My name is Madeline Grace Kersey, eldest daughter of Erin Kersey and Mike Kersey of Lancaster, South Carolina. My father was a teacher and coach at Lancaster County School District for 17 years. He coached wrestling and had multiple individual state champions such as Trevor Jones, Rondale Truesdale, Michael Haynes, and so on. There is a wooden plaque in the gymnasium of Indian land High School with all the state champions and runner-up’s he produced from the years 2000-2010. My father worked hard with the small amount of resources he had. He wrote grants for wrestling mats, and other equipment such as singlets. At times, he also had to borrow mats from other schools, so the wrestling team was able to have the quantity of mats they needed. He also practiced every day in the Indian Land Elementary School gymnasium. 20 years and two team state championships later and Indian Land High School Wrestling is still having to practice in the Elementary School gym. My father was subject to the “leadership” from Michael Mayor. Well Mr. Mayor “retired” before his employment was terminated so why is the wrestling team still being forced to struggle with the smallest amount of resources? Oh, wait I will tell you, It is because the Lancaster county school board and David Shamble. David Shamble has disregarded wrestling in the most extreme way possible UNTIL the state championship match which upon the win for Indian Land, he stood and took pictures as if he had been supportive all along…how genuine. Yet the wrestlers had to raise money for their own state rings. They had to fundraise for their own mats and basic sports equipment. Additionally, a transfer student with all qualifications to wrestle, had to fight tooth and nail alongside his foster parents because Shamble denied him the right to wrestle. He was denied an opportunity to wrestle his sophomore year due to the blatant ignorance and disregard for the commonwealth of students that David Shamble exuberates. As an Alumni of Indian Land High School and a representative of the class of 2019, I can definitively state with confidence that Shamble is completely apathetic towards the wellbeing of his students and the school. In addition to this, the football and basketball coaches make 6,000 a year for coaching and most years do not even make it to the second round of the playoffs. I also know of a coach that was still being kept on the payroll as an assistant coach years after he stopped coaching. Leon Boulware, the previous wrestling coach of Indian Land High School made 2,000 a year for being the head coach of the wrestling team. What is the difference between these two coaches you may ask? Leon Boulware has won two state championships back to back, while no other male sport has accomplished that in the history of Indian Land High School. Coach Boulware is responsible for bringing the first state title for a male sport home to Indian Land. The disproportionate pay rate is absurd and disgusting. It honestly makes me ashamed to be an alumnus from Indian Land. People have moved to Indian Land to be coached by Boulware. This man works day in and day out with these boys. He puts in long hours, when he could have easily chosen to be at home with his family. He has been a role model for these young boys and even me as well. One of the current wrestlers that I went to school with, completely changed his life around after starting to wrestle for Boulware. Before, he was an active drug dealer and was always high and in trouble at school. Now he has cleaned up his act, groomed his appearance, and he is scheduled to graduate from Indian Land! This man holds these young boys to a higher standard, and I have seen many boys transform into men. As for myself, I desired to be around wrestling since I grew up around it constantly being around my father. Yet I felt out of place and as if I did not belong anymore. Boulware changed that, and in my junior and senior year of high school I was involved with the wrestling team. I am so grateful I was able to witness the back to back crowning of the state title. My senior year, Boulware purchased a state ring pendant for me to wear on a necklace since my father was not able to obtain a state ring before he died. Even when I graduated, Boulware called and checked on my family repeatedly when my grandfather had cancer. My father knew Boulware as well and I know he would be absolutely disgusted with the treatment of this man as head coach. Boulware had to resign as head coach because the School Board STILL refuses to have one wrestling room in the new school. They also refuse to change his beyond unacceptable pay rate.This man is helping mold our community, he should not have to worry about feeding his children. To lose Coach Boulware would be the single most idiotic thing the Lancaster County School Board has ever done. This man is an integral element of the Indian Land community and so many students will lack a father figure and role model without him.

I call for Reinstatement of Leon Boulware as Head Coach of Wrestling with adequate pay of 8,000 per year. 6,000 a year is the standard pay rate for the football coaches, even for those without winning seasons. An extra thousand is added per state title he has brought to Indian Land, which is two.
I additionally call for a wrestling room and adequate resources in the new school. Lancaster County School District would rather build a lacrosse room when there are no AAA schools in South Carolina who play lacrosse, than give a successful program the recognition it deserves. Wrestling deserves a spot in the new school. Get with the winning team.