Ellen Abramo for Fort Mill Schools

They were always planning to increase mills in this budget regardless of the state budgeting error.

In many other states, the community gets to vote on whether or not the mills can be increased by the local school board. That is not the case here. 7 people decide. I’m not sure everyone realizes that, especially if your family moved here from another state.

Please read the extremely thorough article below.

crimeandcask.com

Since I shared my story about the AI-generated n**e images that were used to try to force me out of the 2024 school board race, I have received an overwhelming amount of support, kindness, and encouragement. To everyone who reached out, thank you. Your messages have meant more than you know.

Unfortunately, I’ve also seen a lot of questions, accusations, and victim-shaming. Some people have asked why I didn’t go to law enforcement. Others have implied that I made this up or exaggerated what happened. So I want to share a little more of the story.

The Sunday before the election, an anonymous individual sent AI-generated n**e images of me to my social media account. Along with those images came a message telling me to immediately drop out of the race or the images would be released publicly.

I cannot adequately describe how horrifying, humiliating, and violating that felt. As a wife, a mother of six, an educator, and a woman of faith, it was one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced.

But it also strengthened my resolve.

I believed then, and I still believe today, that there is a spiritual battle between good and evil playing out in our culture. I knew why I was running, and I knew who I was fighting for. I was not going to allow intimidation, threats, or blackmail to force me to abandon the children and families I was trying to serve.

I did not engage with the person who sent the images. I documented everything, preserved the evidence, and focused on finishing the race.

I immediately reported the crime and evidence to the FMPD. After the election, I spoke with the SCAG’s office and was encouraged to work through the York County Sheriff’s Office, which I did promptly. I also met with Representative Brandon Guffey to discuss the situation and the legal challenges surrounding AI-generated sexual images.

At the time, there were laws addressing AI-generated sexual images involving children, but there were significant gaps when it came to protecting adult victims. While blackmailing a candidate is absolutely a crime, identifying the person responsible and gathering enough evidence to move forward proved extremely difficult.

What many people don’t know is that this didn’t just affect me. AI-generated n**e images were also created of one of my daughters. They threatened her on a very special day and again before starting a new job. The emotional toll on my family was immense, and the aftermath left me dealing with PTSD long after the election was over.

I also think it’s important to acknowledge something else.

While I do not know who created or distributed these images, I do believe this type of behavior grows out of a culture that has become increasingly hostile and dehumanizing.

For years, some activists and online commentators have portrayed parents, moms, and community members who disagree with them as dangerous, hateful, or deserving of ridicule. They have repeated falsehoods that an entire group of parents are responsible for something one person said about a child with cancer or about an elected official’s body. They have told their supporters we are trying to “destroy and divide the town.” Just yesterday a district employee led someone to believe I was in a video that I was not a part of in any way. When people are constantly told that their political opponents are villains rather than human beings with a different perspective, it becomes easier for some individuals to justify crossing lines that should never be crossed.

I am not accusing anyone specific of creating these images. If I knew who they were, they’d be in jail.

But I do believe that the hostile environment created by some of the rhetoric surrounding local politics contributed to a culture where intimidation, harassment, and personal destruction became acceptable tools.

We can disagree passionately about politics, education, and public policy without destroying people in the process.

That is why it has been disappointing to watch some people respond to my story by calling me a liar or suggesting I somehow deserved what happened.

I did not share this because I wanted sympathy.

I shared it because this is happening to people everywhere. It happens to young girls being bullied online. It happens to women targeted by angry exes. It happens to ordinary people who suddenly find themselves victimized by technology that is advancing faster than our laws.

If sharing my experience helps even one person feel less alone, then it was worth it.

And if you have experienced something similar, please know that you are not alone. My inbox is open. I would be honored to listen, support you, and help however I can.

No one should have to walk through this by themselves.

The Fort Mill School Board convened for a special called meeting following a sudden shift in state funding projections that left local administrators racing to reconcile a million-dollar deficit ahead of the upcoming fiscal year.

Full story in comments.

🥰I interrupt this election season to bring you a very important video. Even the comments are worth reading! See the video. 🥰

By the way, to any politicians upset about what is being said or written about you, know that in a non-partisan local school board race I got called a N**i, a member of a hate group (thanks to the actual hate-supporting group SPLC), my website was hijacked to look like a white supremacist site, and AI n**es were posted of me as well as my daughter with threats to drop out of the race, all while being constantly asked where my minor children go to school and told I hate public education and special education.

As a 9th generation South Carolinian with a Master’s degree in Special Ed who taught in public schools and raised our kids in public schools and whose grandfather fought for Civil Rights in SC, all of that was news to me!!!

The people who attempted to intrude on my children’s privacy were none other than Rep. David Martin for House, Kimberly Long of the Fort Mill School District, and Mallory Dittmer for Congress of CAPE. As a matter of fact, the attacks didn’t stop after the election was over, Kimberly Long of Fort Mill School District continued to criticize me by name even as a private citizen.

I have a lot of sympathy for anyone who chooses to run for any office in an attempt to serve the public. It’s not for the faint of heart!

Fort Mill School Board Proposes 8.5-Mill Tax Increase in New $272M Budget Plan

FORT MILL, S.C. — The Fort Mill School Board unveiled a proposed $272 million General Fund budget for the 2026–27 school year during its May 19 meeting, featuring a recommended 8.5-mill tax increase to support staff retention and classroom instruction. Alongside the budget proposal, the board introduced plans to lower average class sizes for grades 4–12 and discussed upcoming policy changes regarding school choice and interdistrict transfers ahead of a new South Carolina state law. The meeting also saw the approval of minor school meal price hikes, changes to high school course weightings, and the strategic allocation of a $9.5 million fiscal year-end surplus for one-time district improvements.

full article below