Goodbye Minimally Adequate: Support the Constitutional Amendment for a High Quality Education in South Carolina

By Jim Cato, The Beaufort Gazette
July 15, 2008

As the dog days of summer approach, some South Carolinians are assuming more than a lethargic attitude toward the education of the state's younger residents. They want more than a constitutional guarantee of "minimally adequate" education.

Teachers and principals often discuss expectation. They expect students to perform well. They want them to be above average. Parents expect teachers and students to do well. They want both groups to perform above average.

Now a group is pushing a petition drive that should tell state legislators that they expect them to perform well -- above average -- when it comes to funding education to provide resources

Group wants more than minimum for schools

The obligation was personal because I know who Poverty is; I met him early in my life and experienced his devastating and penetrating effects. It was professional for me because I am an educator and I continue to observe Poverty’s effects on children in nearly every part of the state.

By Paul Krohne, The Greenville News
June 29, 2008

It's not often that those of us who support strengthening South Carolina's commitment to public education find a point of agreement with Gov. Mark Sanford on education issues.

It happened recently when, in a message to legislators regarding his decision not to veto the state's newly revised accountability system bill, the governor noted that it is time "to stop studying and start addressing" a revised funding formula for public schools.

We couldn't agree more. With accountability revisions behind us, the General Assembly should turn its attention to much-needed changes in the way South Carolina funds our public schools.

Opinion, The Beafort Gazette
June 26,2008 

Public schools districts, especially the poor ones, received their day in front of five S.C. Supreme Court justices Wednesday, seeking to answer the long-standing question of"minimally adequate" education in South Carolina.

A few weeks ago the General Assembly passed a 2008-09 budget in which 42.8 percent of the $7 billion goes to the Department of Education, along with about $700 million in federal aid, according to The State of Columbia.

Regardless of how the justices decide the argument, it is a moral imperative that S.C. lawmakers tackle the issue through the legislative process, not the courts.

Don’t ask court to do Legislature’s job, Toal warns
By This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , The State newspaper
June 26, 2008

Does state government have a constitutional obligation to provide extra academic aid to students living in poverty to ensure they receive the same “minimally adequate” education as peers in wealthier communities?

The question now rests with the S.C. Supreme Court, which spent Wednesday afternoon sorting through the perplexing issue of school funding, how much is fair and what role, if any, the five justices have in making such decisions.

The court has no deadline to make a ruling.

By Bill Robinson, The State newspaper
June 23, 2008

The S.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday 6-25 will consider for a second time whether the state’s rural communities inherently deserve more money to underwrite public schools.

The case — pitting 36 of South Carolina’s poorest school systems against the state Legislature — has thrust the term “minimally adequate education” into the national spotlight, attracting interest from education advocates and presidential candidates alike.

Yet that attention, along with millions in legal fees and 15 years in state courts, has not resolved the issue.

By This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , The Post and Courier
June 19, 2008

It's been less than two weeks since state Education Superintendent Jim Rex won the battle for the state to reform its accountability laws, but he already is rallying education advocates to fight for much-needed changes to the state's decades-old school funding formula.

Rex urged educators on Wednesday in his second State of Education Address to mobilize, get involved in the political process and push for this "daunting and important challenge."

By Dr. Tom Truitt, Published in Florence Morning News (reprinted in the Orangeburg Times and Democrat)
June 15, 2008

A state’s constitution is a covenant between the government and the people. Since most of us haven’t read the South Carolina Constitution, we don’t know what it says about education nor understand why the education clause needs to be amended. But if we want to move from the bottom of the educational rankings and have South Carolina students prepared to compete in a global economy, we need to make a change in our state constitution. Here’s why.

By Nicholas Charalambous (The Cocklebur), Anderson Independent-Mail
May 10, 2008

Conservatives have been mashing the ideological hot button of “choice” in education for more than a decade in South Carolina, and it looks as though a legislative victory on school vouchers is as far away now as it ever was.

Sadly, liberals may be confusing the public’s lack of appetite for vouchers with the public’s support for public education as it now is. Emboldened, they’re arguing once again that public education simply needs more money or a more supportive environment to truly succeed.