COLUMBIA – In January, after racking up $51,750 in fines over unfiled ethics forms, Richland Two school board chair Amelia McKie vowed she would remedy the problem.
“I am working with my legal counsel to address the fines and penalties imposed,” McKie said at a January board meeting. “I’ve learned a lot from my experience. It’s a problem that certainly will not happen again.”
Apparently, it has happened again.
As of Tuesday, McKie had not filed her quarterly campaign disclosure report with the S.C. Ethics Commission, according to the agency’s online database.
The disclosure report was due April 10.
Replying via email Tuesday evening, McKie disputed she had any missed ethics filings.
“All my filings are compliant,” the email said.
Disclosure reports not filed between 2016 and 2018 prompted the ethics commission to fine McKie $41,000 in July 2018. Another $10,750 was tacked on after she failed to pay a percentage by Dec. 31, 2018.
At the Jan. 22 board meeting, while reading from a prepared statement, McKie publicly apologized for the ethics flap.
“I made a number of mistakes and trying to address them simply got out of hand,” she said. “I am human. I’m not infallible. I am responsible and I am not running from those problems. I am taking action to fully resolve and address them.”
News of the missed filing comes as several public citizens and a fellow board member have called upon McKie to step down as board chair or the board altogether. McKie has said she’s not stepping down.
