COLOMBIA – Some lawmakers want to give South Carolina voters another chance to decide whether to elect the superintendent of education less than three years after rejecting the idea.
A proposal that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to decide whether the state’s top education official is elected or appointed by the governor was approved by a House subcommittee on Thursday by a 3-2 vote. All three Republicans voted yes and both Democrats voted no.
A similar amendment was on the November 2018 ballot, and 60% of voters decided to continue electing the superintendent.
“People have already spoken conclusively on the subject,” said Patrick Kelly, speaking for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
Supporters of the governor’s appointment of the superintendent of education said it would make the position more accountable to the person elected to lead the state.
South Carolina voters agreed to no longer have the vice general and vice governor elected in the past decade.
Current education superintendent Molly Spearman supported the 2018 amendment, but respect for her work before and during the pandemic may be part of the reluctance to give the governor extra power.
Kelly said that much less skilled and qualified superintendents were elected.
“But this is an exchange we make in a democracy, relying on the will of the people with our most important choices,” said Kelly.
The proposal, sponsored by House Speaker Jay Lucas, now goes to the entire House Judiciary Committee.