176&Signature=jGnSFjvFUilfedRRwgPiO780tdTpjRYOtwlLoloSUxQj58BvcNfBAz1tBNfpj5wBVSrwx5B9z8pyaBtvzE4paW5gtrnDVBOzm6qVqlBP3lk99I-LZWK0uvrTe1dM1EppfJZTt7ksqcBDrZxKLL5W5kk52kr1EJSZ2IFdeCYoaX~BLSr5vE9LzIvEFxpgrvV4FitXt8VlVm7qoXvaZmLA~l0Gw3NOeiyAVTzfMUJIzkqg7NZXETFhj4W8JA5T0Rh3roQuogCzKQubppdd8w~fdTcC3yGbPLKFvwLxXcFmfegBX2XInglsRvjYLI-x7aqUhNs0r6RI2LZqlqgZ3faugQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees on Aug. 12 declined to approve a proposed minority utilization plan and voted 7-0 to postpone further action to the board’s Aug. 26 meeting after extended public and trustee criticism that the report lacked an actionable presentation and sufficient data.

Board members said the plan — which the district says aims for a minimum 10% of certain contract dollars to go to certified minority businesses — arrived in board materials without the presentation and context trustees said was necessary for an informed vote.

Trustee Nikki Porter moved to approve the plan; that motion failed on a 2-5 vote. Porter then moved to postpone the item, asking the superintendent to prepare a more detailed action plan and bring the item back to the Aug. 26 meeting; that motion passed 7-0.

Why it matters: the board’s procurement choices shape which local contractors and vendors receive district contracts and can affect minority-owned and small businesses seeking public work. Trustees repeatedly asked for clearer outreach steps, certification counts and a public-facing explanation of the district’s approach before voting.

Discussion and critiques

Trustee Doctor Elkins Scott said the board should not vote on the plan without a presentation and concrete steps. “I think it would have been great if this was more of a presentation than something that's placed in board docs,” she said, and added, “I think it's a shame that we can't meet a minority percentage of only 10%.”

Trustee Williams urged an educational approach for potential vendors: “1 of my suggestions would be is that we have a workshop for how to go through the process... because I think sometimes it’s not that we don't have the people who could be eligible,” she said. Trustee Porter likewise asked for specific action steps in the plan, more frequent reporting and follow-up so the board can track progress.

Superintendent response and data cited

Superintendent Doctor Moore explained the district’s legal and practical constraints and supplied figures the board requested. Moore said the board’s referendum added a 5% goal for capital projects and that the district “has exceeded that 5% for capital, and we're at 15.2 for capital.” She added that when certified and noncertified minority business spending are combined the district is at 9.2% overall, and that the statutory target applies to certified vendors only.

Moore described procurement staff outreach, including the district’s use of a “reverse vendor” model and one-on-one assistance by the procurement executive director, Luana Robinson Lee, who has worked with noncertified vendors and state certification offices to move businesses toward certification. Moore said some vendors signed up for certification help did not complete required steps with the state office.

Direction from the board

Trustees asked for a more detailed action plan, more frequent progress reports and one or more public workshops to explain vendor certification and the procurement process. The board directed staff to bring an expanded, actionable minority utilization plan and related procurement materials to the Aug. 26 meeting and to align that discussion with the procurement update already scheduled.

Formal actions

- Motion to approve minority utilization plan (mover: Trustee Nikki Porter; second: recorded in board minutes). Vote: 2 yes, 5 no — motion failed.
- Motion to postpone consideration of the minority utilization plan until the Aug. 26 regular board meeting (mover: Trustee Nikki Porter; second: recorded in board minutes). Vote: 7 yes, 0 no — motion passed.

What remains unanswered

Trustees asked the administration to report vendor-level counts (certified vs. noncertified), which contract categories are underrepresented, and a set of concrete outreach steps, including potential quarterly updates and community vendor workshops. Superintendent Moore and procurement staff said they will bring those items back at the Aug. 26 meeting and during the scheduled procurement update.

Ending

The board’s vote to postpone gives district staff time to assemble vendor data, a proposed outreach schedule and an actionable set of criteria trustees can review. The Aug. 26 agenda will include the minority utilization report alongside a procurement update; the board asked for specifics on outreach, certification counts and recommended next steps to increase certified minority participation.","Trustees declined to approve the district’s minority utilization plan and instead voted unanimously to postpone the matter to the Aug. 26 meeting, after several members said the report lacked required detail, actionable steps and public presentation.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Superintendent Moore reports improved staffing, graduation gains and summer program outcomes

Parent warns Pontiac fifth-grade portables lack phones, WiFi and smart boards on first days of school

Richland 2 trustees postpone vote on minority utilization plan after heated debate