When I entered the race for Lexington Five School Board in August, I was prepared to run because I knew about the main issues on which parents have put their focus. As a mom of three children in the Irmo cluster and a business owner with my husband Bobby, weContinue Reading
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
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
Ken Loveless has stood up for what he believes in for our district and our children at great personal cost. The true story (that a compliant media has obfuscated) is that Mr. Loveless did nothing to help himself or his company. He questioned the cost and quality of a constructionContinue Reading
631, that is the total number of staff that have resigned, retired, refused a contract, or otherwise left our District since the new board majority took over in 2020. This number was obtained directly from the district. 581 staff have left our schools and 50 have left the District Office.Continue Reading