Composite story
Charleston school trustee answers removal charges in Columbia
Columbia, South CarolinaPublished 29 Sep 2026
On Sept. 28, 2026, Charleston County School Board member Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson answered misconduct charges at a hearing in Columbia. A panel’s recommendation is due Oct. 5, and Gov. Henry McMaster then decides whether to remove her.
Charleston County School Board member Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson, also referred to as Darlene Roberson, appeared Sept. 28, 2026, at a public hearing in Columbia on charges Gov. Henry McMaster brought from an inspector general report. The charges involve disclosure of executive-session or other confidential information and a conflict of interest tied to the Circle of Life nonprofit. Inspector General Brian Lamkin told the panel he had confidential accounts that staff felt pressure on that contract and would not say whether Dunmeyer-Roberson was the trustee named in a separate executive-session allegation. She and attorney Kambrell Garvin said the evidence does not show misconduct, that an introduction is not a procurement decision, and that forwarded emails were kept for preservation. The three-member panel’s recommendation is due to McMaster by Oct. 5.
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Published 29 Sep 2026 accessed 29 Sep 2026
Facts
The Sept. 28 hearing lasted four hours and focused on three charges Gov. Henry McMaster leveled from the August inspector general report.
The inspector general’s report centers on a 2023 meeting Darlene Roberson helped set up between former campaign manager Aaron White and a district principal about mental-health help for a school.
After a formal procurement process, Aaron White’s nonprofit Circle of Life was paid in 2024 to provide student support services at the school.
The inspector general’s report says Darlene Roberson’s introduction could have violated state ethics laws that bar public officials from influencing decisions in which their associates have an economic interest.
Darlene Roberson testified that she thought Aaron White wanted to talk with the principal about volunteering, not paid work.
Darlene Roberson said she did not talk to anyone about the matter after the email that set up the meeting.
Aaron White’s school-aged cousin was killed in a shooting.
Kambrell Garvin conceded that Darlene Roberson had at times forwarded attorney-client privileged emails to reporters without realizing the messages were privileged.
Aaron White testified that Darlene Roberson did not help him prepare his work proposal.
Aaron White testified that Darlene Roberson did not make any money from the arrangement.
The inspector general report’s section on the executive-session charge does not name Darlene Roberson or any board member.
Brian Lamkin’s report treated that address as the email of Darlene Roberson’s consulting firm, which contracted with the district before she joined the board.
Kambrell Garvin questioned whether Aaron White and Darlene Roberson were still associates after White stopped being her campaign manager when the November 2022 election ended, which Brian Lamkin argued they were.
Kambrell Garvin disagreed with the report’s framing of other emails that Darlene Roberson said she forwarded to a personal address.
Kambrell Garvin said the consulting firm’s vendor relationship with the district ended when its work ended.
That section cites former board member Kevin Hollinshead’s March federal indictment, which alleges a fellow trustee gave him information from a private meeting about a construction project.
Darlene Roberson said she did not send the forwarded messages to anyone else.
Brian Lamkin said his office cannot subpoena private emails, so it could not see what happened after messages left her district account.
If Henry McMaster removes Darlene Roberson, it would be the first time a school board member was removed under a 2022 law that allows the governor to act for willful misconduct.
Opinion
Kambrell Garvin argued that Inspector General Brian Lamkin had largely failed to provide adequate evidence for the allegations.
Kambrell Garvin said the testimony and the inspector general report do not show a Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson problem.
Kambrell Garvin said the problems are potentially greater than Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson.
Brian Lamkin testified that Darlene Roberson’s introduction gave Circle of Life an unfair advantage in procurement.
Brian Lamkin argued that not copying the superintendent on the introduction could create a chilling effect for district staff.
Kambrell Garvin said an introduction is not a procurement decision.
Darlene Roberson said it was surprising to hear years later that someone in the district had allegedly felt pressured by her message.
Brian Lamkin described forwarding emails to that address as sharing confidential information with a vendor and giving the firm an advantage.
Kambrell Garvin said the evidence shows a second email account, not another vendor recipient.
Kambrell Garvin said that was a clear reason Darlene Roberson should not face that charge.
CCSD board member defends actions before panel in misconduct hearing
Published 28 Sep 2026 accessed 29 Sep 2026
Facts
Henry McMaster’s order appointed a three-member panel to consider Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s response and the evidence and then recommend to the governor.
The inspector general’s report alleges Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson disclosed confidential information to vendors and news outlets on at least 28 occasions.
Henry McMaster appointed three panelists to hear the case.
A major part of the hearing concerned Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s involvement with the Circle of Life Foundation, a nonprofit that became a Charleston County School District vendor.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson says her only involvement with Circle of Life was connecting the principal.
The report also raised allegations about board-policy violations, taxable income, and billing related to Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s business.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson said the allegations in the report lacked necessary context.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson is also accused of forwarding emails to a personal account registered under her previous state vendor account and to members of the media.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson said district policy let any employee who felt pressured report it, and she was never notified of such a concern until the inspector general’s investigation.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson said there is no board policy about forwarding emails.
Another major issue was whether Charleston County School District has a policy on forwarding district emails.
The leader of Circle of Life testified before the panel remotely by Zoom.
Kambrell Garvin argued that the information was already public and that Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s actions did not destroy attorney-client privilege.
The panel pointed out that the emails said they were not to be forwarded without permission and were protected by attorney-client privilege.
The Circle of Life leader chose not to attend the hearing in person.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson said teachers and staff members forward emails and that the practice is normal.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson acknowledged she had not noticed that language because it was at the bottom of the email in the signature.
Brian Lamkin said the question of district policy was separate from attorney-client privilege.
The panel will consider Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s responses and the evidence before sending a written recommendation to Henry McMaster.
Brian Lamkin said Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson is a fiduciary of the district.
Kambrell Garvin asked Brian Lamkin about other board members who had forwarded materials to personal email and whether that violated attorney-client privilege.
Opinion
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson and Kambrell Garvin say the case comes down to four things: identity confidentiality, recipient, and influence.
Kambrell Garvin said the superintendent intentionally used attorney-client confidentiality to keep information that had already been disseminated private.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s position is that forwarding the emails caused no harm to the district.
The Circle of Life leader stayed away in person to avoid more public attention.
Brian Lamkin said Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson did not protect the district’s interests when she forwarded attorney-client privileged material.
CCSD trustee Dunmeyer-Roberson denies misconduct allegations at state hearing
Published 28 Sep 2026 accessed 29 Sep 2026
Facts
In January, Henry McMaster directed the inspector general to investigate the conduct of one or more school board members.
The public hearing gave Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson a chance to defend herself with a lawyer.
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson said board members do not do procurement and that procurement does not come to the board.
The Inspector General’s Office also answered questions from Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson’s legal team and the panel about the investigation.
Asked whether evidence exists even if it could not be disclosed publicly, Brian Lamkin said he could not answer.
Opinion
Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson and her attorney argued the allegations are unsubstantiated and that any actions were unintentional and came from a lack of understanding rather than misconduct.