Editor’s Note: The Letter from Ken Loveless the referred to here first appeared online after our July 14 issue was published. It is printed in this week’s issue.
“Unfortunately, it will be next February before I can prove my case – which was undoubtedly the goal of the individuals who orchestrated the complaint. Fortunately, I believe most voters will see the accusations for the election-year ploy that they are.”
- Ken Loveless, Vice Chair D5 School Board
The statement above is from the letter that Ken Loveless submitted to this paper, published online July 15. I, Kim Benson, am the individual who submitted the ethics complaint against Mr. Loveless.
Mr. Loveless paints the ethics complaint as an election-year ploy. But I assure you, Mr. Loveless knows the complaint was filed February 17, 2021. That was long before the 2022 election. As a matter of fact, I filed the complaint before Ken Loveless led the charge to unseat the State Superintendent-of-the-Year from our district. I filed it before he signed a contract with Heart Ed, LLC to employ our interim superintendent just two months after he made a personal donation of $10,000 to HeartEd. I filed the complaint about Ken’s connections with Contract Construction because there was proof of foul play, proof that he was benefiting financially from his school board position. I filed it, hoping it would prove to him that we, the voters, are paying attention and that we expect more from our trusted school board trustees. But, alas, the wheels of justice turn slowly, so since then he has done so much more damage.
The fact is, Mr. Loveless knows when the complaint was filed because, per SCEC protocol, he received a copy of the complaint not long after it was submitted in February of 2021. He and his lawyer, Karl Bowers, Jr. submitted a written response to the complaint, dated February 28, 2022. Yet, when the news of the complaint hit the papers on July 12, 2022, because the hearing was finally scheduled, Mr. Loveless twisted the facts to declare himself the victim of dirty politics. Not true.
I only wish the SC Ethics Commission could investigate ethical breaches beyond finances. If they did, we would be in hearings all day. So, who will hold Ken Loveless accountable for his lies, intimidation of staff and parents, and his abuse of power? He hides behind his “special donations”, (Ken loves a photo-op behind one of those big flashy checks…see attached photo), his anti-bullying platform (while he’s suing district parents for disliking him), and his sticky-sweet Southern charm. If anyone is trying to pull off an election-year ploy, it’s Ken Loveless.
Kim Benson
District 5 Parent
