COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Wednesday, Richland School District Two board members met for the first time since a heated meeting resulted in the arrest of a board member.
Board members met to discuss a topic at the forefront of every parent’s mind, safety. However, at the meeting several board members were noticeably missing.
Board member Lashonda McFadden turned herself in on Wednesday, May 11, after a warrant was issued for her arrest for what deputies say was her part in an argument between her and board chairwoman Dr. Teresa Holmes.
McFadden was charged with threatening the life of a public employee, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
RELATED: Richland Two school board member arrested, facing charges after deputies say there was argument
According to board member James Manning, McFadden is still employed by the district. He said this isn't the first time she's had an outburst. Manning is now calling for her resignation.
Board member Lindsey Agostini said it was an inappropriate discussion that shouldn't have happened.
McFadden told News 19 her outburst stemmed from "a culmination of things that have happened in the past."
As for Wednesday's meeting, Manning said the discussion around student safety stemmed from local and national incidents. “Around social media, weapons, fights particularly coming out of COVID ... there have been an increase of incidents.”
Manning said the board has put together a committee that focuses on bettering security and safety within in the district.
One idea is to add more school resource officers.
“Metal detectors was one thing that was discussed at length tonight," Manning said. "Drug dogs was another idea.”
McGee Moody was one of two parents at the meeting. He said he has two daughters in the district and he wants situations handled right away before they escalate into something bigger.
“We’ve had a couple of issues with weapons being brought into schools and honestly, I wanted to know what was kind of being done," Moody said. “Put as many of these SROs in the individual schools as possible ... I want them to involve the community as much as they can."
Another meeting will be held to discuss the ideas and how they could be implemented.