HOUSE DEALS GOVERNOR A DEFEAT ON EDUCATION BILL …
|| By FITSNEWS || The S.C. House of Representatives failed to advance a bill that would have let voters decide whether future state superintendents of education would be elected or appointed by the governor.
To pass, the measure needed a two-thirds majority – which it failed to get.
That’s curious considering the bill is one of the “Republican” majority’s priority agenda items – and considering Democrats don’t have any real problem it.
The proposal – supported by governor Nikki Haley – isn’t necessarily dead, but it is encountering increasingly stiff resistance due to the governor’s recently launched public relations war on the S.C. General Assembly.
“The governor has created a resistance to working with her right now,” one lawmaker told FITS. “Bullying simply doesn’t work.”
Frankly, we don’t care whether this bill sinks or swims …
True, this website used to consistently advocate in support of this reform – arguing it expanded the accountability of the executive branch (which it would do). In recent years, though, we’ve realized the whole thing is a pointless exercise – nothing more than the proverbial rearrangement of deck chairs on a sinking ship.
Until the state’s government-run education system (an effective monopoly that’s guaranteed funding increases no matter its outcomes) is subjected to the accountability of the marketplace – then it doesn’t matter who holds this office (or how they are elected or appointed).
In fact there’s a compelling case to be made that the state – like the federal government – should have no role whatsoever in government-run education (to the extent government should be involved in education in the first place at any level).
Certainly in South Carolina government has only hurt the academic outcomes of its future generations … (shocker, huh).
South Carolina taxpayers spend nearly $13,000 per child each year on the worst government-run education system in America … one which (oh by the way) is hoarding roughly $1 billion in surplus funds.
Yet every year when the terrible results roll in, the same status quo interests which have been propping up this failed bureaucracy for decades demand – and receive – more of our money.
While suppressing academic freedom …
It’s insanity … definitionally.
We wrote last fall that it was time for “a long overdue recognition that our loyalty belongs not to the status quo forces profiting from this failed system, but the children and parents who continue to be failed by it.”
Until that recognition takes hold (in both the governor’s office and the legislature), we’re not going to keep pretending this “reform” matters.
5 comments
It appears Sic has those last few paragraphs in an easy-to-reach text file on his desktop. They seem to to be pasted at the bottom of every education-related article.
Speaking of education, where’s the article or coverage from Fits detailing the current tax fiasco over at the Palmetto Kids Scholarship Program, the state’s darling private school choice group?
First, a friend of mine said that Speaker Lucas came to the well of the house to demand an apology from our Gov for the “take a shower” advise, which most of us would agree with. And then apparently Lucas said something like this to the house representatives “I am proud of the opportunity to work with the finest group of individuals that this body represents. You represent the best in our state”…something like that…yeah right…delusional.
Second… About this SC Sup Vote. It is better for us to vote and make a mistake and correct it, which we always do, rather than give reigns to Gov. This position represents all our hopes and dreams for our children. In Gov’s hands such positions will surely degenerate and be traded as political quid pro quo and then it becomes a huge battle to remove someone is appointed to this position because now Gov’s feelings get hurt. So IMO….lets make the mistake and correct it ourselves, we are more than capable.
We do not need to give the power to the Governor to appoint the Superintendent of Education. Let the electorate make the choice. Giving the power to the Governor to make these types of appointment only further takes away the power from the people. Just my 2 cents!
This is really ironic considering Molly is really an old time dyed in the wool Jean Toal Democrat.
A B C De goldfish? L M N O goldfish! O S A R!