Fired SC DDSN director mishandled sexual harassment matter, agency commission says

The former executive director of the department that handles care for people with special needs and disabilities mishandled a sexual harassment matter, according to the commissioners overseeing the agency.

Commission members on Monday drafted a letter to Mary Poole who asked them to tell her why she was fired as director of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs.

“The majority of the commission lost confidence in your judgment to handle important matters, specifically the majority of the commission was concerned about the manner in which you handled an executive level employment matter relating to sexual harassment,” said the letter, which was read aloud during the agency’s board meeting.

“A majority of the commission believed you mishandled the matter and lost confidence in your ability to continue to lead the department,” the letter said.

After an executive session, which lasted nearly two hours, the commission voted 5-0 during the public portion of the meeting to adopt the letter, but did not disclose specifics of the sexual harassment incident to which they were referring. Disabilities and Special Needs Chairman Gary Lemel abstained from approving the letter. He also was the lone no vote on firing Poole, saying DDSN made more progress in providing service to people with disabilities under Poole’s leadership than had occurred in decades.

In a five-to-one vote on Feb. 18, the commission fired Poole and named the agency attorney Constance Holloway as interim director until a permanent director is hired.

Poole was hired to lead DDSN in 2018 and earned $171,404 a year. Poole replaced Beverly Buscemi after the agency came under fire after serious allegations were made of abuse, neglect and other critical problems within the agency.

This is a developing story and will be updated.