PRINCIPAL GETS NOISY SHOW OF SUPPORT

Stratford High Staffers, Students Stage Horn-Honking Rally As a Handful Protest

GOOSE CREEK--After school let out Friday, a group of Stratford High School
teachers silently held signs backing Principal George McCrackin as a
50-minute stream of honking vehicles sounded off.

The gathering came two days after James Gallman, head of the state chapter
of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called
on the Berkeley County School Board to dismiss McCrackin for inviting
police into the school Nov. 5 for what turned into a drug raid with guns drawn.

By 3 p.m. Friday, more than 100 teachers and staff had converged off school
grounds to wave signs with expressions such as "Honk 4 McCrackin" at
hooting and honking passers-by along Crowfield Boulevard.

Students leaving school joined the teachers and were among the drivers
shouting support out their windows. But faculty members refused to speak to
the media, and one school official who would not give his name forced all
reporters off school property before the rally began.

Teacher Kathy Wright handed out a written statement that read, "We are a
group of Stratford staff members showing our support for our principal ...
We have chosen to stand here with our signs to visibly show our support and
to give the community a way to show theirs."

"Naturally, the district doesn't want teachers talking because of
litigation that might follow," said state Rep. Shirley Hinson, a former
school board member whose son graduated from Stratford. "They've not been
able to say, 'We love George McCrackin.' But they're the majority. He's not
looking for this ... but I think it's necessary. Where are his rights?"

Not far away, about 10 protestors held signs that read, "McCrackin must go"
and "Give our kids a change."

Superintendent Chester Floyd has said neither McCrackin nor any district
official knew officers would come into the school with guns drawn. In the
past, no drug sweep has involved drawn weapons,Floyd said.
McCrackinweapons,Floyd said. McCrackin went to police Nov. 3 with
suspicions of marijuana sales, supported by students and surveillance
cameras in the school.

Goose Creek Police Lt. Dave Aarons said last week that several of the 14
officers went in with guns for safety reasons, because weapons often
accompany drugs and money. He said they deployed into the main hallway
about 6:45 a.m. after surveillance showed the suspected students going to
their normal spots.

Police found no drugs and made no arrests. Aarons and McCrackin said last
week they suspect someone tipped off the students.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating police procedures in
the raid.

"I just feel like (McCrackin) was trying to keep other students safe," said
parent Angie Kelley. Her 15-year-old daughter was not among the 107
students in the hallway. "My daughter has witnessed kids trying to hide drugs."

Kelley said she took her daughter out of Stratford High last school year
because of the growing drug problem and re-enrolled her only after the
school's nearly 70 surveillance cameras were installed.

"I think he should be patted on the back," said Gloria Moyner.

Junior Kim Alford called the incident "blown out of proportion."

"McCrackin was just following procedures," she said.

Senior Amanda Newberry said marijuana is not the only drug available in
Stratford High.

"If you ask the right person, you can find whatever drug you want," she
said. "It may have scared a few kids, but maybe it scared the right ones."

Black parents have accused the raid of targeting black students. About 70
percent of the 107 students in the hall were black. Floyd has said that
surveillance video showed suspicious activity at that spot in the school,
at that time in the morning.

About 22 percent of the school's 2,700 students are black.

"White people were made to lay down too. That just wasn't on cameras" shown
on TV, said junior John Hoff, who is white.

The two groups with signs were largely diverged along racial lines, though
a scattering of black teachers and students were among the pro-McCrackin crowd.

"Get rid of him," said parent Rosalee Wise, who is black.

Holding an anti-McCrackin sign, parent Debra Davis said the raid
"terrified" her ninth-grade daughter.

"It's wrong," she said. "We send them to school to learn."

During Friday night's high school football playoff game between Stratford
and Spartanburg, McCrackin was escorted by a Goose Creek police officer at
all times.