Apparently, efforts to use our tax funds for private schooling have failed again, in a dramatic series of events this morning. I don’t have all the facts yet, but it seems that the following have happened:
- The amendments to the open enrollment bill that would have created vouchers for ALL kids (not just the poor) and tax credits for the well-off were defeated in the House.
- Capt. James Smith, in the midsts of intensive training in Kansas for his mission in Afghanistan, flew back here for the debate, and spoke for 10 minutes on the floor.
- Instead of the anti-public school amendments being added, the entire Jim Rex public school choice bill was added to open enrollment, and passed.
A lot of big-time good news happening very quickly. More as I’m able to get to it.
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So now it’s up to you, Brad, to tell us how we’re going to tell if our schools are improving using the current model that has been broken for decades.
Your man Rex hasn’t done anything I am aware of in six months to show he was serious about making changes to the educational system. It’ll be a bunch of committees, pilot programs guaranteed to succeed, and public relations for the next three years. Oh, and more money out of my pocket to pay for it.
The bureaucrats won. Sorry if I can’t join you in your celebration of more of the same.
Doug, Jim has been in office for less than three months, and this is his first major piece of reform…succeeding today by putting together an incredible coalition of Republicans and Democrats. Stay tuned. There’s much more to come!
“succeeding today by putting together an incredible coalition of Republicans and Democrats.”
That’s not necessarily a coalition.
Could be an abandoning of principles to get help for pet projects down the road.
I feel that there are few, if any, statesmen left in Columbia.
It’s not reform. It’s more of the same. Offering public school choice is not going to make any impact whatsoever.
Rex was running for the office for more than a year. Did he not have any ideas to implement during that time or was he just hoping to get in on the “no vouchers” mantra? What changes are in place to go in effect for the 2007-2008 school year? What prevents him from scaling back PACT for this May? Nothing but politics.
Capt. Smith just rose and spoke again, saying “It’s great to be home today, if only for a few hours.”
On a motion from Grady Brown, the House then engaged in a moment of silent prayer to seek God’s blessings and protection upon Capt. Smith and his comrades.
The Speaker then closed with an “Amen.”
James was in mufti, but it still struck me as odd that Speaker Harrell kept referring to him as “Mister” Smith. I don’t know what the protocol is on such things, though.
Should have said a prayer for our school children while they were at it… They are going to need it.
Doug and others: Jim Rex has put forth a comprehensive plan for reform, of which this is just the first piece. If you’d like to know more, you can go to http://www.ed.sc.gov and view the full plan there. In addition, you might choose to attend one of his town hall meetings. The dates are listed there as well.
That’s not a plan, it’s a mission statementbus?
with a lot of feel good boilerplate wrapped around plenty of ideas that may never see the light of day.
A plan (for those of us who actually working in project management) has specific deliverables with dates, resources, and costs. Besides forming coalitions and committees, what changes will Jim Rex be implementing (and when) that parents with children in SC schools see when the new school year starts in August?
Simple questions, Zeke:
If a kid can’t read and do math at the Basic level or above in 8th grade, will Jim Rex allow that student to be promoted to high school? Same for a 5th grade – do they get an automatic pass to middle school?
Do the school report cards matter to Jim Rex? If so, what specifically will be done for students at our worst schools this August? Or do we need to go through a multi-year probation period while the students get thrown under the
Does Jim Rex expect the spending for education in SC to be increased? If so, by how much (take a guess)? And where does he expect the money to come from?
Doug asks some very good questions regarding straight forward accountability.
I disagree that this is more of the same. I believe there have been some good initiatives, but certainly not a comprehensive package which Doug and others rightly expect.
Another question: how will public school choice help the poor kid at CA Johnson who is miles from another school and has no transportation?
This fits right in with the same people who killed DOT reform with poison pill amendments and bogus alternatives.
I heard on national news that Rep. Smith’s son attends Heathwood Hall.
Why doesn’t The State report the whole story?