Allendale County school board uses tax dollars to sue state over control
Allendale County leaders used tax dollars to seek an injunction against state control, and parents said money should be going to students. The fight was later settled by the district and state.
The Allendale County Board of Education used taxpayer money to sue the South Carolina Department of Education and asked a judge to stop the state from controlling the district. Attorney Carl Solomon filed the motion for an injunction on the board’s behalf, and board chairwoman Patricia Jenkins said the legal fees were being paid with tax dollars.
Parents reacting to the dispute said they were appalled that money was being taken away from students. Their anger underscored the immediate cost of the fight: public dollars were going to lawyers while the board battled over who would run Allendale County schools.
The case grew out of a broader struggle over state oversight in a district that was already under heavy scrutiny. A WJBF video transcript described the matter as the board filing an injunction against the South Carolina Department of Education, and the injunction was aimed at blocking the state from controlling the school district.
State education leaders were already on record by then. Superintendent Molly Spearman issued a statement on the lawsuit on June 21, 2017, signaling that the dispute had reached Columbia and was no longer just a local board fight. Less than six weeks later, on July 28, the South Carolina Department of Education and Allendale School District announced an agreement in the lawsuit.
Allendale County schools were also under a state takeover, or state of emergency, in 2017, which made the legal battle even more consequential for families, teachers and taxpayers. In a small district where every dollar is closely watched, spending public money to challenge state control carried a direct governance risk: if the board prevailed, local leaders would gain more authority over the district’s future, but if it failed, residents would be left with the legal bill and the same state oversight they were trying to resist.
The dispute also fit into a longer pattern of instability for Allendale County Schools. Later reporting showed the district again under state control, even as its schools eventually improved enough that none were rated unsatisfactory or at-risk on the state report card after the second year of that second takeover.
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