Officials with the Marion County Board of Education tell NewsChannel 15 they have reprimanded Mullins school board member Shawn Harrelson for inappropriate communications with a 17-year-old student at Mullins High School.
The matter involves text messages exchanged between Harrelson and the 17 year old about the student's relationship with Harrelson's daughter.
The Marion County Board of Education issued the following public statement regarding Harrelson's reprimand:
Although Mr. Harrelson may have believed he was communicating with the student in his role as a father, board members are at all times a representative of the board on which they serve and their school systems in general. Mr. Harrelson's conduct simply is not condoned by the County Board.
Mr. Harrelson's board term expires on June 30th and he has not applied to remain on the school board after his term expires. While Mr. Harrelson does not agree with the reprimand or findings, he has agreed to not participate in any further activities as a local board member, including attending board meetings, which will conclude this matter.
The County Board also expresses its disappointment that this incident occurred to the students and their families and wish them well as they continue in our schools.
The family of the 17-year-old intially filed an incident report of the matter with the Marion County Sheriff's Office on accusations of Unlawful Use of a Telephone.
However, The Marion County Magistrate says there's not enough evidence to support the charge.
