Over two hundred S.C. supporters of parental choice showed up to testify at a Senate Education subcommittee meeting today, but at least one State Senator wasn’t interested in hearing what they had to say.
Perhaps Sen. Jake Knotts (RINO-Lexington) was trying to send a message – school choice supporters, after all, were part of the broad conservative coalition that opposed his reelection last year, and Knotts is well-known for remembering his enemies.
Or perhaps he was just hungry.
Either way, Knotts’ left in the middle of today’s testimony (right as a Catholic parent was testifying about the success his home schooled daughter was experiencing) and did not return.
Interestingly enough, his gesture only heightened the buzz surrounding the hearing, which included testimony from dozens of groups supporting this year’s S.C. Education Opportunity Act – a comprehensive parental choice proposal that would provide a modest individual income tax credit for all South Carolina parents as well as corporate and individual income tax credits to fund academic scholarships for low-income students.
Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania have already enacted similar tax credit bills, and the South Carolina proposal is gaining support due to the savings it would provide the state and the additional resources public schools could devote on a per pupil basis.
In fact, Pennsylvania Senator Anthony H. Williams recently penned an oped for FITS outlining the success of the program in his state – which last year granted nearly 50,000 scholarships to children in low-income homes.
Currently, 73,000 South Carolina school children are trapped in failing public schools – nearly all of them from low-income homes.
Among those in attendance at today’s hearing were representatives of the South Carolina Independent School Association, the South Carolina Independent Schools Serving Minority Children, the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools, the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools, the Diocese of Charleston, and dozens of parents of public, private, home school and special needs children.
Two spillover rooms were needed to accommodate the crowd.
South Carolina currently provides choice (quite successfully, we might add) in the Kindergarten and higher education marketplaces, as well as dozens of tax credits on everything from biomass energy to marital counseling.
Surely fixing the nation’s worst system of public education deserves a similar market-based component?
By Lexvegas April 23, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Knotts is disgusting. No regard for parents at all, just the public education job and contract machine.
By hammerheadSC April 23, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Knotts, I swear you just don’t get it. Your job is to represent the best interest of your district. Walking out and not evening listening proves you are not representing anybody but yourself and the people lining your pocket. YOU WILL NOT GET MINE OR MY WIFE’S VOTE and I WILL EDUCATE OTHERS OF IGNORANCE, SELFISHNESS, AND INCOMPETENCY.
By Cooter Brown April 23, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Wha????
I thinked he sayed he wuz da “Senator of the People”!
He dont wanna hav’ a roll call, he dont want parents to decide upon the skooling of their own young’uns… Senator of what peoples?
By UpYers April 23, 2009 at 3:48 pm
He had to run and change his Depends. Sadly, it leaked and soiled his entire suit.
By GnuBerry April 23, 2009 at 4:08 pm
You seem fixated on vouchers.
By Ron April 23, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Thanks Will for excellent coverage of this lawmaker who apparently doesn’t know that he works for we the people. I hope that we have plenty of notice as to who Mr. Knotts’ next opponent will be. I believe there will be statewide support for any conservative that runs against this RINO that has been in Columbia far too long.
Thanks again,
Ron
By fitsnews April 23, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Gnuberry,
There are no vouchers in this bill – and for what it’s worth, we like Jake Knotts.
-FITS
By Toyota Kawaski April 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Yesah Mr.Rich right away sir.Please S(fits) way to inflate the supporters numbers!
By No Voucher Left Behind April 23, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Could someone please explain how exactly Howard Rich benefits from school choice being implemented here and elsewhere? Is there some link to an explanation of what’s in it for him? If he derives no benefit, why are people so opposed to him expressing his opinion and putting his money where his mouth is? As opposed to the public education monopoly that will put other people’s money where their own pocket is?
Let’s see Jake Knotts’ SAT scores…
By Chevrolet April 23, 2009 at 4:56 pm
The reason I like Jake Knotts is that unlike many legislators who claim to not give a *%$# what FITS thinks he actually means it. I hope the school choice crowd pumps tons of cash to try and defeat Knotts; now thats wasteful spending.
By reggie April 23, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Wow sic, great to see you take intrest in something other than bashing The State.
But id be on board for this bill 100%, but im more at 90ish.
There seems to be one too many holes in this bill given the fact that only a select few of kids will get into private schools even after thi bill passes. I guess i want a cure all bill for our education system, but that may be impossible after taking the HSAP. And seeing just how low our expectations are for education.
But i think that after a little tweaking, this bill would be amazing.
As for Mr. Knotts, that was a pretty BA move if i must say so. Even though it was cold. But still BA.
By BIN News Editorial Staff April 23, 2009 at 5:37 pm
The S.C. Edu’cr@p’tion Oppor’scam’ity Act.
Howie and his carpet’bugger pimps have been trying to sell some version of this crooked scam in S.C for years. It has gone down in flames every time.
And every time they just give the broken down wreck a new paint job, make up a new name, buy a few more elected (minority when possible) officials and create a new web site. Everyone knows a bogus new web site is proof of support.
Then there are the political consultants. Consultants with few morals are best. Consultants with no morals are much better. Great job, sic(k) willie.
Jakie was a cop. He knows when people are being pimped.
Vouchers are dead in S.C. Jakie said so.
Particularly in this economy.
BIN News Editorial Staff
Flair and Balanced
http://www.goodbyeminimallyadequate.com
By Sick of the Government Mafia April 23, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Jakie was a cop. Jakie still is a cop. That’s all Jakie’ll ever be.
By Wesley Donehue April 23, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Hey everyone – I just want to clear this up real quick.
The public hearing on both the private and public school choice bills was scheduled from 9 am – 11 am. Usually the Senate goes in at 11 am on Thursdays but because of the intense budget debate, Senate leadership decided to go in today at 10 am. They didn’t want to reschedule this important education meeting so they decided to let the Education subcommittee members miss the first hour of session and hold all votes until they could arrive.
Senator Knotts is not on the education subcommittee hearing this issue. He attended the meeting for the first hour out of interest and went to session at 10 am like all the other Senators not on the subcommittee.
Thanks,
- Wesley
By BIN News Editorial Staff April 23, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Thanks, Wesley. For setting things straight. Again, sic(k) willie is falsely bastardizing the circumstances. Typical of sic(k) willie.
No disrespect intended to his Momma. She can’t help what he has become.
By bo April 23, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Since you have such a great website with a lot of traffic and more and more comments, I suggest you save time by having a macro on your computer that with apunch of one key types in the phrase saying, “educrats and incompetent teachers caausing failing students in gang-infested areas.” Yeah, these may not reflect your exact sequence of words but a little more repetition of these cliches and many who know nothing about our school system will have it internalized, memorized and down pat.
By The Way It Is April 23, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Why is it that the anti-choice crowd’s only defense is to attack Rich? I guess the can’t counter the message, so they just attack the messenger. Typical liberals.
But I’m sure these anti-choice people would be all up in arms if you tried to take away their “choice” on abortion.
By fitsnews April 23, 2009 at 11:28 pm
“Bo,”
That’s a great idea, except it’s not the teachers’ fault.
Also, if we decide to use a macro, we’d make sure it was one w/o the “stuck key.”
-FITS
By dan April 24, 2009 at 1:09 am
Jake Knotts is a redneck moron, and frankly he fits in just fine in this legislature. These guys aren’t smart enough to do the math and figure out there is actually more money to spend per child with choice.
Howie Rich is a guy with a strong philosophical belief, and a desire to get involved. He supports school choice all over the country because he can. Just like George Soros started Moveon.org, etc. BIN, what do you think of that guy? Or the National Education Association? Or the labor unions? Or the Sierra Club? Or any of the other left-wing groups that recruit volunteers in SC and pour money into the state to stop education reform. Is it okay when they do it?
Howie Rich gets nothing out of this except the satisfaction that he is doing something to help all kids get a shot at a better education. BIN and Toyota, what would you do to help people if you had money to change the system?
By RON PAUL April 24, 2009 at 7:06 am
The scam is public schools….Let them all be privatley run…Just say no to washington brainwashing and dumbing down of its citizens
By Toyota Kawaski April 24, 2009 at 8:31 am
Dan i have money and i spend it to feed my polo habit.
By T4 April 24, 2009 at 8:54 am
yeah, Katrina Shealy was a much better alternatve, oh wait, she sucks too!
Right Dan, I’m sure Rich is very noble…
To hell with you all, I’m going to Texas.
By Darth April 24, 2009 at 10:52 am
“perhaps he was just hungry”
Jakie hasn’t missed a meal, I’ll guess he was on his way to get orders from Jim “Emperor Palpatine” Rex…
By Calhoun Fawls April 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I am in an awkward position here. I do not care for Jake “the boss” Knotts at all. However, it is misleading to make people think that the current legislation will get those poor students out of failing schools. It will not. It will subsidize those who already can afford to send their kids to private schools. That is all.
I guess you can count me as fed up with both sides. I do not know what is worse, having BBQ king Knotts run the show or Howard Rich. To me, they are both bums. One tries to buy the state. The other mistreated his dog. A real man ain’t got use for either of them.
By hammerheadSC April 24, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Calhoun, i am right there with you. The thing you have to realize is you know where knotts and his group are from and what they will continue to do. YOu admit it is not working and will not work. This should motivate you and others alike to take this matter as evidence that knotts is unable to do his job he was hired to do- represent, not dictate. The rhinos to just march on out before they are embarrasingly sent away
By Rylyn April 26, 2009 at 9:47 am
So T4 – you sound like a nice guy any particular reason you think Shealy sucks??? Who is your choice to run against Knotts? No one ?, and just let him continue to bully the State of South Carolina.