JASPER COUNTY, S.C. () — Questions about money, hiring and the role of a former superintendent led to a hearing today that changed the future of the Jasper County School System, now being taken over by the state of South Carolina.

“All those in favor, signify by saying ‘I’, said South Carolina School Board Chair Ellen Weaver.

The rest of the board members motioned “I”.

“Any oppose?” said Weaver, with no board members responding, “Likewise. Motion carries.”

Over an hour of private discussions and a sweeping vote from the South Carolina School Board now puts the students attending Jasper County schools in the hands of the state.

“The Department of Education took every possible step to mitigate the financial concerns before seeking this measure,” said Ashely Storey, the outside council for the South Carolina Department of Education.

The decision comes after the South Carolina Inspector Generals’ Office filed a report on the Jasper County School District and now former superintendent Rechel Anderson, PhD.

Investigators pointed out possible fraudulent activity by Anderson, as well as findings that she and the school district were delinquent or didn’t file several yearly mandated state audits.

“We trusted the superintendent and CFO to give us accurate information. They did not,” said Tom Balliet, a Jasper County School Board member in attendance today.

Another board member added on, “It’s not that some of the board members didn’t reach out for help in this situation. We did.  We were calling for help because we were desperate.”

Jasper School Board Chair Joyce Gerald sent a letter asking that the board be saved from the takeover.

Many board members showed up to the meeting, pleading to the state board for Jasper County’s board not to be dissolved.

“There is also some concern about whether or not the school district’s board was aware of some of this misconduct and whether it failed to report it to the appropriate law enforcement officials before it came in to investigate at the county recently,” said Storey. “And in any kind of conclusion, the board members did not act when they know they knew that there were violations of their own policy.”

In the end, the South Carolina School Board declared Jasper County School Districts in a state of emergency. They are taking full control of the county and dissolving the Jasper County School Board entirely.

 The Jasper County board has 10 days to appeal this decision.

In the meantime, there has been no word on what, if any, changes the state plans to make to the district immediately.