Recent Sumter education headlines show Class of 2026 leaders, state probe findings

DISTRICT VALEDICTORIANS DISCUSS JOURNEYS, FUTURE PLANS

At the conclusion of the school year, Sumter School District named its three valedictorians, who are Emma Ketchum from Crestwood High School, Peyton Harvin from Lakewood and Ben Nock from Sumter High.

The top seniors of the Class of 2026 spoke after graduation to The Sumter Item and shared about their journeys so far and their immediate plans moving forward.

Ketchum ranked No. 1 in a class of 237 students at Crestwood with a 5.066 weighted GPA, which was over a 3.9 on the 4.0 scale.

A City of Sumter resident, Ketchum chose to attend Crestwood for high school because of the school's chorus program led at the time by Debra Horton. She got to know Horton through the years through the district's summer arts program, REACH, for students gifted in music, visual arts or theater.

Ketchum's talent in the fine arts is music, and in the summer, intensive camp musical students learned and memorized various song pieces, often accompanied by dances for an annual REACH showcase event, she said. In the camp, students also learned the finer aspects of music theory.

Ketchum was All-State Choir every year at Crestwood and was ranked in the top 10 in the state in her voice part - sopranos - her sophomore through senior years.

She plans now to attend Columbia College in Columbia and major in speech language pathology to pursue a career as a school speech pathologist.

At Lakewood, Harvin ranked No. 1 in a class of 194 students with a 5.274 weighted GPA, which was a perfect 4.0 on the 4.0 scale. That means Harvin made all A's in his four years of high school.

Harvin was also active through the years in the district's summer REACH program and is known for his artistic talent, which he inherited from his dad, Russell Harvin Sr., who is an artist, he said.

Since middle school, the Lakewood valedictorian has participated in art competitions and has sold his art as well, he added.

Likely his most popular acrylic painting of a tiger won a Congressional art competition and was exhibited at the U.S. Capitol in Washington for a year.

He will be taking his "passion" for art to Converse University in Spartanburg, where he has a full scholarship. The private college has an established fine arts program, and Harvin will major in studio arts, he said, and then plans to become a professional artist.

At Sumter High, Nock finished No. 1 in a class of 485 students with a 5.451 weighted GPA, which was also a perfect 4.0 on the 4.0 scale. Like Harvin, he, too, made all A's throughout high school.

Nock was a full International Baccalaureate program student as a junior and senior at the school with seven other students in his graduating class. The program is considered rigorous and is highly regarded by most colleges. It offers higher-level classes in biology, English and history and also includes a theory of knowledge (philosophy) course, community service and an extended essay class. Nock also took Advanced Placement Calculus as a senior.

Nock said the IB track made for a challenging last two years of high school, but he knew Clemson University looked highly upon the program. He was accepted there and will begin in the fall in the school's honor college with intentions to major in computer engineering and possibly pursue a career in developing and designing computer hardware.

STATE PROBE FINDS 'EXCESSIVE SPENDING OF TAXPAYER FUNDS' WITH CRESTWOOD STADIUM

After a 10-month probe, the state agency that investigates allegations of fraud, waste and mismanagement among public bodies released its report April 17 on whether Sumter School District followed required protocols with two projects.

In its report, the South Carolina Office of the State Inspector General determined that while the funding for Crestwood High School's athletic field construction was permissible, the district failed in the project's management, resulting "in excessive spending of taxpayer funds" and state and local violations.

Numerous project management failures by district administrators resulted in the district exceeding its board of trustees-approved funding for Phase 1 of the Crestwood athletics project by $1,258,076.69, the report said.

A second part of the state agency's investigation regarded the district's disposal of surplus furniture, and State Inspector General Brian Lamkin determined the district failed to adhere to its own procurement code in the storage and disposal of this inventory, resulting "in wasteful spending of taxpayer funds totaling $42,000."

Other violations of state law and findings were included in the report. The State Inspector General investigation did not identify any criminal activity or indication of fraudulent activity during the probe, the report said.

The project management failures and violations occurred under the district's previous superintendent, William Wright Jr.

At Sumter school board's April 27 special-called meeting to discuss the report findings, new Superintendent Gerald Gary provided a detailed resolution with corrective actions that was unanimously adopted by the board and effective immediately.

His resolution detailed seven items to include his implementation of progressive discipline and authorized continued personnel actions, consistent with district policy and laws, to address staff violations of procurement and board procedures.

Also, the board affirmed he will implement strengthened internal controls regarding all construction-related expenditures, mandatory documentation and audit trails for procurement activities and centralized oversight of high-value contracts and projects. Additionally, he will ensure all administrators and relevant staff will complete mandatory procurement and compliance training.

In the resolution, the board also authorized Gary after his evaluation - if necessary - to engage an independent third party to conduct a procurement or construction expenditure review to ensure compliance and identify more control improvements.