A taxpayer-funded program designed to help hire teachers in the worst school system administered by the South Carolina government has been an expensive failure, according to a report by the SC Inspector General’s Office (SCOIG).
As a result, an elected official across the state is asking lawmakers to abandon the program … an assessment that we support.
Teaching for America is a New York-based non-profit organization that exists to “find and nurture leaders who are committed to expanding opportunities for low-income students,” according to its website.
“As educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, policy makers and community members, we strive for the aspirations of students and families,” continues the organizational description.
It looks good, right? Right …
Unfortunately, the costs associated with Teach for America’s efforts drastically exceed those incurred by the SC Department of Education (SCDE) teacher certification programs themselves. In fact, Teach for America spends almost 100 times both to put a teacher in Palmetto state school and for SCDE.
This is also not a typo … or a misplaced decimal place. Teach for America is literally spending 100 times as much as SCDE for each certification it guarantees (not to mention the costs it imposes on local school districts).
In addition, the nonprofit was accused of habitual dishonesty in claiming to have advanced academic performance in South Carolina – a state that consistently ranks at or near the bottom of national rankings (despite increasing taxpayer investments) .
The SCOIG investigation in Teach for America was requested last March by the SC treasurer Curtis Loftis, who expressed concern about the “lack of effectiveness” of the program and the “incredible expense” it imposes on taxpayers.
According to the treasurer, the group’s annual funding presentations to lawmakers “appear to be aimed at hiding its apparent failure in its core mission … to recruit, educate and retain teachers for South Carolina.”
Loftis also warned that Teach for America reports lacked “transparency, accountability and safeguards for tax dollars given (to the organization)”.
Was he correct? Unequivocally … on all fronts.
According to the SCOIG analysis, Teach for America received a total of $ 23 million of South Carolina taxpayers between 2013 and 2020 – including $ 3 million annually in each of the last seven state budgets.
(Click to view)
(Via: Treasurer SC)
In the fiscal year 2019-2020 – concluded last June – issued 112 total teacher certificates. In other words, the average state appropriation per certificate issued timed at $ 26,785. Two years earlier, the cost of the certification program was even higher – $ 28,571.
On the other hand, SDE spent only $ 274.63 and $ 300.29 for certification during those same years, respectively, operating “as the largest producer of certified alternative teachers in South Carolina”.
In addition to being exponentially more economical in recruiting teachers, the state program stood out “for its ability to retain teachers at a lower cost in state endowments” when compared to Teach for America, according to the SCOIG report.
Is it also worth considering? Teach for America certification cost totals do not reflect the allocations distributed to the group by its “partner” school districts. During the fiscal year 2019-2020, this amount totaled $ 402,500 – with districts pumping anywhere in $ 4,500 for $ 5,000 annually on “school partnership fees” for each placement on Teach for America.
According to the SCOIG report, several of the districts participating in the program “were unaware that the state provided funding for (Teach for America)”, with a local official describing this revelation as “disturbing” and “almost like (we are) doubling the payment . “
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Districts do not you have to pay SCDE fees to receive placements from teachers in your program, by the way.
Before patting SCDE on the back for its efficiency, however, it is important to note that the agency was responsible for overseeing Teach for America allocations – which was not done. According to SCOIG, the agency “has not conducted sufficient monitoring and annual reports of (program) performance to meet the requirements set out in (its) guidelines”.
Which means that taxpayers have been wasting money on this program for almost a decade …
“I beg you to consider this when making important funding decisions this year,” Loftis wrote in a letter (.pdf) of January 12, 2021 to the governor Henry McMaster, state superintendent of education Molly Spearman and legislative leaders.
According to Loftis, the conclusions of the SCOIG report “should be disheartening to anyone who believes in the importance of education and responsibility”.
We agree …
South Carolina taxpayers spend billions of dollars each year on a top-down government-run school system that continues to produce substandard results for children in the state of Palmetto. In this system there are countless examples of waste, duplication, inefficiency and corruption.
We applaud Loftis and the SCOIG office for their work in identifying this example of waste and inefficiency, and we hope that state lawmakers will do the right thing on behalf of taxpayers and remove this item from the state budget.
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INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT …
SIG-Review-STO-Letter_Teach-For-America-Review
(Via: SCOIG)
-FITSNews
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