District to discuss recording policy

New rules on electronic communications and recording meetings could be coming soon from the Cherokee County School Board.

The district paid $100,000 earlier this year to settle a lawsuit by former maintenance employee Fred Knowles, who claimed he was terminated for tape recording a meeting called by maintenance supervisor John Burchstead and going to the press about his complaints.

School trustees decided to wait until after the August election to take action on a proposal to clarify the district's policy on tape recording meetings.

The school board will hold a special needs committee soon to discuss possible changes to the district's policy manual, said board member Lindley Auton, who chairs the special needs committee.

Electronic communications is one policy that could be reviewed when the school board special needs committee meets.

Gaffney High saw classes disrupted Oct. 16 because of a text message hoax. A day later, Gaffney High had a 67 percent absentee rate when a shooting threat circulated via student cell phones.

"Safety has always been my main concern ahead of academics. There has definitely been a lot of copycats going around," Auton said. "We may need to look at clarifying the district policy on electronic communications. Students need to be aware there are serious consequences for disrupting school."

The school board special needs committee will look at revising some policies, such as the employee grievance procedure, in the district policy manual. Some policies date back to the early 1970s.

"We live in a different world today," Auton said. "We want to make sure the district policy annual is updated to address the issues in schools today. We hope the public will provide us with input on any policies they think we might need to review."