CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - The Charleston County Legislative Delegation announced the formation of a new committee that will investigate “recent alleged abuses of the CCSD’s personnel procedures.”
The committee, which was formed on Monday, has been named the “Charleston County School District (CCSD) Personnel Procedures Ad Hoc Committee.”
It will operate under the direction of Chairman Peter M. McCoy, Jr. and it will be chaired by Rep. Marvin Pendarvis.
A news release from the delegation said the committee’s mission is “to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all CCSD’s employees but also to make certain that their current policies are being adhered to by supervisory staff.”
“Our children and parents deserve transparency in all aspects of the CCSD and especially when talking about personnel that is in contact with the children,” McCoy said. “It is our job to protect our children at all costs.”
The formation of the new committee comes after a Live 5 News investigation into how CCSD handled former employee Marvin Gethers.
The investigation found that in 2014, IT specialists suspected they found child pornography on Gethers’ school laptop. The reported it to law enforcement 37 days later.
According to school and police files, district leaders did not terminate or place Gethers on long-term leave after reporting him to police.
“Serious allegations have arisen and it is our job as legislators to ensure that they are thoroughly investigated,” Pendarvis said.
CCSD spokesperson Andrew Pruitt released a statement on the committee late Wednesday afternoon.
“As we have stated before, we welcome conversation and dialogue with members of the Charleston Legislative Delegation," Pruitt said. “We will cooperate and participate in any way possible.”
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