RRRAWRRR!!! Give Me Your Money!
At a time when every other state agency is accepting a necessary reduction in the excess of previous years, our state’s Minister of Failure and Non-Competition Jim Rex wants $209 million in additional funding – and even then he says he’ll have to freeze teacher salaries.
Unbelievable, people …
We’ve written about Rex’s “Mo’ Money” tours in the past – just as we’ve written about the myth he perpetuates when he goes out to grovel for your tax dollars (less than half of which end up in the classroom, by the way).
In short, he takes your money and leaves you with nothing to show for it – which most people define as a con man but in South Carolina we call a “champion for public education.”
Whatever.
In addition to fighting against parental choice, this is the same guy who refuses to consider school district consolidation and streamlined funding – two reforms that would cut bureaucrats, not teachers.
But beyond his policy whoring for the administrators and bureaucrats whose six-figure salaries and outlandish travel expenses are draining our classrooms of resources, there’s a bigger issue to consider.
Unless we fundamentally change the current system, the amount of money we pour into it won’t make a bit of difference.
After all, the State Deparment of Education got a billion dollars in new money from 2004 to 2008 and yet continued to produce the absolute worst public schools in the country.
And not only that, compared to the rest of the nation and our neighboring states, South Carolina’s test scores actually fell further behind.
The unavoidable numerical reality is that Jim Rex has been an absolute disaster as Superintendent of Education – a PR master, to be sure, but a joke when it comes to doing what we pay him to do.
Which is to educate our children.
We never thought anybody could do a worse job than his predecessor, Inez Tenenbaum, but amazingly he has managed to pull it off.
Giving this guy more of your tax dollars is about as smart as jumping off a building.
Comments
By where is the $209 million going? on January 7th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Does Rex have a one paragraph summary of how the 209 million dollars is going to be spent that he so desperately needs?
Obviously not on teacher salaries- so where is it going? I assume it is not going towards the day to day classroom needs – like most teachers have to buy out of their own pocket.
I propose if a bureaucrat asks for money and can not detail where it is going in a simple one page proposal the taxpayers can understand -they lose their job and an audit is done immediately.
By frank on January 7th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
No No Rex!!!! The day you came out publicly for Senator Jakie Knotts is when all my support for you ended. supporting people like Jakie Knotts is like NOT supporting a cure for cancer. Everyone who supports Jakie Knotts is to be considered uncurable!
By Not Sayin', Just Sayin' ... on January 7th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
These people are shameless. Our public education system has evolved into nothing more than a cushy jobs program for those to lazy to work the sames hours as the rest of us.
By nope on January 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Where in the world do you get the notion that Jim Rex opposes district consolidation and streamlined funding? He has PROPOSED streamlined funding (the legislature has to do it), and he’s certainly not opposed to consolidation if communities want it and the legislature approves it.
By Workin' Tommy C on January 8th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
The elitists in education here are as bad as the elitists in the government: they want to keep on doing what they’ve always been doing, if not more. It’s all about the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats chasing our tax dollars for self, family, friends, and campaign donors.
By baker on January 8th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
“Not Saying…” is expressing a pretty ignorant view of things in education.
By BIN News Editorial Staff on January 9th, 2009 at 12:37 am
sic(k) willie expresses the paid political view of his money masters at SCRG.
Everyone knows Howie and his carpet-buggers are working hard to buy as many Legislators as they can in hopes of passing the voucher scam.
The Voice for School Scams web site is nothing but randie being paid by Howie to scam as many people in SC as he can for the money he is paid. What a pimp!
But they forget the words of a Midlands elected official: “vouchers are dead.”
BIN News Editorial Staff
Flair and Balance
By Jennifer on January 9th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
BIN, you remind me of the kid in class that puts everyone else down becuase of your own insecurities. Do you not ever have anything positive to say? Or is it just your intent to talk trash like you did in school?!