DATELINE MAY 4, 2005
For other education-related legislative news from The SCEA, visit http://www.thescea.org/.
VOUCHER BILL DEFEATED IN BIPARTISAN VOTE
At about 2:30 p.m. today, without any debate, the voucher-and-tuition-tax-credit plan that has been the cornerstone of Sanford’s education agenda was defeated by a broad bipartisan vote of 60 to 53. A subsequent motion to reconsider the vote was tabled by a vote of 60 to 55, which means this particular bill cannot be considered again.
The entire exchange lasted less than 10 minutes, with public school advocates on the chamber floor and in the gallery breaking into spontaneous, sustained applause at the two votes.
The issue of vouchers has galvanized groups in the education and business communities, which organized various coalitions to support public education and to oppose Sanford’s proposal. The SCEA began a three-year multi-media campaign against vouchers in 2002 that included issue advertising on radio and television, and a series of billboards in Columbia and elsewhere, and it has sponsored and co-sponsored rallies at the State House and "virtual" electronic rallies to communicate opposition to Sanford's plan.
In October 2004, The Right Choice campaign was begun by a coalition of the S.C. School Boards Association, the S.C. Association of School Administrators and others, and in March 2005, business leaders organized Choose Children First to give voice to opponents in their community.
In addition, more than 125 active and retired members of The SCEA attended a series of four lobby days at the Capitol, addressing their representatives directly and soliciting support against the bill. At the same time, The SCEA members and others statewide delivered thousands of emails and telephone calls to House members, and they gathered more than 3,000 signatures on anti-voucher petitions in February and March. The petitions were delivered to members of the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Capital Investment and Other Taxes, chaired by Rep. Shirley Hinson of Goose Creek, in April.
Untold funding — estimated in the millions — from out-of-state sources allowed voucher proponents to flood airwaves with their own television and radio advertising, and for grassroots organizing for State House rallies and press conferences.
The national groups All Children Matter, based in Michigan, and the Legislative Education Action Drive (LEAD) based in Chicago, Illinois, fueled the new South Carolinians for Responsible Government and the S.C. Policy Council, which commissioned a study from Clemson University economics professor Cotton Lindsay to claim savings. Clemson University President James Barker later disavowed the study and an independent fiscal impact statement by the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors revealed a cost of more than $230 million to the state’s General Fund rather than any savings.
DATELINE MAY 6, 2005
For other education-related legislative news from The SCEA, visit http://www.thescea.org/.
VIERS OPENS ROUND TWO FOR SANFORD VOUCHERS
Ignoring the bipartisan vote that killed Governor Mark Sanford's voucher-and-tuition-tax-credit bill on Wednesday, Rep. Thad Viers of Myrtle Beach has re-introduced the proposal with a new number, H 4054. The new bill joins the first two versions of Sanford's plan, H 3012 and H 3204, in legislative limbo: they're alive but haven't been considered by any subcommittee or committee, and since they missed the crucial May 1 crossover deadline, it's virtually assured they can't be made law this year. Their only real value is political, as proponents who plan to use the Sanford vouchers as a campaign issue against public education supporters can use the bills as flashcards during stump speeches in 2005.
Viers's bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Tracy Edge of North Myrtle Beach and Rep. Jim Merrill of Daniel Island.
Upon introduction of H 4054, Rep. Dan Tripp of Mauldin attempted the legislative equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, asking for unanimous consent that the bill be placed on the calendar without reference to any committee. The play would have prevented tedious subcommittee and committee debates and could ensure floor debate within days. But Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg objected, and the bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The next meeting of the full Ways and Means committee hasn't yet been scheduled.
For a complete list of lawmakers who voted for and against the motions to kill H 3652 on Wednesday, refer to May 4 edition of The SCEA Dateline, available at http://www.thescea.org/.
EDITORIALS PRAISE, DECRY DEFEAT OF SANFORD VOUCHERS
Editorial writers across South Carolina have weighed in on its death, some coming to bury, others to praise.
The Myrtle Beach Sun-News credits "the lobbying muscle" of "public school boards, school administrators, teachers and parent organizations" for killing a "useful schooling alternative". It acknowledges the "considerable out-of-state money and lobbying support behind" voucher proponents, which voucher proponents themselves have avoided acknowledging.
"Indeed, proponents' only chance of overcoming the education lobby lay in mustering public support with its media campaign, conducted primarily via mass mailings and TV ads. For the most part, the campaign flopped - suggesting most South Carolinians are content to stake the future of the state's children on the public school system," the Sun-News laments.
The Charleston Post and Courier concurred: "In the hasty end, the proposal's entrenched opposition was consistent in its knee-jerk rejection of any legislative effort to give even the children in failing schools a private-school option. The predictable core of this opposition remains the state's education establishment..."
"Still," it writes, the bill "has gained ground. Last year, it didn't make it to the House floor. This year, it did."
But the Island Packet of Beaufort declared the vote "an important victory," saying "the bill never did add up."
"It was never shown how boosting private schools at the expense of public schools would improve the public schools," the Packet explains. "This issue never was about improving public schools. It was a tax scheme to reward a small segment of the population."
"Unfortunately," it states, "the tone of [the bill's] supporters, including Gov. Mark Sanford, was marked by appalling negativity toward public schools that are improving, but have a long way to go."
"When all is said and done, this state has but one obligation in education, and that is to the public schools. Those are the only schools that are accountable to the public for specific classroom results on specific, rigorous standards. They are the only schools that will take all comers, including those below grade level in achievement, the handicapped and behavioral risks. Private schools are accountable to individual customers, while public schools are accountable to all of society. It is the public schools that need the full devotion from public policy-makers and public dollars."
