(A) A member of the South Carolina Public Charter School District or of the governing board or sponsor of the charter school who is indicted in any court for any crime, or has waived the indictment if permitted by law, may be suspended by the Governor, who shall appoint another in his stead until he is acquitted. In case of conviction, the office must be declared vacant by the Governor and the vacancy filled as provided by law.

(B) Notwithstanding another provision of law to the contrary, members of a charter school board of directors who wilfully commit or engage in an act of malfeasance, misfeasance, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, or persistent neglect of duty in office, or are deemed incompetent or incapacitated, may be removed from office by the Governor upon any of the forgoing causes being made to the satisfaction of the Governor. Before removing the officer, the Governor shall inform him in writing of the specific charges brought against him and give him an opportunity on reasonable notice to be heard. Vacancies occurring in the membership of any board of directors as a result of removal pursuant to this subsection must be filled in the manner provided in the charter school’s bylaws.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 59-40-75

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • charter school: means a public, nonreligious, nonhome-based, nonprofit corporation forming a school that operates by sponsorship of a public school district, the South Carolina Public Charter School District, or a public or independent institution of higher learning, but is accountable to the board of trustees, or in the case of technical colleges, the area commission, of the sponsor which grants its charter. See South Carolina Code 59-40-40
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Sponsor: means the South Carolina Public Charter School District Board of Trustees, the local school board of trustees in which the charter school is to be located, as provided by law, a public institution of higher learning as defined in § 59-103-5, or an independent institution of higher learning as defined in § 59-113-50, from which the charter school applicant requested its charter and which granted approval for the charter school's existence. See South Carolina Code 59-40-40

(C) Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor that probable cause exists to charge a member of the South Carolina Public Charter School District or of the governing board of the charter school who has the custody of public or trust funds with embezzlement or the appropriation of public or trust funds to private use, then the Governor shall direct his immediate prosecution by the proper officer.