TELEVISION AD URGES VOTERS TO CALL … SENATE SECURITY?
An advertisement touting S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley tells South Carolinians to call their State Senators and urge them to pass “the Haley education plan.”
What is the “Haley education plan?” That’s easy: More government.
But if Haley thinks her ad – paid for by the “Movement Fund” – is going to sway Senators, she’s got another thing coming.
How come? Haley’s backers didn’t “educate” themselves on the proper telephone number.
“Seems the Movement Fund listed the wrong phone number,” one GOP Senator jokingly told FITS. “(The number) in the ad will not connect to any Senate office. It is the number for Senate security.”
Oops!
Not all Senators found the mistake amusing, though.
“These people have a serious job to do,” one Democratic Senator told FITS, referring to Senate security staff. “How would she feel if we clogged up the phone line to her executive protection?”
More to the point, though… should South Carolinians bother finding the right phone number to call their Senators about the “Haley education plan?”
Hell no … not unless they plan on ripping the proposal for its embrace of the state’s failed status quo.
“Sixty million for a top-down program that any district can implement today on its own,” one fiscally conservative Senator said – rebuking Haley’s plan. “No money for tax credits for scholarships for special needs children or kids in poverty. A full embrace of liberal Washington, D.C. standards – and a rejection of South Carolina having control over our own classroom standards and evaluations.”
We asked the Lowcountry lawmaker if there was anything redeemable about Haley’s plan.
“No,” he said.
South Carolina currently spends $12,000 per child on government-run education – not counting bond money. That’s more than four times the average private school tuition.
As a state lawmaker, Haley was an aggressive proponent of market-based academic reforms. Sadly, once she got the GOP nomination in 2010 she began to abandon her support for parental choice in favor of more middling “reforms.”
33 comments
WHAT? $12,000/child/year is more than FOUR times the average private school tuition? So the average private school tuition is less then $3,000/child/year? What are you smokin’? I agree that the feds, the state need to stay out of educational policy decisions, but you need to get your facts straight to be creditable. Lee Bright and Nicky are scary when they take on the mantle of educational experts. (Next thing you know we’ll have McConnell running a college!)
TBG would guess that *average* private school tuition is somewhat north of $4K per year.
Maybe church sponsered schools have lower tuitions?
Some are paying more than $12K for private schools.
This says that the SC average is more than $9K for private with only an 89% acceptance rate. Public schools can’t turn anyone away.
http://www.scpolicycouncil.org/research/education/school-choice-this-year
A year old, but:
South Carolinians for Responsible Government Foundation found the median
private school tuition in South Carolina was $4,400 for grade seven and
$4,500 for grade ten.
…
Clemson University found that the average private school in South Carolina charged annual tuition as follows:
Kindergarten: $3,232
Grades 1-4: $4,092
Grades 5-8: $4,317
Grades 9-12: $4,702
So 1/3rd, almost 1/2 the amount.
According to this site, we actually spend about $9k per pupil, as of 2011 (This probably doesn’t include federal money.):
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html
Keep in mind “average” private tuition means “average” private school, and therefore could very well mean “average” education, if that. The ones that actually perform the best are likely a good deal more expensive. And, if you can’t pay, well, you don’t go, so there’s that too. And voucher programs were never meant to make sure the most disadvantaged kids’ parents can afford it, if the private school even accepts them in the first place.
A real solution is to make sure funds for public education aren’t pissed away on worthless crap or administrators’ pay. Willie can still send his kids to private school, but public schools have to keep running, and have to be prepared in the event that Willie’s kids get unexpectedly dumped back into the public system. Can we run it cheaper? Yes, but we still have to run it. “We” as in society, everybody, whether you have kids or not, whether you send them to public school or not.
Pay your taxes people. No special treatment.
South Carolinians for Responsible Government Foundation is a biased voucher lobby organization. Their information is not trustworthy.
I don’t know who ran the Clemson study, but I suspect the methods did not take into consideration, charitable contributions, other organizations allowing the school to use facilities at no charge; and other sources of revenue that pro-voucher groups want state money to replace so those funds can be diverted elsewhere.
I sent a kid to private school, several years ago, and there is no way a decent private high school is operating on $4,702 per student a year.
For example, at St. Josephs Catholic School in Columbia, a average religious school, the tuition is $5460 for parishioners and $7620 for non-parishioners. In addition the school is not self supporting it is supported by the church as part of its ministry.
At Westminster Catawba Christian in Rock Hill, an average private school, the tuition for a high school student is $8,850.00. That school also receives donations and support from Westminster Presbyterian Church, including the use of some church facilities.
I suspect the average good private school is spending $8,000 to $8,500 a year to educate their students. Of course they get to pick and choose who they want to come there. So they do not have to deal with high cost students. If they all had to build all their own buildings and take on every student that price would go way up.
Of course vouchers have nothing to do with kids being able to access these schools. Vouchers are designed to give money to people who already have kids in these schools. What is more the voucher groups want the state to give them more money than they pay into public education.
James and SCBlueWoman,
TBG understands the difference between “tuition” and “cost”. Assuming that private schools provide a better education than the available public schools (Why else would a parent shell out $8K a year?), by y’alls own math, private schools work better for 90% of the students at 75% of the cost of public schools).
*For the record, TBG has two mixed race children in private school and (perhaps, unsurprisingly) is a strong supporter of vouchers. Had TBG not moved 4 years ago…he would have happily sent his kids to public schools*
That is easy for me. I believe we need a excellent public education system if life is to get any better in this state and that we all have an obligation to support public education. There is no evidence that the education in private schools is better than the education in public schools, and it is unfair to ask a person to pay taxes to support a school his or her child is not welcome to attend or cannot afford to attend.
If a parent has children in a school district that is failing, and that parent can show that his or her child would benefit from a private school, I would support having the money that parent actually pay into public education be diverted to the private school while the public school is failing. But I do not support taking anyone else’s money away from the public schools to support the private schools. Nor do I think money should ever be taken from a good public school to give to a private school.
I consider your argument that private school works better for 90% of the students totally bogus. There are many reasons people would choose private school over public school, unrelated to the quality of education. The top three being
1. A desire for religious education
2. A desire to avoid people of a different race
3. A desire to associate only with ones on “class.”
All of these are legitimate private goals but not legitimate goals to be supported with taxpayer dollars.
Finally, I agree with the idea that we cannot guarantee equality of outcome in life, but we should strive for equality of opportunity. The most important aspect of equality of opportunity is education. This state needs to strive to have the best public education system in the country. We certainly do not need to be determining ways to encourage the most affluent most politically connected, and most involved of us to abandon the public education system.
SC is stuck in a 1930s mentality on public education. The rich people don’t want to pay to educate the children of minorities and mill workers. That needs to end. We need to educate our people for the 21st century. People who can afford private school can take care of themselves, and if you can’t get involved and make the public school better.
1. A desire for religious education
2. A desire to avoid people of a different race
3. A desire to associate only with ones on “class.”
Only speaking for himself…….
1) TBG is a self described “pro Christian Agnostic”
2)although “TBG” is just a clever nom de plum
I confess I do not understand your point. I did not say those were the only reasons, I said those were the top three reasons. I also said if you were in a failing school district I would support your diverting the taxes you pay for public education to private education until the state fixes the public school..
You also agree you did not take the school district into consideration when you moved, so you really are not making much of an argument that you should be allowed to divert your share of public school taxes to private education.
Why didn’t you take the school district into consideration when you moved?
You prolly should address that to my ex.
Another Ft. Hood shooting..and Obama has failed to prosecute effectively the 2009 Muslim killer???….And you’re peddling some irrelevant $#!* about Haley…
W/ “media” this ignorant…any wonder the country is in the mess it’s in…
Get your head out of your @$$….
Constipated much? Your head is always up your own ass.
Are you too lazy, or too stupid, to come of w/ your own insults…????
You do know you’re one in a long list incorporating the Pee Wee Herman method of communication (I know you are, but what am I?)…
The brain-dead have to grab what I offer, and hurl it back…because of your inability to think creatively or analytically…
I see it often in liberals and Obama voters…You hate, w/ nothing else but ignorance…not very flattering…
The only one constantly talking about hate is you. And the occasional reference to some form of homoerotic activity.
And the occasional [metaphorical] reference to some form of [metaphorical] homoerotic activity.
Don’t worry “T”, TBG’s got your back!
Just….not…..like….that.
Yeah.. well, your secret’s out.. you and Mike are both knocking on his back door – Shifty Henry *saw* you BOTH!
—- didn’t really see anybody, I just heard the squeals……
So… you change your story *now*!
Just leave me hanging.. huh?
Just giving you back what you put out. Dumbass. You are one sick puppy.
Please don’t besmirch God’s most loyal creature by comparing it to that “piece of shit”.
Are you too lazy, or too stupid, to come of w/ your own insults…????
——–
You aren’t worth the effort to generate unappreciated art. You’re like a newspaper section in a windy alley.. mildly amusing, but not an afternoon’s entertainment.
You’re worth maybe.. oh… fuck you.. or.. say… eat shit… but a truly creative effort?
Nah.
Yeah. Because the last guy didn’t serve constitutional rights. We should have shot his A-rab ass right off the bat – right? Because only white Grande Tango’s deserve rights and due process.
Ummmmm…Nidal Hasan was successfully prosecuted in August of last year, convicted on all counts, and sentenced to death. He’s at Leavenworth awaiting his appointment with his virgins. The only thing they fucked up was classifying the incident as workplace violence instead of what it was; a terrorist act by a self-radicalized jihadist. That was tactical / political move, though, and he will be just as dead either way once his appeals are through…
Dumb and dog ugly. Will, what were you thinking? How drunk were you?
She was hotter back then…and claimed to be conservative / libertarian.
The more security is tied up, the greater the chance someone can sneak in and deliver a case of “whupass” to the senate. Sounds like a good plan to me.
Seems like a pretty good source. You can judge the data for yourself.
The cost difference for SC Elementary and High School private schools don’t align like most of the other states,where Elementary Schools are listed as costing less than High Schools
Average Private School Tuition Cost (2013-2014)
http://www.privateschoolreview.com/tuition-stats/private-school-cost-by-state
South Carolina
Average Tuition $7,159
High Schools $5,947
Elementary $9,322 (6th highest)
Dang, thems like Jersey prices for Elementary. Guess those kids are headin’ to Duke.
Just a perfect example of her entire tenure as Governor. Or as they may say in her next ad – a great xmple of her tenor as Govanor. The Dems should have a field day with ads that show her as a idiot who hires idiots to run a state that is becoming the laughing stock of the entire nation. Yet again, another day that if I lived in MS I would be smiling. I’m sure Alabama is.
NIKKI HALEY ONLY CARES ABOUT NIKKI HALEY!
She sent out a email to all state employees saying the better start answering thier phones and saying its a great day in South Carolina. It will be a great day when that witch is out of office.