In most state legislatures, a subcommittee is the first place a bill must weather -- and survive -- scrutiny from conscientious lawmakers. Of course, such a system depends entirely on the active engagement of conscientious lawmakers. In the exceptional republic of South Carolina, we have the lawmakers we have, conscientious or not, and they suffer no obligation to scrutinize anything before
Friday, April 8, 2011
Rainey: "Intoxication of power has overwhelmed Nikki Haley"
Posted on 11:21 AM by Unknown
Anderson attorney John Rainey has a unique perspective on South Carolina: In 2001, he recruited former Congressman Mark Sanford of Sullivan's Island to run for governor. When Sanford was elected, Rainey accepted the governor's appointment to chair the state's Board of Economic Advisors, which seeks to guide lawmakers' decisions on the budget and economic decisions. Throughout Sanford's numerous
Spearman: Out-of-state interests governing our government
Posted on 11:17 AM by Unknown
Molly Spearman, executive director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, was featured this week in the Orangeburg Times and Democrat, advising South Carolinians of the insidious influence of out-of-state ideologues governing us by proxy.Public school supporters in communities across South Carolina need to know that the free-flowing funds from out-of-state interests are
South Carolina ranks 42nd in nation in "peacefulness"
Posted on 11:14 AM by Unknown
No one familiar with South Carolina's history finds this surprising: A new report issued by the Institute of Economics and Peace finds that our dear state ranks eighth from the bottom in "peacefulness," a composite of various statistical indicators. At first blush, this feels like a low blow.
But let's review:
(1) Charles Towne was settled by people who believed it was their right to enslave
But let's review:
(1) Charles Towne was settled by people who believed it was their right to enslave
Elwood: Punitive approaches illustrate lack of understanding
Posted on 11:07 AM by Unknown
Columbia's Free Times features in its current edition a letter from Harvey Elwood, Jr., on the recent proposal to withhold drivers' licenses from students who drop out of school. Elwood pegs the measure as "punitive" and offers his own view:Once again, the South Carolina House Education Subcommittee is considering a bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Young Jr., R-Aiken, designed to deny drivers licenses
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sheaffer: "You are more than a number. And so am I."
Posted on 4:15 PM by Unknown
The following letter -- simple and eloquent -- was posted at Education Week's Teacher Blog on Monday by Amanda Sheaffer, a third grade teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, and a credit to her profession.To my students,
I greet you at the door with a smile, but I feel uneasy. I see your bright faces and hear your cheerful words with an inadvertent cringe. I am caught in a struggle between what I have
I greet you at the door with a smile, but I feel uneasy. I see your bright faces and hear your cheerful words with an inadvertent cringe. I am caught in a struggle between what I have
Lawmakers ponder tax credits, economic resegregation
Posted on 4:13 PM by Unknown
Here it comes.
On Monday, the right wing of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a majority ruling upholding Arizona's scheme to grant dollar-for-dollar tax credits for private or religious school tuition. The ruling means two things: Ideologues who oppose public education in legislatures across the nation are now free to adopt similar measures even if they contradict state constitutions, and parents
On Monday, the right wing of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a majority ruling upholding Arizona's scheme to grant dollar-for-dollar tax credits for private or religious school tuition. The ruling means two things: Ideologues who oppose public education in legislatures across the nation are now free to adopt similar measures even if they contradict state constitutions, and parents
Krohne: Public funds for private schools an "irresponsible proposal"
Posted on 4:05 PM by Unknown
Taking advantage of Governor Nikki Haley's new "waste and fraud tipline," I tried to leave a tip for Inspector General George Schroeder about the plan to divert potentially millions -- ultimately hundreds of millions -- of dollars from the general treasury to benefit private and religious schools without any oversight, regulation or accountability, but Dr. Paul Krohne of the South Carolina School
Pickens board eliminates 87 positions, ignores corporate tax loopholes
Posted on 4:02 PM by Unknown
Question: How does a career spent on Wall Street prepare one to lead an elected body which governs education policy, funding, and personnel matters? This is not a trick question, and there's likely not a rational answer to it. After all, this is South Carolina.
While state lawmakers are laying plans this week to dismantle public education from the top down, school boards across South Carolina
While state lawmakers are laying plans this week to dismantle public education from the top down, school boards across South Carolina
Chester editors stake themselves against cuts to school athletics
Posted on 3:59 PM by Unknown
Speaking of wars and principles, the editors in Chester County sally forth with their own dour pleading on the subject of school budget cuts. Their plea: Save the games.The Chester County School Board is faced with the daunting and unenviable task of finding ways to cut $2.5 million from the budget. That comes on top of other cuts the board has had to make in recent years. No matter what area is
Legislative wrecking crew uses small hammers first, says SC Radio Network
Posted on 3:53 PM by Unknown
Reporter Matt Long of the South Carolina Radio Network took note this week of several small changes to education policies that make incremental progress on the road to dismantling public education as we know it.
One of the changes listed by Long is a plan to exempt school districts from various state regulations, including -- you guessed it -- personnel cuts, or "several mandates the state
One of the changes listed by Long is a plan to exempt school districts from various state regulations, including -- you guessed it -- personnel cuts, or "several mandates the state
Retired educator defends public employee pensions
Posted on 3:50 PM by Unknown
In what society must we defend the rights of retired public educators and other employees to their pensions?
Ours.
Retiree Martha Serensits of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, had a great letter published in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News on Sunday, and it's well worth re-posting here, to give moral support to our own beleaguered retirees and close-to-retirees.
In response to an antagonist's text
Ours.
Retiree Martha Serensits of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, had a great letter published in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News on Sunday, and it's well worth re-posting here, to give moral support to our own beleaguered retirees and close-to-retirees.
In response to an antagonist's text
Garrick identifies hypocrisies in South Carolina's budget proposal
Posted on 3:46 PM by Unknown
Lodging charges of hypocrisy in South Carolina's budget is almost too easy -- like shooting fish in a barrel -- but I have to promote the interesting perspective of freshman Rep. Mia Butler Garrick, whose reflection on the recent two-day House budget debate is insightful. You can read the whole essay here but she names four obstacles to South Carolina's progress: the "good ol' boy system," the
School budget cuts threaten for-profit and non-profit programs
Posted on 3:44 PM by Unknown
A little-known bit of No Child Left Behind, a law still inflicting harm well past its expiration date, was a provision forcing school districts labeled "low-performing" for three consecutive years to devote 15 percent of its federal funds to private-sector "supplemental education services" programs. It hadn't occurred to me before reading this morning's Greenville News that in a time when federal
Monday, April 4, 2011
Katy, bar the door: Court offers 'roadmap' for private school vouchers
Posted on 5:54 PM by Unknown
One more illustration that elections have consequences.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the infamous Citizens United decision which overturned century-old precedent and now allows corporations to spend unlimited sums in their support for, or opposition of, candidates for public office. To the corporate elite for whom a million dollars here or there represent mere rounding errors,
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the infamous Citizens United decision which overturned century-old precedent and now allows corporations to spend unlimited sums in their support for, or opposition of, candidates for public office. To the corporate elite for whom a million dollars here or there represent mere rounding errors,
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Educators' simplest hopes damaged by political ideology
Posted on 3:41 PM by Unknown
A friend in Darlington referred me to a letter published in the local newspaper there last week by a 2005 Milliken educator from Anderson, Mary Nell Anthony. Anthony's letter made a number of interesting points, and after pondering her perspective, I decided to share. Rather than copy her letter, let me describe its main ideas.
Anthony takes on the subject of accountability and how
Anthony takes on the subject of accountability and how
Will state employees have retirement security or not?
Posted on 3:39 PM by Unknown
Bill Davis, editor of the Statehouse Report, published an item on the state's retirement plan more than a week ago, and I'm curious about how his analysis squares with that of Sam Griswold, whose judgment on retirement system questions is impeccable. Griswold wrote, here, about the competing legislation to make changes to the retirement system, especially for new state employees' benefits, and
Superintendents' salaries under scrutiny; is Santee Cooper next?
Posted on 3:31 PM by Unknown
There's a bedrock principle that free marketeers hold to like Moses held to his tablets: Free of regulation, the market will resolve itself.
Embedded in that principle is the notion that money is intelligent -- or, more to the point, those who know what to do with money are imbued with a divine intelligence that the rest of us lack -- and that regulation, the attempts by the unintelligent to
Embedded in that principle is the notion that money is intelligent -- or, more to the point, those who know what to do with money are imbued with a divine intelligence that the rest of us lack -- and that regulation, the attempts by the unintelligent to
How do we measure the value of a teacher?
Posted on 3:21 PM by Unknown
Here's another note to send to friends and loved ones.
In last Thursday's edition of the New York Times, author and Brown University professor Marie Myung-Ok Lee published a beautiful note titled "What I Learned at School." I highly recommend it to your attention.THE tumult over state budgets and collective bargaining rights for public employees has spilled over into resentment toward public
In last Thursday's edition of the New York Times, author and Brown University professor Marie Myung-Ok Lee published a beautiful note titled "What I Learned at School." I highly recommend it to your attention.THE tumult over state budgets and collective bargaining rights for public employees has spilled over into resentment toward public
Educators aren't perishable commodities
Posted on 3:17 PM by Unknown
On Friday, I posted a column published in the Memphis newspaper by the president of the National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel, about the work of Martin Luther King and organized workers. I missed that on Thursday, Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post also featured Van Roekel, this time discussing teachers and seniority.
You can read the whole column here but the point of Van
You can read the whole column here but the point of Van
Heitsman: Corporate state on the verge of replacing government
Posted on 3:13 PM by Unknown
The art and science of demagoguery requires that the demagogues who lead social movements stir up peoples emotions in order to gain power. Therefore such movements do not need heroes to succeed but need a constant supply of devils.
As the Pharaohs used the Hebrews, the Romans used the Christians, and as Adolph Hitler used the Jews, public employees and public school teachers are now the targets
As the Pharaohs used the Hebrews, the Romans used the Christians, and as Adolph Hitler used the Jews, public employees and public school teachers are now the targets
Friday, April 1, 2011
Bill proposes to leave high school dropouts idle in the streets
Posted on 12:46 PM by Unknown
Again, South Carolina lawmakers propose to criminalize poverty and the poor judgment that stems often from few options. Consider the plight of teenagers growing up in poverty -- this isn't difficult; there are hundreds of thousands of them -- who see one big difference between attending high school classes Monday through Friday and holding down a "right-to-work-for-less" job at a fast food
Kershaw's superintendent: Merit pay isn't a simple answer
Posted on 12:35 PM by Unknown
Superintendent Frank Morgan of Kershaw County has spent nearly four decades in education, and he says he's seen the flavors-of-the-month come and go. Speaking of pay-for-test-scores, he cautions against jumping headfirst into this month's flavor.On the surface, merit pay makes a great deal of sense. The idea of rewarding teachers for performance seems intuitively fairer and more productive than
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