Is an Horry principal on leave for child neglect case still being paid?
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An Ocean Bay Elementary School principal remains on administrative leave with pay by Horry County Schools more than a year after being accused of failing to report child neglect at the school.
Rebecca Schroyer was charged with two counts of failing to report a child neglect allegation for an incident that happened during the 2021-22 school year. The incident, which happened in February 2022, involved a teacher “putting hand sanitizer in a child’s open wound,” The Sun News previously reported.
Properly reporting suspected child abuse is required by South Carolina’s mandated reporters law, which includes educational professionals.
Schroyer was placed on administrative leave with pay in November 2022.
The case against Schroyer stemmed from charges against Grace McColgan, who was a special education teacher at the same elementary school
In July 2023, McColgan pleaded guilty to charges involving child neglect and received a sentence of 30 days in jail. She had been charged with six counts of unlawful conduct towards a child, stemming from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, previously reported by The Sun News.
The employment status for Schroyer has not changed, according to a Jan. 31 email from Kenneth Generette, staff attorney in Horry schools communications and Policy and legal department.
Schroyer’s salary is listed as $143,979 annually as of 2022, according to govsalaries.com. In addition to still getting her salary, the school district also has paid at least some of Schroyer’s legal fees. It is not known how much that is. The Sun News has requested the information through the Freedom of Information Act.
Schroyer is currently awaiting a review hearing of her credentials by the South Carolina Department of Education. In August, her case was shifted from possible prosecution by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to the SCDOE for an administrative review of her credentials.
The Attorney General’s Office would not elaborate on why it decided not to pursue prosecution of Schroyer, who could have received up to six months in prison or a $500 fine for each count.
A message left Monday with her attorney Morgan Martin was not immediately returned.
As of Feb. 5, Schroyer was not listed among the SCDOE’s orders of disciplinary action. It is not known when or if Schroyer will have a review hearing as state regulation prohibits the DOE from confirming the existence of any case, according to Jason Raven director of media relations.
Schroyer has been with Horry County Schools since 2001 and named principal of Ocean Bay Elementary in 2016. She still has her teaching certificate, which will expire if not renewed on June 30, according to personnel files.
It was announced in July 2023 that Schroyer would not return to Ocean Bay Elementary as its principal for the 2023-2024 school year. However, Schroyer is still listed on the Horry County Schools website as principal at Ocean Bay Elementary.
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
