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MANNING, S.C. (WIS) - Four Manning High School parents have been arrested after a large fight broke out between parents and students on school grounds.

The Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office said parents and children started engaging in what the agency described as a “brawl” in the school’s main lobby at around noon on Tuesday.

Four parents face public disorderly conduct charges, Ashley Brock, 30, Santana Butler, 37, Andrea Walters, 35, and Ebony Hilton, 39.

“It’s really sad,” Lynn Robinson, a Manning High School grandparent, said. “I mean kids are going to get into it sometimes, but a lot of times they get that from home, the examples from home. And when the parents get into it also, it’s just getting sad. And it’s getting worse these days at all the schools with the shootings and stuff. You just don’t ever know what’s going to happen.”

An incident report states that a prior physical altercation between students led to the fight.

Per district protocol, the parents were notified about that fight.

When those parents arrived at the school to pick up their children, the situation escalated before School Resource Officers and school administration could intervene.

During the incident, both students and parents had to be separated, detained, and removed from the school, according to investigators.

The incident report states that when deputies arrived, they had to try to separate Brock and Hilton.

Two students then joined in, and one student punched Brock several times in the face.

“It doesn’t make any sense fighting in school,” Pastor Sampson Pearson, a former Manning High School parent, said. “School is for where you get your academic education, not for violence. We have enough of that in the street as it is.”

EMS responded to treat Hilton for her injuries.

As Brock was being escorted to a patrol car, Walters then tried to fight her, the incident report said.

Butler was arrested after she would not stop cursing and shouting, according to an incident report.

She too tried to fight another woman.

In addition to this large fight, two others involving students happened on Tuesday, according to the CCSO.

The juveniles were separated and transported to the CCSO where petitions to Family Court were completed and submitted to the Department of Juvenile Justice and released to their parents or guardians.

A total of five children were petitioned to family court for third-degree assault and battery.

Some members of the Manning High School community were shocked by this behavior.

“It sets a bad example for all the kids when they see their parents out there,” Robinson said.

Pearson said incidents like this do not reflect well on Clarendon County.

“There has to be some type of change for we can’t have that here in our school,” he said.

The Clarendon County School District sent WIS a statement on Wednesday regarding the incident.

It reads, “A physical altercation occurred at Manning High School on March 4, 2023, between two students. As protocol, parents were contacted. As parents were called to the school to pick up their students, an altercation between the parents ensued.

As with any student altercation, district policy was followed and the students have been disciplined for their role in the altercation.

Additionally, law enforcement is involved and an investigation has been conducted into the incident. Manning High School Administration handled the incident appropriately per district policy and the school returned to its normal schedule following the incident.

As always, the safety and well-being of our students are our top priority, and we do not tolerate any form of violence on our school grounds. We want to emphasize that this incident does not reflect the values of Manning High School or the Clarendon County School District as a whole. School administration takes all necessary steps to ensure appropriate disciplinary action is taken in any situation that disrupts the learning environment. We remain committed to creating a safe learning environment for all students.”

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A contract manufacturer of precision metal manufacturing solutions is setting up shop in South Carolina.

Latitude Corp. plans to expand its U.S. footprint by establishing operations in Clarendon County, according to a news release. The company’s $29 million investment, in its first South Carolina facility, will create 200 new jobs.

The company is purchasing a 50,000-square-foot facility located at 2414 Joe Rogers Blvd. in Manning, the release stated. This location will manufacture large metal components.

“We are pleased to be partnering with South Carolina and Clarendon County and look forward to joining the Manning community,” Latitude Corp. President Tom Verbos said in the release. “Our new facility will allow us to better serve customers regionally and continue the growth story of Latitude Corp. The South Carolina team was very supportive through the due diligence process and Santee Electric, having constructed a spec building suitable to our needs, helped us to narrow down our facility choice.

“The readySC program, which helps to recruit and train potential employees, convinced us that South Carolina was the right location for our business expansion.”

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Latitude Corp. started in 1990 as a machine shop in Middleton, Wisconsin, the release stated. Consistent growth prompted the company to expand and diversify into metal fabrication, welding and powder coating services.

Today, Latitude Corp. is headquartered in Verona, Wisconsin, and works with customers in numerous industries including agriculture, aerospace and defense, commercial appliances, government, health care, and is targeting growth in electric vehicles, energy and construction, the release stated. The company has an additional operation in Tucson, Arizona.

Operations are expected to be online by June 2024.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to this project. The council also awarded a $400,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Clarendon County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

“On behalf of Clarendon County Council, we would like to welcome Latitude Corp. to our growing list of successful companies that call Clarendon County home,” Clarendon County Council Chairman Dwight L. Steward Jr. said in the release. “To be part of the largest single jobs announcement in the history of the county is truly extraordinary. Welcome to Clarendon County, and we wish you many years of success.”

COLUMBIA, SC (WACH) --- The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, confirmed with WACH FOX, that they were notified of bat activity inside the Manning High School gymnasium.

Officials tell us they were notified last Friday Jan. 26, 2024.

Just this week school administrators switched to eLearning Thursday and Friday out of an abundance of caution.

According to an email sent to WACH FOX, DHEC states:

DHEC has provided important rabies information to faculty to share with staff and parents to help identify anyone who may have had direct contact with a bat. No bats have been submitted for rabies testing at this time. Testing animals for rabies is recommended when there are known exposures, and no high-risk contact has been found at this time. School officials reported that a wildlife control operator inspected the gymnasium over the weekend of Jan. 26, 2024. School officials are working with the wildlife control operator to ensure all bats are removed and to implement suggested repairs to stop bats from entering the gymnasium.

Infected bats can transmit rabies to people through bites or the introduction of saliva into open wounds or areas such as the eyes, nose or mouth. Because bats have small teeth, their bites may go unnoticed, which makes it important to identify any person or pet who has had potential contact with a bat. Bat contact/exposure is defined as:

1. Waking up to find a bat in your room, tent or living space;

2. Finding a bat where children, pets or persons with impaired mental capacity (intoxicated or mentally disabled) have been left unattended; and/or

3. A pet or person that has been in direct contact with a bat.

You cannot tell if a bat, or any other animal, has rabies by simply looking at it. Rabies must be confirmed in a laboratory. Timely rabies testing will eliminate the need for unnecessary medical treatment for rabies. When a potential exposure to a bat occurs, the goal should be to safely capture the bat.

Never handle a bat or any wild or stray animal, alive or dead, with your bare hands. If you or someone you know has had contact with a bat, immediately call your health care provider or DHEC at 888-847-09020 (Option 2).

MANNING, S.C. (WIS) - Students at Manning High School will have a second day of e-learning on Friday, February 2, after bats were found in the school’s gymnasium.

The school district has now had two crews come in to inspect the school building over the last 24 hours.

“We hope that it’s cleared up,” said Dr. Keisa Carr, the Director of Communications & Community Relations for the Clarendon County School District.

Bats were first spotted inside the gym on Friday, January 26. The school district couldn’t provide an exact number but said they found more than one in the school’s gymnasium while opening the building for the day.

“We did have South Carolina Pest Control out and they were there throughout the evening with no sightings of bats,” Dr. Carr said.

Since that initial sighting Friday, school officials closed the gym for all activities. Pest Control came out Wednesday night for a first inspection with a follow-up inspection Thursday.

The school district said no bats were found during either inspection.

“We’ve been in touch we DHEC, of course, and Wildlife Management to ensure that we’re taking the right steps to alleviate any future occurrences of bats in our building,” Dr. Carr said.

While students will stay online on Friday, teachers have the option to work from their classrooms. Director of DHEC’s Rabies Prevention Program Terri McCollister explains since most teachers are staying in a non-infected area, teaching online students from school is still safe for them.

“If administration is following the guidelines to ensure the safety of their staff; stop people from going into the gymnasium and them having access to that, then yea, I would suspect they’re safe in their classroom,” McCollister said, “Our reports are that the bats were only in the gymnasium.”

WIS asked the district why it took until Wednesday to decide to move students to e-learning. Dr. Carr said once the bats were found, the gym was closed off and they wanted to develop an action plan before going to e-learning.

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In April, Gov. Henry McMaster asked the State Inspector General to review alleged 'financial irregularities' within the district.

MANNING, S.C. — The State Inspector General's investigation into the Clarendon County School District found several state code violations but no fraud or misuse of funds.

The State Inspector General's six-month investigation revealed issues with over-compensated board members, chronic student absenteeism, enrollment problems and a lack of internal controls over athletic payments. The report also cleared the district of a complaint regarding the purchasing of gift cards using Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

The report found Superintendent Shawn Johnson is the 19th highest-paid superintendent in South Carolina despite the district having the 41st largest student enrollment, according to the 135-day Average Daily Membership.

Despite the disparity, the Inspector General found Johnson’s contract and salary is reasonable.

The Inspector General's report identified that certain board members were compensated for meetings they didn't attend. All but two of the members have reimbursed the district.

Ron Wingard and Alex Craven still owe the district money. Wingard owes the district $1,650 for four missed meetings, while Craven owes the district $600 for two meetings.

Inspector General Brian Lamkin identified deficiencies in the district's internal controls concerning the expenditure of athletic supplements, totaling $742,500, which posed a risk of fraud.

Additionally, $33,500 was not used for its intended purpose. The district made an underpayment of $2,312.50 to two recipients and an overpayment of $6,110.50 to six recipients.

To address these issues, the report recommends a collection plan for outstanding board member debt, auditing coaching certifications, and implementing a board-approved truancy prevention and intervention plan policy, among other recommendations.

The Clarendon County School District has already started implementing the report's recommendations, including closing inactive bank accounts, according to Superintendent Shawn Johnson.

“Overall, this investigation started because of alleged financial irregularities. The report clearly says that’s just not true,” said Johnson. “I hope we can get back to the business of educating children and informing the public of what really happens in school finances.”

Freshman Clarendon County Representative Fawn Pedalino sparked the investigation by providing information to Governor Henry McMaster, alleging potential financial irregularities within the district.

“Even though the report says no fraud or misappropriation of funds, it definitely clearly says in black and white that they violated several laws and they have to pay that money back or fix the issues that they were doing. And I think that, you know, it was exactly what we thought it would be,” said Pedalino.

Pedalino is now calling for the entire board and the superintendent to resign. Democratic Senator Kevin Johnson, who also represents Clarendon County, disagrees with her.

“She owes this district and this community an apology, and I’m not calling for anyone's resignation, but if anyone should resign, it should be her,” said Johnson. “The point is no fraud, no financial irregularities, no misuse of funds. That’s the main thing. That conclusion could have been met without bothering the governor.”

Members of the school board were appointed by state lawmakers that represent Clarendon County, when Clarendon County school districts consolidated into one. Every board member is up for reelection in 2024.

“So, I think if they're reelected, that means that the people spoke and they wanted to keep them in that position. And I would hope that the goal would be just to be leaders that want to do the honest and ethical thing and, you know, be qualified leaders for the staff that work at the school,” Pedalino said.

Gov. McMaster’s spokesperson provided this statement to News 19:

“The governor appreciates the willingness of the Clarendon County School District and its board of trustees to implement the recommendations of the State Inspector General's report. Reducing the district's chronic absenteeism rate will improve students' educational outcomes. If students are not at school, then learning cannot occur."

The investigation into the Clarendon County School District is the third public school district to be reviewed by the State Inspector General's office since June 2022. The other two districts reviewed were Richland School District Two and Lexington-Richland Five. There are no other active school district investigations by the Inspector General's office at this time.