Was The Vote On Spending Legal In The Pickens County School District While Liberty School Board Seat Was Vacant?

Over the past few months, the Pickens County School Board has voted on nearly $14 million in improvement spending for schools. The money was taken from the general fund budget and from an interest account, exhausting an extra funds the district has.

According to Article X: Section V of the SC State Constitution, this appears to be a violation of constitutional duty. Liberty Board Trustee, Ben Trotter resigned in November of 2013. Immediately following his resignation, the School District Of Pickens County [SDPC] Board began to vote on spending tax collected money ~ money that would have to be made up BY COLLECTING more tax to replace it as the funding would actually put SDPC into the red for the 2014-2015 year.

By Trotter not representing the citizens of Liberty, the vote on spending and therefore new tax collection appears to have been illegal.

SECTION 5. No tax without consent; taxes to be levied in pursuance of law.

No tax, subsidy or charge shall be established, fixed, laid or levied, under any pretext whatsoever, without the consent of the people or their representatives lawfully assembled. Any tax which shall be levied shall distinctly state the public purpose to which the proceeds of the tax shall be applied.