SC Senators To Push Parental Choice
“IMMEDIATE RELIEF” NEEDED FOR CHILDREN TRAPPED IN FAILING SCHOOLS || By FITSNEWS || A paYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
“IMMEDIATE RELIEF” NEEDED FOR CHILDREN TRAPPED IN FAILING SCHOOLS || By FITSNEWS || A paYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
90 comments
FITS has always been right about the issue of parental choice and education. Haley needs to get on board with this.
The state controlled schools are failing and the families need choices.
What kills me about sc is we know beyond a shadow of a doubt it is die hard republican …
Free market works best kinda place. Government get the hell out of our business kinda place. Except education …
Could it be the large number of educrats getting rich off of doing an “ok” job at best.
Don’t forget the new Republocrat anti-School Choice Superintendent of Education who is already proposing to spend more money on failing school districts…
As in the Graham race. The worst candidate won.
The best choice when comes to education in SC is to move to another state. Pretty much any other state will do.
“Make no mistake: Howard Rich and his kind view this small, poor state as an experimental laboratory for their ideological crusade against America’s greatest asset – public education.”
http://buyingsc.blogspot.com/
What groups that Howie is associated with teach people to do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZnwTYH5L-c
Too late. Louisiana and Florida are way ahead of us on school choice. And it is working.
There is zero evidence it is working. Most states don’t even try to determine if they help, because of the Wisconsin’s bad experience with testing.
In Wisconsin, voucher students began in 2011 taking the same standardized tests as the students attending the public schools. The vouchers students have consistently done worse than their public school counterparts. In fact, the performance of voucher students has been so weak that Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker tried to stop their taking the standardized tests, to make it more difficult to compare their performance to that of public school students.
Pretty much any other state will do.
Except Mississippi.
Thank God for Mississippi huh..otherwise dead last in soooo many categories..whew..thanks Miss.
At least you’re close to New Orleans in Mississippi.
It has never been about education, it is about socialization.
It’s about segregated education( and the socialization involved). SC has fought and undermined the improvement of public ed for decades but now there’s a plan we can get behind?–which BTW continues to ensure public ed will fail. and gee, it involves segregation? Welcome to the past folks.
Well yeah, the’ze easier to control whenz theyze stupid. How do you think the GOP keeps winning re-election in the state.
It will never change either, but it will necessitate the cost of maintaining two systems of education both paid for by taxpayers either directly or indirectly.
Socialization is important if our youth are to be properly trained to be good worker bees for corporation America. Group think conformation & minimal competency make for good bees:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jQT7_rVxAE
That’s why it’s best to stop throwing tax money at these institutions. The “education lobby” is still a lobby. They want education dollars, not critical thinkers and education.
True. It falls a along the same lines as gun control. It’s not about guns (education) it is about control.
Cancel their school property taxes & permit them to attend private school.
I am the parent of a child who was being bullied by students mad that we had reported their favorite teacher/coach for inappropriate behavior. Despite detailed records and countless letters and appeals to our local school board the best we could achieve was permission to move to another district where we had to pay nearly $4,000 out of district fees and a 1 yr athletic penalty. The teacher involved “left” shortly after we withdrew our child. Now we can not even claim the expense on our taxes. Because of the size of the district where we live there is no school choice even within the disltrict.
Time to Call Saul
Sorry
I sympathise with your plight, and if your allegations were proven you were not dealt with appropriately. But this is anecdotal. This is not an argument for vouchers or tax credits. This is not common, and could just as easlly have happened in a Private School and in fact does all the time. There are plenty of stories of private schools pressuring families and children not to make a scene over something, like bullying or inappropriate behavior by a teacher. For god sakes look at the Catholic Church schools and their problems.
“There are plenty of stories of private schools pressuring families and children not to make a scene over something, like bullying or inappropriate behavior by a teacher.”
You miss a key point in your example…you can take your money directly out of the private schools funding and make them hurt without ever filing a lawsuit, you can also use that money to send your kid to a school that is run better.
Unlike gov’t run schools…
Nothing prevents you from taking your kid out of a public school and sending him to a private school, moving to another school district, or requesting that your child be allowed to attend another school district without your moving. Even with the $4000 required in this case, the cost was way less than the cost of moving to a private school Hurting the school is not the goal. That only hurts the other children there.
As I said, if the allegations were proven, this case was not handled properly. If the allegations were not proven, it was handled properly. But this has nothing to do with vouchers and tax credits. This was a unique situation.
My main point was that under the current system parents cannot move their children to another district without financial penalty regardless of circumstance. The situation we endured was not our fault but our only choices were to spend the money to hire an attorney to help us or pay the out of district fees. Both choices were financially challenging and the decision to change districts was ultimately made because the new school year was starting. If anyone has additional information to share I would welcome the input.
“Hurting the school is not the goal. That only hurts the other children there.”
You just explained why there is no accountability and why my point is valid.
Yeah, let’s use tax dollars to encourage people to bail on public ed. (tax credit + tax deduction = 125% of donations (to “choice scholarship” foundations) off your tax bill. Woohoo!!
Speaking of Tom Davis, is he still screwing Nancy Mace? And whatever happened to her?
Yeah, I wish I could have had a choice on my parents.
“Parental choice” – no matter how many euphemisms y’all come up with for this crock of shit, it’s still a crock of shit.
Yea. It’s about segregating rich from poor and black from white. Is and always was.
Are you a socialist or a dictator?
Haley has been abysmal on many things, but she is definitely a throwback to decades of failed education policy. Spend more money has been her only solution.
Every time I write in support of school choice, I get the same response. Where is the proof or they post a link to a partisan website that has proven school choice is a failure. The point about freedom is that there is always failures, but it has its own compete self correcting mechanism that weeds out the failures as they occur.
Well the proof is out. Here is a list of the reforms that we’ve tried time and time again and failed to improve our public schools.
1. More money.
2. Smaller classes.
3. Teacher raises.
4. Better buildings.
5. More technology.
6. Outcome-Based Education
7. Standards-based education reform.
8. No Child Left Behind.
9. Whole language.
10. Norm-referenced education.
Now many want to take the risk of putting all our eggs in one basket called Common Core. Imagine the damage and lost time if it fails.
I am convinced that the only option left to improve public education is school choice including public and private school choice. The government does about as good a job running our schools as Venezuela does at running their economy.
Let the fraud and abuse begin! But its OK so long as a few people get filthy rich off the scam and some already wealthy parents get some free money to send their kids to Porter-Gaud.
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-06-23/news/mckay-scholarship-program-sparks-a-cottage-industry-of-fraud-and-chaos/
Fraud exist in the free market system, yet it performs better than a socialist system.
Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with you on that one, at least insofar as it relates to public education.
Education in most of first world Europe, South Korea and Japan would be considered “Socialist” in your world view, yet thay have outcomes as good or better than any of the top private schools in this country.
Why is that? Could it be that they actually value education and continue to fund it? Seriously, IF we were to adequately fund education in this state it would take at least 20 years before we would see measurable results, no legislator has the stones to see that through…they can only see as far as the next election.
Do you want any checks and controls on vouchers at all or will we just give the money away and be done with it?
Many in Asia go outside the public system to get private instruction. This all happens because of the parent initiative, not the government’s. If you want to really understand the differences in performance in developed countries then study their family structure.
” A second structural difference between Japanese and American schools is simply the amount days students are in school. Students in Japan spend, “240 days a year at school, 60 days more then their American counterparts” (Johnson 1996). Furthermore, traditional Japanese schools also have a half day of instruction on Saturdays. As a result, according to some estimates, in 13 years of schooling, US students receive almost a year less than those in Japan. The implications of this are that not only do Japanese students receive more actual time per day engaging in focused, academic study, but they also spend more days overall and therefore may have a clear advantage in terms of practice, repetition, and breadth of knowledge. Not only that, but the Japanese school year is divided into 3 terms, without extended breaks that may cause students to lose their skills in the absence of regular academic instruction for prolonged periods of time (Johnson 1996). Thus, the problem in the US of students from disadvantaged backgrounds gaining an essentially equal playing field over the academic year and then losing most of what the gained over the summer, may not be a factor in Japan because of the systemic difference in the academic calendar.”
Like I said, they value education more than we do and are willing to fund it and make it a priority.
Perhaps we don’t need to change what we teach, but how we teach. Where is the brave legislator willing to extend the school calender? Where are the legislators supporting 4 year old kindergarten?
I don’t understand. If you want to send your kids to private schools today you can. Why do you need a tax credit and tax dollar refund to do it? It’s not like poor minority families will have enough to send their kids. They don’t pay enough taxes now, and if they did, the Legislature would come up with a calculation method that further reduces minority credits to make sure they stay out of the whitey privey schools. Duh – everybody knowd dat. And FY – that’s why these schemes always fail at the Federal court level.
Because that doesn’t create a fair competitive market. Public schools that fail are propped up and subsidized without having to satisfy the parents. I want to improve the public school system. Just having rich people leave with the poor stuck doesn’t do that.
I prefer voucher to tax credit, but I can’t be choosy if that is all that is offered. You have to start somewhere.
Whitey private schools don’t have to accept vouchers, but I believe you underestimate your fellow man. If Tim Scott had kids, they would be breaking the doors down to get in to the same private school.
I used to be in favor of vouchers. I have long espoused the idea. But a friend told me a very important thing about them. “If the govt. controls who and what gets them, the govt. can control what you do with them.” With a tax credit, the govt. writes the check but it is yours to do with as you want. Here again, the less govt. the better.
And tax credits have a double benefit. Kids from poor families, many of whom are minorities, can’t benefit from them. That reduces the cost of the program and does not increase the competition for private school slots or result in undesirables trying to get into private schools.
Yep, tax credits are the way to go…assuming they don’t find a way to regulate those too.
All vouchers do is get the camel’s nose under the tent…defeating the main reason you are looking to get gov’t out of education.
Being that it costs around 12 grand per year to educate a kid in public schools … if i choose to homeschool my child since the expense of private school is out of reach asking for some of the property tax money I pay for public school back in return for wanting to jump off the government failure-go-round really should be my option.
No more so than my not wanting to pay a share of the cost of paving the road in front of your house, or public transportation, or the police force or the fire department, or the local airport. If I don’t fly should I get a tax refund? If I don’t expect the military to defend me when the Chinese invade, do I get a tax credit? If I promise not to drive over the Ravenel Bridge, do I get a tax credit?
We have an obligation to provide public education. It is all of our responsibility. If you don’t pay your share others have to pay more.
Then provide one that doesnt suck hind tit …
I would be willing to bet you fall into one of two categories …. either you work for the government or live off it. Otherwise you would be like me an overworked, over taxed, citizen who wants the government to get out of my business. I am pro family. Back to the basics of personal responsibility. And I dont need the government to provide that for me.
You dont drive on public roads, you must drink from a well only and provide your own power I assume. Good for you.
My own sons education doesn’t fall into the category of paved roads … my experiences with the public education here must not have been as good as yours. I feel like it is within my personal discretion what parts of the government provided bullshit i partake in. I drive i pay gas tax, i own property i pay property taxes, i own a vehicle , i want Obama care i get it, i want blue cross i get that, but lets not get holier than thou with a shrine to high school football on corley mill road and the corridor of shame down the road and start talking public responsibility.
None of which have anything to do with gov’t run/funded schools.
read his comment ignorant one..he sprouts how he doesnt need any govt help, yet every road, utility etc is govt funded based..obviously you arent the sharpest knife in the drawer.
“he sprouts how he doesnt need any govt help, yet every road, utility etc is govt funded based”
…what does that have to do with his comment “I am pro family. Back to the basics of personal responsibility. And I dont need the government to provide that for me.”?
Or does reading comprehension elude you today?
Thank you … I love our country. I just dont want to leave my sons education up to a system that may not work for him. My step mother has a masters in math and will retire as head of a large company it dept this year to help me.
Believe me when i say every dollar will help … we are not wealthy but our son is everything to us. I dropped out of high school for an assortment of reasons got my ged, went to tech then graduated Lander with a 3.3 gpa while working multiple jobs. I don’t want him to fall behind or get caught up in bad “socialization”
I have never worked for the government in my life.
I have also never received a government check other than a tax refund.
I worked for the gov’t for 26 years. It’s called the Dept of Defense. I get a check from the gov’t every month. Is there a problem with that? And, are you assuming nobody in gov’t works hard? BTW, no are not overtaxed. It’s just a story your tribe tells and passes on
I know you dont get a check every month unless i pay my taxes … and as much as i respect you. You should consider the idea that your governments not perfect and respect the idea that i dont agree with you on everything specifically that I dont want to pay anymore taxes than I have to. Especially when my government no longer sees the problems it is putting on me from a work stand point. But school’s is the topic on hand. Do you think illegals should be able to benefit from something they don’t pay for ie schools , hospitals? And that I should have to pay more so they can when I dont want to use them myself. All the while cutting my throat in the workforce. If you dont see my point your blind.
Someone brought it to my attention that we need some form of government to provide stability and thats fine im sure there are things that they provide that i know we pay for that are good for all. One thing i know beyond all doubts is the government needs people like me otherwise they dont exist. So i feel it is in my rights to provide the best education to my son possible without there interference. And you may not agree with me that if i dont use public schools i shouldnt have to pay for them. Isnt that what makes america great … thats what websites like this one give us the opportunity to debate. And guess what i still love you and wish you well. Unlike say islamic terrorists …
Howie the Voucher Clown’s latest payoff checks must have cleared. Two of the best S.C. Senators that Howie’s voucher scam money can buy. What a scam.
S.C. has school choice. Has had it for years.
Send your kids to any school you choose.
Just don’t expect S.C. taxpayers to pay for it with tax dollars.
Howie’s voucher scam is nothing but a scam because it would do nothing for those who need help the most except leave them further behind.
Fix the issues facing public education, then we can talk about Howie’s voucher scam.
Howie and sic(k) willie know many of those issues are rooted in funding, poverty, latent racism and the social issues that go along. But, they don’t care.
They just keep claiming the voucher scam will fix everything including toenail fungus, warts, bad breath, jock itch. hoof & mouth, ring worm, pink eye and iron poor tired blood.
Listen for the giant sucking sound again this year when the honest members of the S.C. Legislature send the latest version of the voucher scam down the toilet, again.
BIN News Editorial Staff
I agree we already have school choice, and I even think Willie participated…..by moving to Lex Rich 5.
You two are making your own definition of choice, because even you two know deep down inside that denying people options is tyrannical…so instead of talking about a forced/captured market in “educating” kids you pretend that picking up and moving is an acceptable “option” for people in general.
Couldnt agree more … you have to remind yourself that generally speaking this is an argument between those that work for the government and those that are tired of funding their mediocrity.
There is also the choice to pay for private school out of your own pocket which is what we did for our child. I didn’t expect the government to fund it. Especially since the only private school in out area was a Christian school. We gave up several “extras” and reined in spending for that period of time. So the same folks hollering about the poor receiving govt assistance having cell phones, flat screen TVs and cable etc, could give up those extras and send their kid to private school too.
The downside to it was having to de-brainwash our child of the nutty religious teachings- the world is only 5,000 years, humans, dinosaurs living together, Harry Potter is evil and some rather extreme political ideology.
You will get nowhere with your self sacrifice argument. Many have tried to point out exactly what you are saying. However, most of the people pushing for vouchers or tax credits are not doing so because they need the money to afford private school. Their kids are already in private school. They want to spend the money they are paying for private school tuition on other things. Like new cars, vacations, country club memberships, investing, etc. etc. Or, the biggest of all, so mom does not have to work a job outside of the home.
Many, perhaps most, of the people pushing for the state to help pay for their kids private school come from a family where one spouse does not work outside the home. Mom could get a part time job while the kids are in school and make enough to pay for the private school tuition, but she does not want to.
I sent one of my kids to private school. She wanted to go, even though we have a very good local school. My spouse and I paid for it. We both worked hard to make that happen. It never occurred to us to ask our neighbors to help us pay, so that we could spend our money on other things.
This is not about improving public education. It never has been. If it were they would target their proposals at lower income families in failing public schools. But that is not what they are trying to accomplish. These are folks who have abandoned public education and want the government to pay for their kis private and generally religious education.
I really don’t follow the last paragraph at all …. sorry. Who said it was anything about improving public education. I don’t think anyone I know wants taxes to pay for private school. They just dont want to pay for a public school that sux.
No one wants to pay for a school that is bad. Schools need to be fixed so they are all good. Paying money to people whose kids do not attend public school, does nothing to fix bad public school. Furthermore not all public schools are bad. There are just as many bad private schools as there are bad public schools. Some public schools are quite good. Like the ones in my school district. Why should we pay people who choose not to attend even good public schools money.
Your not paying them to do anything your giving them their money back for a choice that better suits them. The government shouldnt have a monopoly on education.
No you are not giving them their money back. You are allowing them to not pay their share of the cost of a necessary government service, which makes others have to pay more for that service. This is no different that roads, bridges, police service, fire service, public transportation, defense, etc. etc.
Government does not have a monopoly on education. There are private schools. The government just does not pay for those and that is what makes them private. We make public education available to all. You can take it or leave it. Just like you can drive on the public highway or not.
You should move to Russia
Education and roads are not the same … everyone benefits from roads in one way or more. Schools in SC do not meet everyones expectations.
You should consider making it available to all who want it and leave the rest of us alone. The government is not the answer to something as important as education. Hell lets make all education completely free. Your math just doesn’t work for a working, middle class family. Who just simply wants a better option .
Do you think everyone should be required to drop their insurance plan and go on obamacare ? The government made western electric break up when they had a monopoly on telephones. It just makes common sense that free people should be able to spend their money on an educational process that suits them and their children.
We have an obligation to provide public education. It is part of our state Constitution. Education has brought more people out of poverty and oppression then any force in history. Thomas Jefferson was a major proponent of public education. All civilized countries have a public school system. We should be making the best schools in the world available to all our citizens, free of charge. Whether all our citizens choose to use them or not is up to each person. But we should make them available. Beyond that there is nothing we can do
We should not however provide state money to schools who discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, how rich you are or who your family is. .
As for health care. We should have universal health care available to everyone. Again, you can choose to use it or not. But the care you receive for illness should not change based on the size of your pocketbook. Unfortunately that is not the case.
I have mentioned many times that I am going to homeschool. Have no desire to discriminate against anyone. I feel the system is discriminating against me. My occupation is threatened by illegal immigrants and those who choose to use them. I assume that the millions of illegals who use our schools and health care are covered by the taxes us citizens pay. So I am losing my work to and paying more in taxes to cover their education and health care. What gives here … I just want a simple tax break for deciding to opt out of public schools. I am not aware of any specific tax i pay for obamacare that i pay. I dont use it. I have blue cross. If I felt public schools would work for me I would use them. I thank you are stereo tying everyone who wants out of public education as rich, racist, religious etc. Just not true …
Sorry about the move to Russia thing.
But my belief that politics, politicians and the government in general cannot successfully “ever” run much of anything effectively or efficiently has brought me to a place where I cannot agree with you. If I am to believe that it is my responsibility as a good US citizen to support public schools with my tax money. Then they should certainly understand my desire that they collect those taxes from all who benefit.
So since I don’t have kids can I get a voucher please?
Sure … and how about this when you turn 65 no more taxes on anything period. !
Im happy it worked out for you.
I hope im as lucky.
…Funding, poverty,and racism.
Its taken serious personal control not to go off on you. Racism … why dont you go after the millions of illegal immigrants who pay zero in tax revenue and then you wouldnt miss my $1000.00 a year in homeschool tax credit. I sale and install floor covering for a living, every day I lose work to people who will do it for less because they don’t partake in America they just take from America. Ill give you an idea I asked a friend of mine who does landscaping to work me part time when I get slow. He said sure ..
He pays me $100.00 a day and sends me a 1099 and makes me give him a copy of my workers comp.
He has an illegal who he just doesnt claim or pay taxes on gives him $15.00 an hour, a truck to drive, no taxes, no worker’s comp and the dude has four kids who were born at LMC and go to public schools this guy is living like a king … $ 800.00 dollars a week free and clear.
And, the guy who employs the both of you is a good law breaking Republican who worked with the other good law breaking Republican employers to turn SC’s toughest in the nation immigration law into the Farm Bureau law it became, the one most full of holes/exemptions to keep the law breaking employers happy.
What I can’t figure out is why you’re mad at the illegal rather than your good law breaking Republican boss. He’s the one screwing everyone he comes in contact over. Or, do you think the illegal is holding a gun to his head to make him hire illegals and cheat the government?
You got a bad case of Plantation Massa Syndrome, son. Your employer does not care about you, his state or country. Wake up. Stop identifying with the people who screw you over.
Im a very successful self employed businessman … you dont read well.
Its metaphor for arguement. Believe me I know everytime I drive through a new Essex or DRhorton neighborhood why I have a hard time finding lots of work. But those who make the laws get to break them.
Lots of “whiteness” in that pic. Likely very representative of many of the private schools (that desire to stay that way) looking to get on the government tit, but no where representative of the failing schools in this state.
Privatizing public schools via tax vouchers/credits, charters is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the American taxpayer.
Bull sh*t! What has to change is that lottery money needs to go into public education the way it is supposed to rather than elsewhere. Voucher attacks on public ed need to be outlawed. Repubtards need to be stopped from screwing poor school districts. Nikki needs to get off her ass and start paying attention to ALL her constituents, not just visiting CEOs.
Never gonna happen time to jump off the failure go round …
sic(k) one,
Our Funding Editor wants to know why you have not displayed her latest post? Afraid of the truth about Howie’s voucher scam? Thin skin? Or, are you just getting lazy?
Maybe the filter for inane & repetitive rants kicked in.
This article tells a good bit of the story. Over 50% of kids in public school are poor. WIll school choice however you’d like to have it improve their chances? From my past experience with poor folks, they’ll not be able to take advantage of choice due to transportation issues, time required to get to more distant schools, work conflicts, etc. as well as flat out lack of information and disinterest. But more well off folks will take advantage leaving the poorest in really bad schools.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/majority-of-us-public-school-students-are-in-poverty/2015/01/15/df7171d0-9ce9-11e4-a7ee-526210d665b4_story.html