During her six years in the S.C. General Assembly, Nikki Haley was one of South Carolina’s most aggressive supporters of market-based education reform – repeatedly supporting universal parental choice plans geared toward breaking the stranglehold of the Palmetto State’s failed, government-run education monopoly.
As a Republican candidate for governor, Haley continued to advocate for market-based reforms … until she captured the GOP nomination, that is. That’s when she began a wholesale retreat from her previous positions.
In August 2010, Haley rolled out a disappointing education platform – one headlined by recycled “funding reforms.” Making matters worse, she stated that expanding parental choice in South Carolina was “not a priority” and would not be her focus as governor.
S.C. Sen. Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley) – one of the most aggressive education reformers in the General Assembly – referred to Haley’s 2010 plan as “a dressed up version of the status quo.”
“Nikki’s proposals are good, but they are not the true reforms that are needed or what was promised,” Grooms said.
Indeed …
Not much of what escapes Haley’s lips is the truth, but when she told voters that parental choice was “not a priority” of her administration she wasn’t lying. Same goes for education in general. After three full years in office, Haley has proposed no substantive education reform of any kind. In fact the only major education initiative she’s approved was a $26 million expansion of the state’s failed government-run early childhood program – a plan pushed by her Democratic rival S.C. Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Camden) and championed at the national level by none other than U.S. President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile South Carolina’s government-run schools continue to slip further beneath the waves …
And this woman calls herself a “reformer?”
Sheesh …
Anyway, because it’s an election year (and because her rival was preparing to announce his plans), Haley is at long last returning to the topic of education this week. According to The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper, Haley will unveil an education plan this week that centers around “more technology in the classroom and support for teachers” – especially schools in “poorer districts.”
Wow … iPads for kids who can’t read and yet another government teacher training program is going to turn around the worse state-run system of education in America?
Good luck with that, governor …
Nikki Haley used to be one of the most aggressive, articulate advocates for substantive education reforms in all of South Carolina. Sadly, she’s now completely morphed into yet another “Republican” mouthpiece for the Palmetto State’s failed status quo.
15 comments
‘choice’ is a hollow concept. most towns in SC cannot support more than one school. the only places that have ‘choice’ already enjoy a plethora of well-funded suburban schools. you need to find a new catch-phrase to mindlessly toss about Fits.
Good story. I used to be against market-run education but now I am for anything that will head off the millions of Chinese and indian schoolchildren who will crawl all over us and take over technology and science in the next three decades unless we do something. ANYTHING. All my life SC was at the bottom of the rankings. It is sad.
That goddamn jacket again…it must be an old pet or something she can’t let go of?
Used to be.
The numerous (and repeated) photos of that jacket posted on Fitsnews cause me to believe that Sic has fond memories of Nikki wearing it on “special occasions”. My thought is that this is the closest he can get to remembering those encounters without raising the wrath of Mrs. Sic. When he publishes his book/expose she will probably be wearing that jacket in every photo.
The governor shouldn’t drive education reform.
Superintendent of education should, And the effort should be developed from input of school districts on up, not vice versa.
The folks in the classrooms know the dealio, the politcos, not so much.
Politicians ‘driving education reform’ is what eff upped education to begin with.
It’s just the usual Nikki self-promotion campain noise.
No differnt from any other pol in that regard, I suppose.
Just a thought. Maybe if we put as much time, energy and money into education as we do to football in this state we would have a better educational system. You could set up a gamecock club, iptay or whatever college type booster club at every school and donate tons of money. We could have 80k+ screaming fans at graduation cheering on the students, not just the football team.
If funding was an issue, why does SC fund at close the the 50th percentile in terms of states, but routinely finishes in the bottom 10 in testing?
If we double the funding can we expect to at least be in the bottom 20?
You missed the part about time and energy.
Oh, so without more commitments of time and energy than the funds won’t help? Good to know. Tell you what, when you get people to commit to more of both than I’m on board with more money.
Yep, we need much more involvement with the schools. I taught a very limited time way back when and what I saw was that the more commitment of time and energy by parents and supporters of individual students, the better the student did.
Don’t even play into this nonsense. This is all about getting money into the pockets of Private School parents and PRIVATE BUSINESSES at the expense of everyone else. The average South Carolinian pays less than $1200 a year to support public education, but just ask how much of a tax credit the private school folks want. Hint its a lot more than they are paying for public education. So where is that additional money coming from? They want the rest of us to pay for their private school tuition at a PRIVATE BUSINESS, with absolutely no input as to how our money is expended.
Haley has national aspirations and no doubt she will do everything she feels she can get away with to sell out the children of middle class and low income parents in SC in exchange for money from the likes of Howard Rich and the Koch Brothers.
So if you are a public school parent or have no children in school, grab your wallets, because they are coming after you.
3 years of inaction and NOW she wants to do something in a election year – big surprise.
What is more shocking is that FITS will endorse her!