Former BCSD superintendent pleads guilty to charges

Former Berkeley County School District Superintendent Rodney Thompson has admitted guilt in violating state ethics laws related to the 2012 Yes 4 Schools campaign.

According to Hayley Thrift Bledsoe, communications officer for the State Attorney General’s Office, Thompson plead guilty on December 16 to one count of using public funds, property and time to influence the outcome of an election. The maximum sentence for the conviction is one year in jail and a $5000 fine, but Circuit Judge Jeffrey Young suspended Thompson’s sentence to one year’s probation and a $2500 fine. The plea and sentencing took place in the General Sessions/Criminal Court in Sumter, S.C.

Thompson served as Superintendent for BCSD from 2011 to 2015, when he abruptly resigned before his contact was due to expire. During Thompson’s 20-year career with the district, he also served as a social studies teacher, Principal of Hanahan High School, and an administrative supervisor for secondary schools. At the time of his departure, he was under investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division for allegedly using district time and resources while working on the Yes 4 Schools Campaign, a violation of state law. Led by community volunteers, the purpose of the campaign was to promote a $198 million bond referendum for new school construction and renovations, including two new facilities to serve the Daniel Island/Cainhoy area.

In the summer of 2015, former BCSD communications director, Amy Kovach, who served in the role while Thompson was superintendent, plead guilty to two counts related to the campaign – common law misconduct in office and using government resources to influence an election. She was sentenced to five years, also by Judge Young, but it was suspended to two years probation with a fine of $25,000.

The investigation into the Yes 4 Schools campaign was originally prompted by Daniel Island resident and local attorney Josh Whitley, now a Berkeley County Councilman, as well as others, who alerted state authorities to what they suspected were illegal activities.