By Ed Hammond Last night wasn’t the end of Jan Hammond’s involvement and love of District 5. As long as she has breath she will be an advocate for the children, parents, teachers and staff of D5. It started in 1973 (before a lot of her critics were born orContinue Reading
Dear Jan Hammond, I am writing to respond to two items included in a column or letter to the editor that you wrote for The New Irmo News, which was posted online. The article was in response to a column by David Travis Bland of The State. The first itemContinue Reading
The recently released phase II report focused on purchases for the district’s newest school, Piney Woods Elementary School (PWES) and cites issues including nearly $1 million in contingencies belonging to the district reported as being apparently redirected to the contractor’s labor and not returned to the district and over $300,000Continue Reading
School Board Chair Jan Hammond recently penned a letter to this newspaper in which she detailed some “facts” about the school board. I think some expansion of Ms. Hammond’s “facts” are required. Ms. Hammond stated “Mr. Bland references a lawsuit that his editor filed accusing the board of voting behindContinue Reading
The proposed Penny Tax that we will be voting on in November will be the best way to get our Lexington County roads repaired. I am recommending that everybody VOTE YES FORROADS on November 8th. This 1% tax cannot last but a certain amount of time. It cannot be extendedContinue Reading
The woman who brought a handgun in her purse to the District Five school board meeting on Monday, September 26 was not arrested, detained or taken to jail. There is no question that a law was broken and even with the absence of intent the woman clearly was in theContinue Reading
Hopefully by now you have heard about Lexington County’s effort for funding improvements to our roads – it’s called the “CAPITAL PROJECT SALES TAX” (CPST). We all know our roads need attention, such as resurfacing, turn lanes,intersection improvements, and reduced congestion. And, very importantly,the response time of our First RespondersContinue Reading
I am livid, disappointed, and confused about what I am hearing about Monday night’s board meeting. An upset attendee/adult/protester/whomever, I do not know her…was caught at the metal detector with a concealed firearm in her purse. She came in a group that was upset about the board, about what IContinue Reading
On September 10th Sarah Osgaard tackled the difficult issue of Critical Race Theory — a hot button issue in Irmo and the nation. She answered this question by explaining that critical race theory is not in our schools because technically and historically CRT is “a theoretical framework involving the historyContinue Reading
To the Editor: Though not a Lexington County native, I have lived here for 58 years. I feel fortunate to have chosen this place as my home. Excellent schools, medical facilities, businesses, and cultural amenities abound throughout the County. The people here are hard-working, honest, entrepreneurial, and dedicated to improvingContinue Reading
September 19, 2022 – Special-Called Board Meeting The purpose of this audit is to ensure confidence and trust with the taxpayers of District Five. Being accountable and transparent is vital to moving forward. School Board members are called trustees for a reason. We have two major responsibilities, to hire theContinue Reading