Parent tells board recent administrative moves eroded staff trust and morale

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — Amanda Hebel told the Berkeley County Board of Education on Sept. 15 that administrative changes made about a month before the 2025-26 school year have undermined staff trust and district morale.

Hebel, who identified herself during the public-comment period, said the reassignments were not "haphazard" and accused district leadership of making moves that she said "eliminate those that don't follow y'all's narrative." She said one assistant principal was moved to serve as an interim principal at a different school rather than being promoted at her current school, and questioned the wisdom of moving leaders from schools that posted strong South Carolina Ready scores in English language arts.

"I know they are meticulously thought out and planned out by you and your team to eliminate those that don't follow y'all's narrative," Hebel said. "You said they were based on needs, but I'm still trying to figure out whose needs because it surely isn't the students' needs that are taken into consideration." She added that one school had "scores of over 50% getting meets or exceeds on SC Ready in ELA this past year in all grades." Hebel also said a fifth-grade math cohort had 47.7% meets or exceeds.

Hebel raised turnover concerns, saying she receives messages weekly about low morale and that many coordinators and staff are leaving or planning to retire. "Over the last three years, you've lost the trust of majority of your employees," she said.

Her remarks came during the public-comment portion of the board's agenda. The board did not take formal action in response to the public comment during the meeting.