You and Two

• BUDGET INPUT SESSION ON MAY 11, 5–5:30 P.M.

• AVID EARLY COLLEGE PROGRAM AT RVHS

• VIRTUAL OPTION FOR THE 2021–2022 SCHOOL YEAR

• CHOICE 2 OPEN UNTIL MAY 31ST

• COMPLETE ANNUAL REGISTRATION FOR 2021–2022 SCHOOL YEAR NOW

• COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC

• MAY 11 BOARD MEETING
  
• IMPORTANT DATES
  
• SOAR WAITING LIST
  
• RENTAL AND UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE

A Budget Input Session for the Richland Two community will be held 5–5:30 p.m. on May 11, 2021, in the Conference Center at R2i2 located at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia, 29229.

The Richland Two Board of Trustees and district administrators are holding the input session to give employees, parents, students and community members the opportunity to provide suggestions for next year’s budget. The suggestions shared during the input session will be considered during the development process of the FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget.

As the state budget has not been finalized, Richland Two has updated the timeline for the district’s budget development process:

May 11, 2021
● Public Input Session for FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget, 5-5:30 p.m.
● Regular Board Meeting — Budget Update

May 25, 2021
● First Reading of the FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget at regularly scheduled board meeting

May 26, 2021
● Local Funding Request submitted to Richland County Council

June 14, 2021
● Legal advertisement giving notice of June 29 Public Hearing (Required)

June 17, 2021
● Special Called Board Meeting/Budget Work Session (if needed) @ 5:30 p.m.

June 29, 2021
● Required Public Hearing for the FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget @ 5 p.m.
● Second Reading FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget at regularly scheduled board meeting. Board takes a vote on the budget.

All individuals in attendance at the input session will be required to wear masks and observe social-distancing protocols.

In the video below, Jeffrey McMicken, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) site coordinator, reflects on the journey that students entering the AVID program encountered four short years ago. The Richland Two AVID Early College is housed at Ridge View High School. On May 5, 2021, a cohort of 20 students were honored for their work to obtain high school diplomas and college degrees simultaneously. They are the first group of students in the near 100-year history of Richland Two to achieve this accomplishment. Video from the cording ceremony is on the district's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD9-DNyyIAk

As we shared in January during the first Choice application period, our district will offer one virtual option next year — the Richland Two Virtual School.

Individual schools will not offer eLearning, which requires dual modality instruction, during the 2021–2022 school year. Our teachers and instructional assistants have done a phenomenal job in putting in the additional planning and work needed for dual modality instruction. However, the dual modality method is not sustainable. Therefore, we will not be able to offer eLearning at the schools.

Parents of middle/high school students can apply for the R2 Virtual School during the second Choice application period. Please see the information below. The Elementary Virtual Program interest form closed on April 30.

While Richland School District Two students are assigned to schools based on their residential address, they may apply to a magnet school or another school within the district through the Choice program. Placements will take effect for the 2021-2022 school year.

The Choice 2 application opened online on May 3, 2021, and will close at 5 p.m. on May 31.

A few points to note:

Some schools/magnets are closed to Choice 2

• Here are the schools closed to Choice 2

Learn more about Choice at www.richland2.org/choice.

Annual Registration is the online process that includes providing proof of residence, verifying student information, and reviewing and completing parent/guardian forms. If you have already completed this process for your students — Thank You!

If not, please complete this process today to prevent delays in scheduling your child’s classes for the coming school year. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees will hold a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

The board meeting will be called to order at 5:30 p.m. and the board will immediately adjourn into executive session. Public session will resume at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Conference Center at R2i2 located at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia, 29229. In order to allow for social distancing due to COVID-19, the seating capacity for the members of the public who wish to attend the meeting in-person is limited to 30. Individuals attending the meeting must wear face masks.

In case that capacity is reached and to provide members of the public the ability to watch the board meeting from the safety of their home, the meeting will also be streamed live at http://www.richland2.org/livestream.

Click the following link to view the agenda for the May 11 Board Meeting:

http://go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BWCKKB511052

Public Participation is on the agenda for the May 11 meeting. The Board sets aside a maximum of 30 minutes (15 minutes at the beginning and 15 minutes prior to the end of the public portion of the meeting). As each speaker is allotted three minutes, Public Participation will be limited to the first 10 people who sign up to speak (five during the first Public Participation and five during the second Public Participation). The sign-up to speak will open at 5 p.m. and close at 5:45 p.m. on May 11 in the lobby of R2i2.

PAST MEETINGS: Click here to view the April 27 board meeting and click here to read the minutes from that meeting. Click here to read the minutes from the May 7 Special Called Board Meeting.

UPCOMING BOARD MEETING: May 25, 2021

May 11 – Public Input Session for FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget

May 11 – Richland Two School Board Meeting

May 14 – Early Dismissal for all students (10:50 a.m. Middle, 11:30 a.m. Elem, 12:30 p.m. High)

May 21 – Early Dismissal for all students (10:50 a.m. Middle, 11:30 a.m. Elem, 12:30 p.m. High)

If you did not get your student registered for SOAR before March 31 but are interested in the program if a slot comes open, please complete this form. While this won't guarantee that there will be a spot for your student, it will give you the opportunity to sign your student up if a spot opens up.

The Richland County Emergency Rental Assistance program is now open. They are targeting families that are 30 days or more behind on rent. The program also provides utility assistance, & will assist up to 12 months of back payments. Register here: http://ow.ly/MNh950Ey6wm