School Choice killed with only 5 total votes?
April 9, 2008
There were two things today that surprised me (and one is sure to get main stream media press) so I figured I’d write about my Education and Public Works K-12 Subcommittee Hearing today and the surprise there.
For four years we’ve debated School Choice in South Carolina and I’m starting to think this might just be the “third rail” of state government.
When I say School Choice, don’t just assume the “Vouchers/PPIC” version of choice which often gets all the press. We’ve had Public School Choice versions as well ( and actually approved a House version last year but then the Governor vetoed it and the veto was sustained).
I’ll admit I don’t know if either one is the “silver bullet” to fix what ails us but I do know we need to at least TRY something, anything. When you’re at the bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up!
Today, Public School Choice came up again (subcommittee) and for the life of me, I don’t know how we (elected officials) can sit back and do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. That’s the definition of insanity.
That’s exactly what we did today. The subcommittee adjourned debate (which in political terms usually means “killed the bill). Rather than send the bill to the full Education and Public Works Committee tomorrow, only five subcommittee members voted on the bill.
I often say Education shouldn’t have an “R” or a “D” beside it and that’s because…it shouldn’t. Unfortunately, there appears to be two camps around here…those that support Public Choice only….and those that support Private Choice/Vouchers only.
Me? I support giving our kids any option for a chance to TRY something different in order to keep from dropping out, help them graduate, maybe even do better on the SAT, and help pull us out of the national cellar in educational rankings.
We heard various reasons for defeating the bill today but the one that bothered me most was that there was a fear that “(the pro Voucher Crowd) would try to ammend it with tax credits” for their version.
What? We’re afraid to pass bills because we’re afraid of what amendments might come up?
We’re afraid to support Public School Choice because Private School Choice might be debated?
We’re afraid to take up this “third rail” because of primaries and general elections this year?
Those opinions really bothered me. Well, actually the other news today bothered me more but at least we might can fix that tomorrow…anyway….
Let’s have the debate on the floor (again) so that our state can see that we, as elected officials, are aware changes should be made and let’s try to come together as to what those changes should be. We can’t keep avoiding the issue and/or not agreeing to do SOMETHING.
Here’s the kicker today…..the bill was the State Superintendent of Education’s bill (D) …..sponsored by a (R)Republican….approved by the State Department of Education (D) who also spoke at the subcommittee and yet it was only one person (Republican - me) who voted in favor of sending to full committee.
Comments
9 Responses to “School Choice killed with only 5 total votes?”
Got something to say?
Preach on.
The status quo is discrimination and segregation in disguise.
When the only “school choice” parents have is picking up the family and moving to a better district . . . incumbent politicians supported by the SCEA $$ machine will never let poor families attend “rich” or better funded districts.
SCEA might as well burn crosses and parade around in white sheets. How can they defend letting black children in SC languish in failing schools?
Is this the subcommittee you’re talking about?
K-12 Education
William R. Whitmire, Chair
Michael A. Anthony
Nathan Ballentine
Lester P. Branham, Jr.
Michael W. Gambrell
Carl L. Gullick
If so, people need to know who it is that is holding our kids back from at least trying different options. Like you said, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. We have to call these people out that are beholden to the SCEA.
I have no problem with vouchers as a ’school choice’ option, as long as the private schools have to meet the same criteria under the EIA/EOC that public schools do.
Give folks a choice. I honestly don’t know what we (I work for a public school district) are so afraid of.
good post NB, good post.
School choice will never pass because too many politicians are either married or closely related to a government school employee. It is all about money and power. Remember, these are the same guys that just voted an automatic 2% yearly pay increase for the retired state employees.
The writer and others making comments clearly do not understand the thought process of those who advocate true school choice. Our basic belief is that parents, not government, are the authority over the training of our children. Not that we hate the government, we just think children are best raised by mom and dad, not by Uncle Samantha and Uncle Sam.
Maybe the government knows what is best for your child, but I think that mothers and fathers usually care more about their children than bureaucrats do.
Tax credits are the only choice that a sane politician could support. You folks that say that private schools should be regulated by the “state” in order to receive state money make it clear why so many school choice advocates vote “NO” on any plan that includes “vouchers.” Vouchers with strings would continue the idea that children are wards of the state, and the state should have control over their training. Private schools succeed because the schools are directly accountable to the parents. Unlike government schools, bad private schools go out of business. That is the ultimate accountability.
So long as Strom Thurmond’s “Freedom of Choice” school proposal is laid to rest, I applaud the efforts of any and every legislator anywhere who is willing to take up the mantle of bettering the school situation.
I, for one, do not believe we need any new plans; we need new students, new parents, new teachers, new administrators and new politicians. With all five guns firing at the same time, the state of South Carolina and the United States as a whole can have school systems unrivaled in the world.
I am not speaking of mass transportation of any of the above. I am asking that everyone recognize what they are there for, and asking that they do whatever that is.
It’s really very simple. Cut the bull, EVERYONE!
Rep. Ballentine talks in his blog about helping kids avoid dropping out of school. So, I would guess that his private school choice plan would focus on students who are struggling most in public schools. I would also figure that he’d focus on the poorest students in the state, since poverty generally correlates to failure in school.
Mark Sanford’s PPIC plan focused on tax breaks for middle-class families, guaranteeing nothing to the poor. It seems to me that ever since that ridiculous plan was pitched by our governor and groups like SCRG formed to shill for the plan, opponents of vouchers and tax credits for private schooling have become extremely vigilant. Maybe too much so, in my opinion. But I do think it’s understandable.
Nathan, I am a high school teacher in the Midlands and saw your blurb on The State Op-ed page. I agree with offering more options. The problem is the lens through which the legislators, especially those who favor vouchers, view education as you have.
SAT is a narrow measure of achievement. There are 9th graders who score above 1000. Does this mean they should exempt high school? Regarding vouchers for the poor students, high school tuition ranges from 6 to 12 thousand. How is a tax credit or a 3,000 voucher going to help a kid in Gonzales Gardens? Private school students took over 2000 AP exams last year. less than 40 were taken by black students. How will these same private schools accommodate the diversity which is so foreign to them?
The problem is the legislature and the community spends energy and time on vouchers and very little on actual reform.
Shame on them……….