Attorney: Board chairman's poll violated FOIA

Cherokee County School Board chairman Willie Crosby violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when he did a telephone poll of school board members about a new school election law, the S.C. Press Association attorney said Friday.

Crosby sent a letter July 30 on behalf of the school board to state Rep. Dennis Moss to oppose changes in school board elections that were approved by state lawmakers in June.

The law will move the Cherokee County School Board elections from November to the second week in August.

A school board candidate will need at least 50 percent of the votes to be elected. Previously, school board elections were won by the candidate receiving the most votes.

Reached at his home, Crosby confirmed he contacted school board members to see whether they supported the election bill. School board members contacted by The Ledger said no action was taken in a meeting to approve sending a letter from the school board.

A telephone poll can not take the place of making a decision in a public meeting, said Jay Bender, who represents The Gaffney Ledger and the South Carolina Press Association.

"In my view it would be illegal under the FOI to poll members of a body to commit them to a course of action for the body," Bender said. "So if they're making a decision by polling, that would be illegal."

Under section 30-4-70c, the Freedom of Information Act states "no chance meeting, social meeting or electronic communication may be used in circumvention of the spirit of requirements of this chapter to act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power."

Crosby and school trustee Ola Copeland are the only minority members on the school board. They are up for re-election next year along with Sandra Greene, Donnie Lee Smith and Billy Blackwell.

In his letter, Crosby said the school board election changes will lower voter turnout while a new runoff requirement will increase the costs of holding school board elections.

"...Changing the election method from plurarity to majority will adversely affect the ability of a minority candidate to be elected to the Board, as any candidate will now need a majority of the votes to be elected ...," Crosby wrote.

School board member Barry Bailey said he agreed with Crosby's decision to send a letter from the board opposing the election changes.

"Blacksburg has always held most of our elections in March. With the school board election in November, there was pretty much a guarantee of a large voter turnout because we alternate voting on the governor and presidential race every two years," Bailey said. "If the election is held in August, there will be a low voter turnout in Blacksburg because the school board will be the only office on the ballot."

School board members did not unanimously support Crosby's letter from the board opposing the election bill.

School trustees Amanda Knowles and Lindley Auton have sent their own letter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"I support the bill," Auton said. "I just think it needs to be tweaked a little because it's not practicable in small towns like Blacksburg where the school board election doesn't coincide with city elections."

The U.S. Department of Justice must approve any changes in local election laws because South Carolina is still under a desegregation order, said Jay Smith of the S.C. Attorney General's Office.

The Cherokee County School Board election bill was forwarded on July 3 to the U.S. Department of Justice, Smith said. The justice department will have 60 days to issue a decision.