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

GoLaurens
April 26, 2008
 
Speaking at a Laurens Rotary Club luncheon on Thursday, State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex signed his name to a new petition urging a change in the South Carolina constitution to guarantee South Carolina children "a high-quality education" that would allow them to reach their highest potential.

The new language would replace South Carolina's current state standard of "a minimally adequate education." In order to put the constitutional amendment on the general election ballot for November 2010, the Senate and House of Representatives would have to endorse the statewide referendum by two-thirds votes. 

Rex called on South Carolinians to join him in signing the petition. Supporters - including many of the foundations and community leaders who funded the documentary "Corridor of Shame" - hope to gather a million signatures by year's end.

"Our state constitution's language is not unique," Rex said. "At one time or another, 48 of the 50 state constitutions have required not good schools, just free ones. But some of those states - states who are our competitors for high-skilled and high-paying jobs - have decided to raise the bar for themselves. The time has come for South Carolina to join those states."

Fifteen years ago, 37 South Carolina school districts brought a lawsuit against the State of South Carolina in which they said their current modest property tax bases made it impossible for them to generate funding levels enjoyed by more affluent districts. When Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper dismissed their lawsuit in 1996, the school districts appealed to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled that the state had an obligation to provide, at the very least, a "minimally adequate education." The majority opinion said that the state's public school system should produce students who could read, write and do basic math calculations. The Supreme Court then returned the case to Judge Cooper for trial to determine if the plaintiffs' complaints had merit.

After a 103-day trial, the longest in state history, Judge Cooper ruled in 2005 that the State did not provide a "minimally adequate education" in early childhood education. But otherwise, he ruled, the state's public school system met the Supreme Court's standard.

The plaintiff districts and the State of South Carolina filed motions to reconsider with Judge Cooper, but both motions were dismissed in 2007. The plaintiff districts (now numbering 36 due to the consolidation of two districts) are appealing to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

"This petition is a symbolic gesture," Rex said, "but it's an important symbolic gesture. It's a way for South Carolinians to express their aspirations for something better - and to send that
message to the General Assembly."

"Will a constitutional amendment solve the deep-seeded problems of public education in South Carolina? Of course not. But significant improvements have been made in our state, improvements that have been nationally recognized. More changes are on the way. In the meantime, South Carolina needs a constitutional standard that defines our goals and aspirations better than 'minimally adequate.' I believe voters should define that standard, not judges."

Rex noted that like South Carolina, Florida's constitution once required only a system of free public schools. But in a constitutional referendum 10 years ago, 71 percent of Florida voters approved new language that made high-quality public schools a "paramount duty" of the state.

Florida's amended constitution now reads: "The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education."

Virginia and Illinois have also set a new state requirement for "high-quality" schools, and Maryland decided to require that its schools be "thorough and efficient."

Persons interested in the petition can visit www.goodbyeminimallyadequate.com to sign electronically or download a printable version.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites: