Richland One board members vote to request full forensic audit from SCDE

On January 10, 2025By Littum

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – Richland County School District One board leaders are being proactive in tackling an audit ordered by the South Carolina Department of Education.

During a specially called meeting Tuesday night, board members voted to request the state conduct a full forensic audit of the district. This was the first meeting in 2025 for the newly elected members of the school board.

“I think we could at least try to direct the state department to do a certain type of audit depending on what the board’s wishes were,” said newly appointed board chairman Robert Lominack.

The state Department of Education ordered an audit of the district, calling the district’s recovery plan “inadequate and incomplete.”

The recovery plan was drawn up by school district leaders after a report by the South Carolina Inspector General found that district leaders wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on the construction of a controversial early learning center. That report raised the district’s level of fiscal concern from fiscal watch to fiscal caution.

During the special conference call, Lominack said, “that process should start pretty quickly, at least identify an auditor.”

Newly appointed Vice Chair Barbara Weston made the motion to request a full forensic audit of the district’s finances, which was seconded by newly elected School Board Commissioner Richard Moore. The motion passed on a 5-2 vote, with commissioners Aaron Bishop and Jamie Devine voting against.

“We just had an audit, let it appear on the record, by the state department and the district a few months ago,” Bishop said. “So I’m a little concerned about what else might be found out of what else we’re asking to be discovered.”

Bishop was also concerned about the cost of a full forensic audit, which is unknown at this time.

Lominack also gave an update on the search for a new superintendent during the meeting. He said the process of finding a new superintendent could take anywhere from four to six months.

Feel more informed, prepared and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our e-mail newsletterand download our apps. Do you have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.