Scott Whetstone, Lexington One

Name: Scott Whetstone
District: Lexington One

1. Why are you running for School Board Trustee? Throughout my career, I've developed a unique blend of skills that make me an ideal candidate for the school board. My experience in utility and infrastructure has taught me the importance of strategic planning and efficient resource management. As a county council member for 8 years, I've honed my ability to navigate complex government systems and advocate for transparency. With over 25 years of high-level budget experience, I'm confident in my ability to make informed financial decisions. Most importantly, my years on county council have shown me the value of listening to the people's needs and fighting for what's right. I'm excited to bring this expertise to the school board and make a positive impact on our community's

2. What is the most important issue facing your school district today or a key problem you want to address? The most important issue in my opinion would be getting the budget under control by cutting frivolous glitz and glamour facilities to return more money to the hard-working taxpayers. For too long the citizens have complained about District 1 building glamour schools and going over budget and buying land for more than its value. With my background on from County Council and knowledge of the tax base, I believe I can bring Insite to fixing these issues and help to trim spending from the highest taxing source in the county. A key issue would be protecting the rights of the parents and children and being available to the parents and children. This priority I would say is the most important, as to many times once you are elected you stop being available and stop listening as you fall into the motion of rubber stamping the big machine. This needs to stop and all elected need to remember they are there to represent the parents who elected them and the children they are responsible for. I’m a parent and will never allow anyone to take my rights so I will fight for this priority to always protect parental rights.

3. If you could make only one change, would what you advocate? I would advocate to better protect and respect the most vital asset in our schools, the children and the parents of these children’s rights.
4. What knowledge and skills are currently lacking that you will bring to your School Board of Trustees? In my opinion and viewpoint the current board lacks the background in high level budgets and the knowledge to work as a cohesive unit. These are two functions essential to true transparency and conservative leadership. With my background on County Council and corporate America I bring vast budgetary knowledge and management expertise to experience.

5. What does the word “stakeholder” mean to you? The word stakeholder to me stands for someone who has a vested interests in the school district. This definition would clearly point to the parents as they have the largest vested interests being their children. They also have their hard earned tax dollars which pay for the staff and buildings.

Experience
6. What has been your involvement at a school level and at a board of trustee or district level? My only experience at the school level would be on the school improvement council. During my years on council and as the chairman of council, I did have standing monthly update meetings with the chair of the school board and superintendent.
7. How many board meetings have you attended in person and over how long? I have tried to attend at-least one or two meetings a year, unfortunately their meetings usually took place on same days as county council meetings.

8. Have you spoken during citizens’ participation? If so, how often and what topics did you address? No I have never spoken during this time.
9. Have you made SC FOIA records requests for information? If so, what information were you seeking? No

10. Have you served on any district boards or committees? If so, which ones? Pelion Elementary school improvement council.
Get to Know You
11. Do you have kids currently enrolled in Lexington One? If so, which schools do they attend? If they have graduated, what schools did they attend? I have one child who is a junior at Pelion High School.

12. What is your current occupation and are your hours flexible? Currently employed by Dominion Energy and my time is flexible.
13. What other occupations have you held, if any? Served 8 years on County Council.

14. How much time do you plan to invest each week in board-related activities? Any amount necessary.

15. Please list your community involvement – previous and current. School improvement council, Board member Pelion athletics parks, baseball coach, football coach, softball coach.

Politics
16. In an age where partisan politics have crept into K-12 classrooms and boards, how would you describe your position on partisan politics? I believe this ensures strong advocacy for Republican Party values.
Other
17. Please include any other relevant information not mentioned above.
Lexington One - Specific
1. Do you support districted board seats? Why or why not? I do support districting all board seats as this would better serve the citizens fairly. This would truly allow a voice from each area to speak for the people in their area.
2. Would you support a bond referendum in 2025? I would not support a 2025 referendum due to the poor manner the last referendum funding was mismanaged. The poor management of the money severely impacts the tax paying parents.
3. If the referendum passes in 2025, how would you ensure that projects stay on track both financially and within the scheduled time frame? To ensure projects stay on track financially and within the scheduled time frame, consider these strategies:
I would ask for clear goals and objectives with well-defined project scope, timelines, and budget. As a member I would require regular monitoring to identify potential issues early. Communicate with Stakeholders engagement regularly, and establish a detailed plan for default and repercussions for any over budget projects.

4. What are your thoughts on reporting teachers to the SC Department of Education for breach of contract when teachers do not know how much they will be paid prior to signing their employment contract? My first opinion is who would sign a contract of employment without knowing their salary? I would have no issue reporting this after doing research on the issue.

5. Do you believe Lexington One would benefit from a forensic audit of financial records? I wholeheartedly believe this should be done and would be in the best interest of the taxpayers.
6. Are you in favor of electing officers by secret ballot? If not, will you go on the record prior to the vote, per policy, to announce that you want a voice vote? I believe all votes should be made openly to show transparency to the stakeholders. I wouldn’t have any issue voicing my votes to allow the people who put me in office to see how I vote.
7. How do you plan to communicate with your constituents, including providing nonconfidential information prior to and after meetings since all documents are not made available online? If elected I will have an open door policy as I always have. I will be available to the constituents as well as the students.
8. Citizens' participation has been a big topic of discussion, with the board limiting the time of speakers and who is allowed to speak. Currently business owners who pay taxes but do not live in Lexington One are not allowed to speak. In addition, there are several restrictions on the topics speakers are allowed to discuss. What are your thoughts? I believe there needs to be a time limit, but any topic regarding the district should be allowed. I also believe a tax paying business owner should be allowed to speak. My opinion on restricting topics shows that you aren’t truly transparent.
9. Currently the public has no way of tracking new positions that have been created or promotions from within. Would you support announcing the positions of the new hires and not just the number of new hires? Yes, I would support announcing the positions and number of hires. This is called true transparency of taxpayers dollars.
10. Currently this board has no policy regarding censuring a fellow board member. Are you in support of censuring? How would you address violations of the Ethics Act by a fellow board member, a rogue board member, chronic absenteeism, or a board member that withholds information from other members? As to the censuring I believe this would be hard for me to answer on as they are elected by the people. When it comes to ethics the proper channel would be to report them by state statute. The problem of absenteeism is an issue that as a board I would ask that the board request the member be removed by the state superintendent of education. When it comes to one member holding information from another, I believe that would depend on the topic and if it’s public knowledge. This in my opinion is a personal issue where childish actions are being displayed.
11. Would you support standing committees? If so, what would those committees be? I would surely support creating standing committees. I would like to see the following. Land and Buildings : discuss all issues of current land and buildings
Administrative: discuss all staff issues and transportation
Planning: discuss any future purchases and construction
Committee of the whole: discuss all other topics.
12. Lexington One does not have an internal auditor and they do not review their monthly budget statements with the Chief Financial Officer during board meetings. Would you support the hiring of an internal auditor? Do you support being briefed on district finances during monthly meetings? I believe the CFO should give a monthly detailed briefing and should be received by the members the Thursday before the meeting. This would allow members to pose questions to be answered. I believe the district should use an outside agency for internal auditing to work with the CFO.

13. Currently, all schools in the district are eligible for the federal community eligibility program. The board signed a resolution in June 2024 choosing not to participate in the program, citing a “financial hardship”. Do you support participating in the district-wide no-cost meal program? I support participating in the no cost meal program for all students and all schools in the district.