The suspended principal and teacher are still on Horry’s payroll. What you need to know.

An Horry County elementary teacher and principal remain on the district’s payroll as an investigation into child abuse allegations continues.

Rebecca Schroyer, 47, who is the principal at Ocean Bay Elementary School, is accused of two counts of failing to report a child neglect allegation for an incident that happened during the 2021-22 school year. The incident, which allegedly occurred in February involved a teacher “putting hand sanitizer in a child’s open wound,” The Sun News previously reported.

Grace McColgan, 60, a special education teacher at the same elementary school, was charged with six counts of unlawful conduct towards a child, stemming from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, according to an arrest warrant.

Both were placed under administrative leave with pay, according to Lisa Bourcier, Horry County School’s spokesperson. Schroyer was given a $10,000 bond and was released on Nov. 2. McColgan was given a bond of $60,000 and was also released.

Kevin Hughes, attorney for McColgan, advocated for a lower bond, citing McColgan’s financial position.

“She is on a fixed income,” said Hughes, to the judge during the hearing. “She does not have a lot in the way of means or financial resources.”

In 2021, Grace McColgan was making $63,946, according to public records. Hughes also stated that McColgan receives a pension of less than $2,000 from the state of New York.

Principal Schroyer made an annual salary of $138,370 in 2021, according to public records. Both are still receiving their pay from the district.

McColgan is accused of smacking three male students with an open hand on two separate occasions after the students would not get their heads off the table in September.

The investigation into both employees is pending.

This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 2:00 AM.