Cherokee County School Board Chairperson Sandra Greene insists there was no conspiracy at work this week when trustees changed their next meeting date from this Tuesday until Sept. 26.

The district maintenance department has come under fire recently from school trustees following stories in The Ledger detailing work absences by maintenance employee Joel Greene, one of Sandra Greene's sons. Maintenance employee Fred Knowles was suspended without pay last week because of an alleged altercation with maintenance director John Burchstead.

But Greene said a lack of agenda items following the Labor Day holiday was the main reason the school board chose to postpone the meeting. She noted this is the second straight year the school board will not meet following Labor Day.

"There were very few items we needed to discuss this week because of the Labor Day holiday," Greene said. "We voted on a lot of personnel matters at the last meeting and the bid opening for the Blacksburg High ninth grade addition isn't until Sept. 19."

The school district could have a harder time explaining this week's telephone poll of school board members about a recommendation on a replacement for comptroller Amy Barnhill.

Barnhill left this summer to take a position with the finance department at her alma mater Furman University.

"Sheila (Lemmonds, board secretary) called me at the request of Bill (James) and Sandra (Greene) to see if I had any items for the agenda and to ask if I would be OK with not meeting. I told her we should meet, but felt I would be in the minority," school trustee Lindley Auton said. "She also asked if I approved of a certain individual for the comptroller position in the finance department. I told her I had some questions before I could commit to the hiring."

South Carolina Press Association and The Gaffney Ledger Attorney Jay Bender said he believes the school board has not followed the Freedom of Information Act in two instances.

"One of the violations is probably just an inconvenience to members of the public who would attend regularly scheduled meetings unless there is a public announcement of the cancellation," Bender said. "The violation is that there was an official action taken in circumvention of the requirements of the law, that is to say a vote by telephone poll. That same violation is of more substance in the vote by phone poll to hire an employee.

"While the board may enter an executive session from a public session to discuss the employment of an individual, no vote to hire a person may be taken legally except in an open session," Bender said. "Any phone poll decision to hire an employee is subject to being set aside by a court. Of course, the board can easily remedy the problem by having a public vote on the question at their next meeting."

State law (section 59-1-340) only requires school boards to meet at least every other month on a regular date and time to be determined by each school board in an organizational meeting. Any school board can hold a special called meeting when it is considered necessary by a majority of board members. Cherokee County is one of

statewide which meet twice a month, according to a survey done by the South Carolina School Boards Association. There are 64 school boards which meet once a month with some setting aside a second monthly meeting for working in committees.

Auton said she believes the school board should meet this Tuesday.

"We have a job we're elected to do and I think we should meet as scheduled. There is at least one personnel matter, a finance position, that needs to be discussed," Auton said. "We don't know if the public has concerns they would like to voice. Plus, it's been three weeks since our last meeting."