Royster Named New Superintendent in Split Vote

The Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees voted 7-5 late Tuesday evening to make William Burke Royster, Jr. the tenth superintendent of its schools.

Royster, who was an Assistant Superintendent with Greenville County Schools, was chosen over Dr. Lynn Moody, the superintendent of Rock Hill School District Three in York County and Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indiana.

The decision to offer the position to Royster brings a close to a process that became contentious and unexpectedly public. But, still very much up in the air is the working relationship between a Board of Trustees that is clearly divided. That division was on display on Tuesday night.

The and could not reach a consensus opinion on a superintendent.

After the agenda items for Tuesday’s meeting were completed, the board was scheduled to go into executive session to privately continue the discussion about the superintendent position. But trustee Chuck Saylors put forth a motion to have the discussions take place in public, arguing that nothing would be gained by further private sessions. His motion was voted down 10-2 and the trustees retreated to a conference room, which adjoined the meeting area.

In the nearly two weeks since the , the process of selecting the new superintendent for South Carolina's largest school district became increasingly politicized. Over the weekend, media outlets reported that while she headed Rock Hill District Three Moody allowed school to be in session on Martin Luther King Day. This news drew suspicions from some in Greenville’s African-American community. On Monday, White was reported to have told officials with the school district of Mobile, Ala. that he was more interested in that opportunity than the one in Greenville.

Simultaneously, some members of the Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees were reportedly being lobbied to support Royster. Meanwhile, some other trustees were informed of the lobbying, which they felt contaminated the entire selection process. The latter group of trustees said they received much of their information from district employees who wished to remain anonymous. Those employees also expressed the concerns that were the board to select a candidate from within, such as Royster, the changes needed to move the district forward may not take place.

Some speculated that the detrimental information about Moody and White was released to improve the candidacy of Royster.

In the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, three members of the public, including Fountain Inn Mayor Gary Long, .

When the trustees emerged from executive session on Tuesday night after three hours in private conference, the factions could scarcely be concealed.

Trustee Debi Bush made a motion (see video) that a vote on the superintendent be postponed. Trustee Crystal Ball O’Connor agreed with Bush, saying the entire selection process has been compromised.

Trustee Tommie Reece was among those who disagreed. “Postponing won’t help us one bit,” she said.

Danna Rohleder expressed full confidence in Royster and added, “I don’t think having any further discussion will change anything and that saddens me.”

A vote in favor of postponing had the potential to start the process anew, bringing in candidates who were not among the three finalists.

But the motion to postpone was denied 6-5, with Chairman Roger Meek abstaining.

The trustees then voted to offer Royster the superintendent position.

Trustees Meek, Reece, Rohleder, Saylors, Megan Hickerson, Lynda Leventis-Wells and Pat Sudduth voted in favor of Royster.

Ball O’Connor, Bush, Glenda Morrison-Fair, Leola Robinson-Simpson and Lisa Wells voted against. Each of the dissenting voters made a point of saying their vote was more against the process than it was against Royster.

After Tuesday’s meeting adjourned, Meek spoke to the media. “This was a very difficult process. We had three great candidates and kudos go to ,” Meek said.

Meek said that he personally thought the deciding factor in Royster’s favor was his familiarity with the district and his ability to hit the ground running.

But for those who voted against Royster, the issue was not the candidates but the way the process unfolded.

Wells was particularly disheartened by the process. “We spent hours and hours meeting on Saturday trying to get to consensus and several of us felt like we needed to look at other options,” Wells said. “Since Saturday we became aware of efforts to campaign for (Royster) and there was a belief that the process had been violated.”

Morrison-Fair said she heard from employees who said there had been a concerted effort to promote Royster above the other candidates. “I was contacted by school employees who said they had been encouraged by board members and administrators to support (Royster),” she said.

Bush added, ”There is a real concern when you have district employees who are telling you that.”

The trustees who were critical of the process said the concerns they heard were not limited to within the district.

Those trustees also said that too many assumptions were made and that from the start, the process has been rushed.

“We just wanted to say, ‘Wait, let’s talk about this,” Wells said.

For Ball O’Connor this superintendent selection was a marked contrast to when she was among the trustees who selected the current superintendent, Dr. Phinnize Fisher. “Within an hour, there was consensus that we would not even need a search team,” Ball O’Connor said. “There was never any consensus this time.”

Bush said, “It’s unfortunate that some trustees looked at this as simply getting to seven votes and winning. This isn’t about winning, it’s about building consensus.”

“This is the most important decision we’ll make as trustees. I’m deeply disappointed.” Wells added.

Royster was not believed to be aware of any of the lobbying that was done on his behalf.

Once Royster formally accepts the position he is contractually obligated to begin his new role by July 1, but the expectation is that he will start before then, as the current superintendent, Dr. Fisher, is serving on a temporary basis, having announced her retirement last year. Royster will be under contract for three years at a salary of $215,000 with an annual annuity at 10 percent of the salary.