Post & Courier: Keep Pushing Parental Choice

We’ve been a little bummed with the Charleston Post and Courier lately.

It’s like all the reporters at South Carolina’s oldest, most legitimate newspaper are ashamed to acknowledge that they’ve been crushing on us … a good bit, in fact.

And while we’re used to that sort of “secret love” from liberal La Socialista (a.k.a. The State newspaper), it’s a little surprising coming from the folks in our adopted hometown.

The good news is that while we’ve been getting the “silent treatment” from the P&C newsroom, at least the paper’s editorial board remains stalwart in its refusal to bend over for the legislative leaders intent on running South Carolina further into the ground.

Unlike La Socialista and La Liberbad (a.k.a. The Greenville News) – which ask “how high?” when big government RINOcrats like Bobby Harrell, Glenn McConnell and Hugh Leatherman tell them to “jump” – the Post and Courier editorial board has retained some semblance of speaking truth to power.

From this morning’s editorial entitled “Keep Pushing School Choice,” for example:

Foes of (Sen. Robert Ford’s parental choice) bill argue that private schools lack accountability because they aren’t bound by regulations governing public schools. They overlook the ultimate accountability that parents exert on private schools.

The bill’s foes also point out that many communities in our state lack private schools, which means that not every child now in a poorly performing public school would have the chance to transfer to a private school. By that flawed logic, we should deprive all children of that option as long as practical obstacles block any child from it.

As for funding objections, keep in mind that Sen. Ford’s bill provided tax credits, not direct state money. Keep in mind, too, that the proposal was designed to maximize assistance to low-income and disabled children, in part through tax credits for businesses that supply scholarships to families who otherwise couldn’t afford private-school tuition.

Tax credits and scholarships for private-school tuition wouldn’t solve all of our educational problems. They would, however, enhance educational opportunities for our state’s children. Increased choice within public schools would be welcome, too. But a bill to do that, backed by state Education Superintendent Jim Rex, apparently is stalled in the General Assembly, too.

Despite Sen. Ford’s inability to get his tax-credit bill passed this year, he deserves credit for bravely going against his party’s tide. He also deserves credit for his resolve to try it again next year. As Sen. Ford told an audience at a local church recently, “Eventually, we’re going to do it, and it’s going to help some kids.”

And if we can help more children get a better education, we’ll help our state to forge a better future.

In addition to the fact that all parents should be able to use at least a portion of their tax dollars to select the school that’s best for their children, there’s simply no excuse for leaving 73,000 poor, mostly minority students trapped in failing schools for another year.

No excuse.

After all, we did that last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that … and the numbers keep getting worse.

“Mo’ money, same awful results.” That’s South Carolina’s public education system in a nutshell.

Anyway, props to the editorial board at the Post and Courier for being the one mainstream media outlet in the state with the balls to tell it like it is … and props to Sen. Ford for continuing to push this issue …

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