Last month, South Carolina politicians celebrated “national school choice week” (again) defending the importance of academic freedom. This month? They are back to doing what they always do – denying that freedom to tens of thousands of children trapped in the worst school system administered by the state government of Palmetto.
All this while perpetuating this system … and refusing to hold its leaders accountable.
“We were at this puppet show, people … and we saw the strings”, we wrote two years ago (on the same day).
The cycle: school choice accounts are presented, they gain support … So they die. Every year. Meanwhile, each year state legislators surrender to the monetary demands of a failed government system that is holding back Palmetto State. generationally.
The only thing that has changed since then? A useless debate about governor Henry McMasterthe embarrassingly anemic route proposal $ 32.5 million in federal coronavirus “stimulus” money in one-time “choice” grants.
As noted at the time, McMaster’s proposed allocation would have helped only 5,000 low-income students with a single scholarship $ 6,500. To put these numbers into context, there are a total of 783,000 students in the South Carolina government education system, which is in chronic trouble – with taxpayers paying a $ 14,227 per student, per year.
That is $ 11.2 billion … every year, every year.
Oh, and this is before we count the “education” money spent on referendums on local bonds … or the $ 1.5 billion in unrestricted reserve money, South Carolina’s school districts are currently stalled.
You know, before they got the Covid-19 rescue …
While supporting McMaster’s proposed appropriation – which was rejected in court – we also point out that helping a simple 0.63 percent South Carolina student cover 45.7 percent the average cost per student in the state for just one year it did not constitute a real reform.
Nor is the modest program for choosing special needs in the state of Palmetto – which reached only 38 percent of its “first come, first served statewide annual limit” of $ 12 million for special scholarships in 2019, according to a new report (.pdf) from the SC Revenue Secretariat (SCDOR).
Compelling …
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According to SCDOR, the Exceptional SC organization – a 501 (c) (3) calling itself “dedicated to supporting students and families with exceptional needs in South Carolina” – received only $ 4.55 million in total donations in 2019.
Last year, the executive director of Exceptional SC – former president of the Republican Party SC (SCGOP) Chad Connelly – and its chairman Tom Person both were removed from their positions due to doubts about the allocation of their resources.
These issues are still being raised by the lawyer from Greenville, SC Jeff Davis and his wife Olga Lisinksa, which runs a scholarship funding organization called Palmetto Kids FIRST.
According to Davis and Lisinska, the latest SCDOR report shows at least $ 330,805 in rates distributed by the organization during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 – including $ 256,165 under “contract services”.
According to Davis and Lisinska, these payments have drastically eclipsed the two percent limit on fees set in the program.
“They are not saying it is an embezzlement,” said Lisinska. “They just publish the numbers … I suppose I hope no one will read them.”
Connelly had previously responded to allegations of embezzlement by threatening to sue Davis and Lisinska. No word yet on whether such a case has been dismissed, but Davis has previously filed a lawsuit in connection with this ongoing battle.
Years ago, this news medium reluctantly supported the transfer of the special needs choice program to SCDOR, in the light of repeated legislative threats to end it. However, we continue to believe that his best long-term interests would be served by private sector management – which is what the top fiscal conservatives at the SC General Assembly (including the senator) Tom Davis) proposed.
Clearly, the program is not working in its current iteration …
Larger image? South Carolina’s refusal to embrace the choice of broad-based schools for all students and parents continue to prevent the state from reaching its maximum potential – trapping students in academic environments that are no meet his needs while denying the government-administered system the kind of market-based responsibility it desperately needs to show sustained improvement.
The end result is this: It’s time to stop talking about school choice and start the real job of expanding academic opportunities.
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-FITSNews
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