Ken Loveless, Lexington Five
Name: Kenneth B. (Ken) Loveless District: Lexington-Richland School District 5
Contact Information
Email: info@LovelessforD5.com
Phone number: 803 608-7143
Website: www.LovelessforD5.com
Social Media: Facebook.com/lovelessford5
School Board Trustee Duties
1. Why are you running for School Board Trustee?
I am a candidate because I have unique skills to offer and want to be of service to better the youth of our community. Our belief is that our community deserves leadership with a sense of purpose. Both my wife and I have served on the school board in the recent past and as such offer a sense of history and will offer continuity which will be available without a big learning curve. Providing real results for workforce development, responsible stewardship with tax dollars and building are amongst key issues.
2. What is the most important issue facing your school district today or a key problem you want to address?
Teacher compensation and retention is the biggest issue public schools face today. We are in competition with other area districts and are not keeping pace with them. We need to augment step increases which are paid by the state up until year 26 and then flat line after that. We are losing experienced teachers because of it. We need to support teachers through policies which require student discipline and reward those who go beyond the call of duty with incentives. This year, there have been plans to raise teacher pay without raising taxes and the majority of the school board rejected it.
3. If you could make only one change, what would you advocate?
I would like to see the state superintendent’s new reading comprehension program fully implemented with an all-out sense of urgency. The societal cost of not fully implementing is just too great to accept.
4. What knowledge and skills are currently lacking that you will bring to your School Board of Trustees?
Properly operating school boards consist of a cross section of society with members from all walks of life. One key skill in my life as a construction contractor is the ability to read and understand contracts. These are large dollar volume job costed infrastructure projects. Having excelled in the concept stage of projects many times, I have a keen knowledge of pitfalls to be avoided. I have and pledge to continue to bring those skills to bear at no cost to the community.
Whether or not the bond referendum passes, the district does maintenance and construction-related contracts on a continual basis. Having been on the board of trustees in a prior cycle, I havea working knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the district. I can hit the ground pulling in the right direction.
5. What does the word “stakeholder” mean to you?
Primary “stakeholders” are parents. students and the community. A “stakeholder” is someone who has expectations of, is the product of, is responsible for or pays for the district.
6. How do you plan to communicate with constituents and how accessible will you be?
I plan to communicate through cell phone, text, email and Facebook. The email will be through the district’s account. I am accessible now and will continue to be. The district currently uses its house organ which is its website to communicate happenings with constituents. In addition, there are numerous communications vehicles such as emergency call trees, superintendent videos, budgets, calendars, board meetings and special communications through the district communications director. And, on occasion there are press releases and press conferences by the Board Chair.
The make-up of school boards is citizen trustees who are busy with jobs and family. Seldom is there sufficient time to thoroughly discuss important topics at regularly scheduled board meetings. Often board executive sessions are rushed so that members are asked to vote on topics with neither a good understanding of the issues nor time to contemplate the possible results of their actions.
Under leadership from me and others, the board should hold committee of the whole meetings for the topics of Procurement and Finance, Facilities and Policy matters. The committee of the whole for each of the above would consist entirely of the elected school board trustees. A chair appointed by the board chair would conduct the meeting and any board member could participate. The purpose would be public discussion with the superintendent and at his/her option, the administrative staff. All matters of importance should be vetted at those meetings.
7. Have you supported millage increases in the past and what are the circumstances where you would support them in the future?
I along with other board trustees reduced operating millage while I was a trustee. This was the first decrease ever. And we did it while increasing the budget for building maintenance to $15 million from $10 million per year.
Our fleet of buildings are getting older. The district has mounting deferred maintenance because maintenance funds were used to build new construction. Items from the 2008 referendum were not spent as the public directed. The board at that time, which was before my time, wasted money for an elementary school mandated by the referendum. It had purchased an unbuildable site. The debacle progressed to the point that completion of the full architectural design before obvious due diligence issues stopped the project. It then diverted the bulk of the money to other low priority items. Then it used maintenance funds to build the Piney Woods Elementary School. The die for all these short-sighted decisions was cast before I was a trustee. The architect and construction company for Piney Woods had already been selected. On my first night as a trustee I voted against funding maintenance bonds for new construction, the root of the problem.
So, we didn’t get the needed maintenance and paid twice for the elementary school. I don’t believe that we need more 8% bond tax money but maintenance of schools in an inflationary economymakes tight budgets. Now a new board is left to straighten all this out. My belief at present is that we can do it without raising 8% bond taxes.
One of the passions of my life has been Workforce Development. I have been active with Clemson University for over 30 years. We have connected many students to employers. The result has been rewarding. Connections to good paying jobs after graduation in the fields of construction, electricity, welding, materials testing, surveying and concrete plant operation over the past six years has worked out. My company interned three students this past summer. I helped a student get an interview recently.
This summer a group of concerned citizens and I met with county leaders, Lexington EMS Chief Hood and District Five CTE Director Prigge to find a way to get second level EMS training in our high schools. That will inure to the benefit of all citizens because it will free up the third level highly skilled technicians to do trauma work as they were trained.
One size does not fit all. Not everyone needs to go to college. We are looking at the industry bottlenecks in each of the twenty different disciplines at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies. We are shaping our programs to answer those needs. Good employers who pay for higher education are knocking down the doors to get our eager young graduates.
The district offers voluntary student led organizations such as The FFA and Skills USA to name a couple. I have been a proponent, active participant and sponsor of both. The soft skills these students are learning is truly superior to anything I have seen. Life skills mean everything to an employer.
8. What should be the top funding priorities?
See the answer to #2 above. Teacher compensation and retention is the top priority.
As a second priority, I See also the answer to question #3. I would like to see more funds go into the state superintendent’s comprehensive reading program.
As a third priority, my wife and I sponsored the remedial Math Matters course years ago. It was a very successful project-based course in district middle schools. We had some student scores increase from the 45th percentile to the 75th in one year. I was influential in getting Mechanical Contractor’s Association grants to sustain it. Then were told that it was being replaced by something even better but it never was. The money went elsewhere. The state superintendent of schools has a math initiative which is similar in nature that the district should totally embrace. I would like to see that.
9. It is difficult to get an IEP or 504 for Special Education. How would you address this and how would you support Special Education?
I was not aware that on IEP or 504 would be difficult to receive. I know the difference between the two and I would think the district would rather follow an IEP because of the legal ramifications of a 504. So that might explain the difficulty with it. My guess is that either is labor intensive for the district but that cannot be accepted as an excuse.
I have heard that sometimes neither are followed because of teacher/paperwork overload. It certainly sounds as if we might need to invest in more assistants to administer. I intend to follow up on this when elected.
10. What are your thoughts on the budget proviso requiring use of restrooms and changingfacilities based on birth sex?
I believe the US Supreme Court got it right in the recent ruling in the Martinsville School District of Martinsville, VA vs. A.C. Title IX is protected as it was originally intended by Congress, and it is now the state law of S.C. The opposite sex should not be sharing the same spaces. It is unsafe.
11. Would you make any changes to your district's policy on challenging instructional materials, and if so, what would those changes be?
The district should follow the law in that all materials including “classroom library” and teacher assigned materials which are in addition to state approved textbook materials should be reviewed by the department heads, principals and if necessary, the district Chief of Instruction for age and content appropriateness before approval. It is also my belief that the ultimate decision on appropriateness should rest with the local school board.
12. Teachers often complain about the lack of discipline in the classroom, stating that many times students are sent to the principal’s office and promptly returned to the classroom, where the student continues to disrupt the class. As a board member, how would you address student discipline through policy?
The policy needs to be updated to realize that the underlying causes of disruptive behavior can also be related to things like bullying, lack of attention due to cell phones or any number of outside influences. Input from teachers is vital and if we are to keep them in the profession this problem must the resolved. I have heard from teachers that the number one reason that young people don’t want to be teachers is lack of discipline. Parents have the right to expect that not only will their students exit their school career well-educated but also well-adjusted to life as an adult. Teachers and employees have the right to come to work in an environment free from disruptive forces.
Experience
13. What has been your involvement at a school level and at a Board of Trustee or district level?
I am a former trustee serving from 2018 to 2022 where I did not accept a salary. I served as board vice-chair from 2020 to 2022. I have spent decades volunteering, serving and donating to various District Five organizations and causes.
14. How many board meetings have you attended in person and over how long?
Again, I was a trustee for four years and participated in at least 72 board meetings from 2018 until 2022. One of the disappointments when I was a trustee was former board members who could not give up their reigns. They shadow-dabbled behind the scenes which complicating matters greatly. I promised never to do that, but I have attended meetings from time to time virtually. Upon request, I have assisted present board members when asked for advice on complicated matters.
15. Have you spoken during citizens’ participation? If so, how often and what topics did you address?
Yes, I have spoken several times before I was a trustee on matters concerning bond referendum audits and budgets.
16. Have you made SC FOIA records requests for information? If so, what information were you seeking?
Yes, during 2016 we suspected that District 5 was funding private board trustee lawsuits with public funds. In 2017 I requested a series of SC FOIA’s seeking to determine these facts. After months of delay and receiving only partial answers, I was undeterred and had to hire an attorney to assist me.
We never received straight answers because the district claimed attorney-client privilege.
After I was elected as trustee the district continued to deny access to records. I was finally able to see the documents including attorney invoices in March 2021 which was almost 4 years after my original SC FOIA attempts and over two years after I was elected trustee. We found that the district had, in fact, paid the district’s attorney hundreds of thousands of dollars. Worse yet the same attorney was acting as the district superintendent’s personal attorney as well as the private attorney for two of the trustees. Further, the board in violation of policy school board meeting minutes do not show public votes to employ any attorney for any such lawsuits.
17. Have you served on any district boards or committees? If so, which ones?
Yes, I served for two years on the inaugural council that envisioned the design of The Center for Advanced Technical Studies. Later I served for six years on the Industry Advisory Council and the Construction Industry Advisory Council both at the Center.
Get to Know You
18. Do you have kids currently enrolled in Lexington-Richland Five? If so, which schools do they attend? If they have graduated, what schools did they attend?
Reid, our older son graduated from Cardinal Newman in 1999. He has a BS degree in Economics from Clemson. James, our younger son graduated from Chapin High School in 2005 and holds a BA and MA from Clemson in Psychology and a Masters and PHD from East Carolina also in Psychology.
19. What is your current occupation and are your hours flexible?
I am a general building construction contractor. I am semi-retired and have the time to put into the board.
20. What other occupations have you held, if any?
I have been full-time in the construction industry from 1977 through 2021.
21. How much time do you plan to invest each week in board-related activities?
It usually requires as much as twenty hours per week to properly do the job as a board officer. I will put in the time.
22. Please list your community involvement – previous and current.
I served on the Greater Community Chapin Foundation board for six years and we the very first Loretta Slice Philanthropist of the Year. I served as chairman of the Town of Chapin Architectural Review Board for ten years. I work to adopt-the-highway and have served in many capacities over many years.
Politics
23. In an age where partisan politics have crept into K-12 classrooms and boards, how would you describe your position on partisan politics?
Teachers and/or administrators should leave their politics at home. To have politically active teachers and employees outside of work is the prerogative of the individual. When it becomes an agenda interfering with the goals of the organization that is a separate matter altogether. Under no circumstances should we allow political leanings to become an encumbrance to the learning environment. I am a conservative and those principles are important to successful governance at all levels including school board.
Other
24. Please include any other relevant information not mentioned above.
Lexington-Richland Five - Specific
1. Do you support districted school board of trustee seats within each county? Why or why not?
I do support districts. Running for a seat in Richland or Lexington Counties is a huge undertaking, especially for part-time volunteer (non-politician) candidates such as myself. This is an exceedingly large land area to cover. It is becoming cost prohibitive for many good prospective candidates to run.
There are at least four distinct groups who identify along high school lines. However well-intended, making high school areas the electoral district demarcation lines will make re-zoning difficult. But, on the other hand, although I don’t believe board members favor one area over another, if most members are from one area of the district, the other areas feel slighted in rivalry.
2. Are you in favor of electing officers by secret ballot or voice vote?
We did not do secret ballots when I was a trustee and my belief is that the method worked fine.
3. Do you support standing committees? If so, what would those committees be?
I don’t believe in standing committees other than committees for procurement review as required by the district procurement code and an audit committee. The procurement code is reviewed by the state which requires a standing committee.
See # 4 below. The audit committee should be formed of board members with a chair appointed by the Board Chair. The Internal Auditor would report to the Audit Committee Chair. The committees of the whole are committees made up of school board trustees (See the answer to # 6 above) which are not standing committees, but rather ones convened by the committee chair upon necessity.
4. Do you support hiring an internal auditor? Why or why not? Do you support being briefed on district finances during monthly meetings?
Yes, I support and have insisted in the past on monthly financial reports. Yes, I support an internal auditor who reports to the Audit Committee chairperson. I do not support an internal auditor who reports to the superintendent.
5. What are your thoughts on redrawing attendance lines to accommodate more students?
See# 1 above. Redrawing attendance lines will not solve the entire problem. There is overcrowding at Chapin High School. It can’t be solved by moving lines. The board looked at the attendance lines with the Malone and McBroom Report. Only modest improvements could be made if we were to keep students in each county according to feeder schools. With the growth planned now and projected in the future a new school may be required.
This process also requires looking at consolidating schools which means closing some. The process will be uncomfortable but necessary to best allocate scarce resources.
6. What are your thoughts on the $240M bond referendum on the November ballot?
Many of the projects are needed. Some are not necessity. Two key issues not addressed in the referendum are overcrowding at Chapin High School and the over $100 million in deferred maintenance. I cannot fathom the leadership of the current board kicking the can down the road on these two critical matters. My hope is that a new board gets a chance to revisit this.
7. Do you support the current millage rate for operations? Why or why not?
Yes but, I am uncertain if the bond referendum in # 6 above passes what the effect on operations will be. Since new facilities are on that list, I do not believe they can be staffed and provisioned without additional resources. No one has given an estimate of the costs. There are plenty of ways to prioritize spending without raising the millage.
8. Do you support the current millage rate for bonds? Why or why not?
The millage rate for bonds is set at 69.5 mills. See #7 above. I believe at this time that it does not need to be increased.
9. Do you believe Lexington-Richland 5 would benefit from engaging in another forensic audit? Why or why not?
The purpose of the 2022 audit was in my colloquial words an” operational” audit to determine better staff efficiency, reduce costs through reduced waste and improve accountability. Some of the audit findings were implemented but many were not. It is my intention to help change the board’s policies to fully implement and bring the district into voluntary compliance.
My belief is that anytime there is a change in superintendent’s leadership, a comprehensive operational audit be conducted. I do not believe that any candidate for such an important position should take the job without knowing what his predecessor has left.
10. Would you make changes to how the district chooses legal counsel? If so, how?
See also my answer to #16 above. The most abused power in the school district since my wife was on board until now is the overuse of the school district’s attorneys. The district spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on attorneys. Interestingly, the hiring of an auditor has been ridiculed by some trustees, but the over-use of attorneys is so commonplace it goes without checks and balances. Controls need to be put in place. Board oversight has been lacking.
The superintendent should only be allowed to hire an attorney with advice and consent of the board when a case involves the quasi-judicial neutrality role of the board. This is usually in the rare instances of employment, student and liability issues where trustees are required by law to stand as judges and remain impartial until the case is heard by the full board. In all other cases, the full board should vote to implement the use of an attorney.
As it stands now, school district attorneys have been allowed to be the ad hoc eighth and most important member of the board by virtue of their advice. Moreover, before an attorney is appointed to represent the district, his or her scope of work, expected hourly billing rates and invoicing should be defined by engagement letters to be reviewed
periodically by the board.
