By FITSNews || Contrary to the claims of S.C. Superintendent of Education Jim Rex and the pencil-pushers who comprise the Palmetto state’s failed education establishment, South Carolina public schools will receive a record $11,372 per student during the fiscal year that began last week. That’s according to figures included in the S.C. General Assembly’s FY 2010-11 state budget, which went into effect on July 1.
To view the numbers for yourself, click here.
Obviously, that $11,372 does not include money in reserve accounts or cash raised from local bond referendums. Add those funding streams to the mix and you’re looking at well over $13,000 spent on public education in South Carolina – per year, per child. In fact, according to the latest data released by the S.C. Department of Education, per pupil spending increased last year to a record $13,880. Total spending also jumped to a record $9.5 billion.
As you can see in this post from our friends at The Voice, funding levels aren’t the same for every district. In fact, per pupil funding is as low as $7,231 (Dillon County School District 3) and as high as $19,539 (McCormick County). It’s all part of South Carolina’s fragmented, inefficient and bureaucratically-driven funding formula, which continues to cry out for reform as only half of each dollar provided by taxpayers actually makes its way into the classroom.
To his credit, S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford proposed a major funding overhaul aimed at addressing these problems during his 2002 campaign – although he was never able to get it passed through the state legislature. Recent efforts to tie education funding more directly to the student have also failed.
Rex and his educrat army have been bemoaning mythical cuts to their budgets for years, although a review of the funding breakdown over the last six years shows steady increases – even at a time when families and businesses are being forced to cut their budgets.
What have South Carolina parents and taxpayers received for this massive investment?
Record failure.
South Carolina’s overall graduation rate remains among the worst in the nation – which is consistent with our state’s declining SAT and ACT scores. Also, South Carolina’s rural graduation rate ranks dead last in the country. Things aren’t getting better, either. South Carolina’s overall graduation rate has improved by a meager 1.5 percent over the last decade. That’s one of the worst percentage improvements in the entire country, and stands in stark contrast to the “perpetual progress” cited by Rex and other educrats.
Of course in an effort to hide these miserable outcomes from parents, educrats have been working hard to dumb down the state’s costly and inefficient academic assessments – which constitute the bureaucratic definition of “accountability.”
So … what should be done to pull our state out of the cellar?
Well, in addition to universal parental choice, we laid out a series of proposed reforms in our recent endorsement of Republican Mick Zais for State Superintendent of Education. Zais obviously wasn’t our first pick for the GOP nomination, but he represents an infinitely better choice than Democratic candidate Frank Hollemon – who would do nothing but continue the same failed approaches of the last decade for another four years.
At the end of the day, though, it’s up to the S.C. legislature to pass the long-overdue choice, funding and accountability reforms that this state desperately needs if it ever wants to start fulfilling its obligation to future generations of students.
Let’s hope they do so before another generation is lost …
By countryboy July 7, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Early childhood education.
By countryboy July 7, 2010 at 9:13 pm
X percent of the K-12 school kids are pulling the scores down for y percent. All of our kids aren’t dumb. All don’t score poorly. The problem is the parents of the x percent are either too dumb themselves to educate their kids before they get to kindergarten, or they just don’t care. So long as the x kids aren’t learning jack until they get into the public system, the problem is not going away, no matter how much money is thrown at the problem. But I believe you could take a hundred kids of any economic class, ethnic background, etc., and start educating them as babies (like the y parents are doing already) and these 100 X kids would be equal to or better than the y kids throughout K-12 and a mile better than the typical x kids we try to educate. No one is talking about this, the root of the problem.
By Woody July 7, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Slow news day, eh FITS? Maybe you should write an article retracting all those anti-global warming posts of several months back. I mean, have you been outside lately? Do you know that the last two months have been the hottest ever recorded (globally, World Meterological Organization)? Best to man up and say “I made a mistake”. Lest your credibility with me keeps eroding.
By baker July 7, 2010 at 9:37 pm
“The Voice,” or SCRG, says that “projections” such as this one tend to be conservative.
But I thought there’d been mid-year cuts for the last several years, which would indicate that projections are not conservative enough.
So which is it?
Or is SCRG simply trying to mislead people?
By Boz Scaggs July 7, 2010 at 9:51 pm
I am told that Mr Edge is going to make the biggest push yet on school choice next year. I’m also told that Edge and the other sponsoring legislators are going to take control of the effort so that it will not be controled from the lobby as it was last year. Harrell, Cooper, and Bingham better get on board. Haley has beeen squishy on it as well.
By snodgrass July 8, 2010 at 12:42 am
No amount of money will fix our problems with Education. When I attended school, the expenditures on Education were probably a fraction of what it is today. Yet, I can read and write and do math in my head. And I probably do it better than most of today’s high school graduates. No, I wasn’t gifted. I was just raised well and schooled well. So what changed? I don’t think it’s a difficult question to answer. I think our failing educational system is just symptomatic of a larger problem: our failing society.
I remember when kids didn’t spend half their time at mom’s house and the other half at dad’s house. Marriage was a career, not a hobby. And the term “parents” used to refer to a male and female. It’s another one of those archaic concepts that just isn’t fashionable anymore. It’s too bad that nuclear families aren’t cool enough for today’s world; they helped a lot of children grow up to be normal.
Believe it or not, most kids used to say things like “yes sir” and “no sir” and “please” and “thank you”. Imagine that. Of course, they had more incentives then to conduct themselves decently. Improper behavior could result in swift – even painful – consequences. And it could be delivered by almost anyone, without fear of a lawsuit or a visit from Social Services.
Ride through a local neighborhood. See how many swing sets you can count. Kids don’t play outside like they used to. With little recreation at school and little recreation at home, they’re becoming fat, lazy and lethargic. This isn’t typically the profile of a goal-oriented individual.
I remember when an expensive toy was a train set, a race track with little slot cars or maybe a bicycle. Today, a kid has a video game console, his own TV and his own cell phone before he’s out of grammar school. I was married before I owned my first car. Drive by a local high school and count the 4WD pickups and late model cars with expensive rims and stereos. I wonder how many of those teens even have jobs. This fosters a sense of entitlement that is counterproductive to the work/reward ethic.
See how many songs, movies or video games you can find that don’t contain graphic language, violence or sexual themes. It wasn’t always that way. We used to preserve the innocence of the young with a greater degree of propriety. Many people argue that such influences have no lasting affect on children. Yet, companies line up to spend a million plus for a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl.
I don’t know why I write this stuff. I have a hard time finding anyone who cares anymore. Enough of this rant.
By MArtha Washington July 8, 2010 at 1:19 am
At 10-$12,000 perstudent, just add up all the illegal aliens in the state and see what that bill costs the taxpayers. Gee, the numbers match our budget deficit-what a coincidence!
By Duck Snorts July 8, 2010 at 8:03 am
Snodgrass, you forgot that the kids today are still kids at 27 years old. Just a generation or two ago, you were considered grown by the time you were 18, and soon expected to be Married, having Children, working and if you were male in the service.
By Toyota Kawaski July 8, 2010 at 8:41 am
Yesah Mr. Rich yes we sucked farts from her ass but our #1 bitch is still you. We love our little yankee
By so much for family values (again) July 8, 2010 at 9:25 am
There have been cuts – but not in the right places. Stop getting rid of teachers and start getting rid of ADMINISTRATORS! When secretaries have secretaries and administrators wander around the halls because they have nothing to do, CUT FROM THE TOP!
School choice isn’t going to help the areas that have the worst schools.
My family income is such that a voucher could help us send our kid to private school – but we’re already in a good district, because we could AFFORD to move there. Tell me how school choice is supposed to help low income people in poor rural counties with terrible schools? What other schools can they “choose?” Some people don’t care about early childhood education. Some do, or would, if they had any type of decent education themselves. But a child born to uneducated parents in a rotten school district has virtually no chance of becoming educated. And rural schools CAN be good schools! My grandparents and parents were educated in small rural schools. My parents worked their way into the middle class. The funding system for districts desperately needs to be reformed – but school vouchers will NOT benefit the people that need the most help.
But the “Christian” politicians seem to think the poor don’t matter; their education doesn’t matter. I think they need to read the New Testament again. The poor and the outcast mattered to Christ – the Good Samaritan was of the lowest rungs of society – Jesus ministered to the lepers, prostitutes and other outcasts – but the “family values” and “Christian values” Republicans apparently just follow SOME of Jesus’ teachings – if any. They have become the tax collectors in the temple. We make less than half of what Haley does, but we give a LOT more to our church and to charity.
I don’t normally spout scripture and wave my faith like flag, but Haley and her sanctimonious, hypocritical ilk represent some of the worst element of Christians.
“Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15
“If thou wouldst be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Matthew 19:21
By Skidmarks July 8, 2010 at 10:14 am
You are correct, Snodgrass.
But also remember that we didn’t give a warm Goddamn about about leaving other kids behind.
By FunkyChicken July 8, 2010 at 11:26 am
Have not been to this website in some time as it is not as good as it was in the beginning. Instead of spending his time writing this article, why doesn’t Will just thank Howard Rich for the money he sent. Will Folks is a joke and this website, which was very good in the beginning, now sucks!
By Halftime July 8, 2010 at 11:56 am
Ah, the sanctimonious rantings of a “Christian values” liberal meant to demean and castigate those heinous “Christian values” Republicans who “apparently just follow SOME of Jesus’ teachings – if any”. This “Christian values” liberal would probably be the first to cry foul is someone dared to “judge” them yet paint with a very wide brush when it comes to judging others. Well, I guess I would probably qualify as one of those (Dare I say it?) “Christian values” Republicans who try to follow the teachings of the bible but fall short on many occasions (as all do). Here are a few scriptures for those among us who would indicate the government should be responsible for taking care of the “poor and outcast” and would demonize those of us who would require that they work for their benefits(especially when it’s somebody else’s tax dollars they are spending):
II Thessalonians 3:6-12, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”
I Timothy 5:8, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
While many people end up in bad economic situations thru little to no fault of their own, most end up there because of very poor choices. As Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota was known to say – “It’s not the government’s job to make up for your mistakes.”
By baker July 8, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Halftime: Do poor children end up in bad economic situations “because of very poor choices”?
In other words, cannot one blame parents and not necessarily have a very charitable attitude toward those grown-ups who have made bad choices……but still do what it takes to help children, who are totally innocent in the deal??
I think that’s the fundamental question.
So, yeah, Jesse Ventura’s quote may be compelling when talking about adults…..but the issues of children still remain unanswered by such logic.
By Halftime July 8, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Baker, you have certainly posed the toughest of questions related to welfare and government dependency. I don’t propose to have the answer except to say that I don’t think its the government’s job to take of the poor and needy. Government’s job should be to strengthen the hand of the needy rather than weaken it by taking care of their every need. Any assistance provided should be WORKED for whether it be picking up trash on the side of road or some other worthy, public endeavor. Should we let children die if their parents are just too sorry to work? Nope, but there must be repercussions for refusing to be useful members of society. Social services and prison systems deal with these folks every day.
My initial post was to respond to the other poster who had invoked scripture to cast a pall on those he/she termed “santimonious, hypocritical ilk” along with “christian politicians [who] seem to think the poor don’t matter”. I can only assume that they feel that anyone who is in favor of school choice or vouchers “don’t think the poor matter”. Personally, I don’t think it is the government’s job to educate my children and have home-schooled them or paid for private school their entire lives. We are a middle class family and have sacrificed greatly for the benefit of our childrens’ education. My wife, who has her Masters degree, has sacrificed furthering her career in order to keep jobs that allowed her to be a mother/teacher to our children. The fact that I favor school choice has nothing to do with how I feel about the plight of the poor.
Making good choices has benefits, making bad ones consequences – not only for the ones making them but for their children as well. It is an unavoidable fact of life.
By ceilidh10 July 8, 2010 at 2:48 pm
hey halftime, why don’t you line these poor choicers up and shuttle them into Christian concentration camps where they will be forced to accept your value sytem, then gas them if they do not change. You are so typical of a hateful Republican . You have yours and by Gawd these fools out there should get “it” too. Maybe you can be in charge of shifting them to a nuclear dump sites, and you can be free to enjoy all of our Christian values without people liek us nagging you. You must think that government has no responsibility for the helpless and the poor. Are disabled kids, or vets, unable to work due to poor choices? should we take away all social safty nets? If we did, we might have armed insurrection against people likeyou….but wait…you have one those “second amendment” solutions, right ??!! you tote it on the gun rack in your truck? so you ain’t afeerd, is ya bubba?
By owen July 8, 2010 at 3:38 pm
if you divide $7,400,000 by 119 sex offenders being kept in prison indefinitely in south carolina, you get 2 results; one is $62,000 for each offender and the other is that you are a complete idiot who does not understand how government works.
By Halftime July 8, 2010 at 4:28 pm
That’s some funny stuff there ceilidh10. Seems you have me pegged. One of us sure seems to have some hate issues. I’ll let the others decide who that might be. I mean you managed to get the terms “concentration camps”, “hateful Republicans”, “nuclear dump sites” and “armed insurrections” into one, somewhat coherent post. Surely whatever school system produced the likes of you must be well-funded, huh?
What are your proposed solutions? More gubbernment intervention? Maybe a little plan for income redistribution? Perhaps you are just regretting some bad choices in your past? Misunderstood child? Don’t be shy, you can tell me.
Oh, and one part of your post was dead-on, I ain’t afeered, Biff.
By BIN News Editorial Staff July 9, 2010 at 1:21 am
There you go again, to(xic) willie.
You always ignore the real issues facing education in SC.
You know the real issues.
Poverty.
Racism.
Funding.
And the eleventy brazillion problems that go along.
All you do is pimp the same cr@p from Voice for Voucher Scams and SCiRVS (S.C. for irResponsible Voucher Scams). AstroTurf groups.
And to(xic) willie is their chief voucher parrot.
Yawn. The voucher scam is dead in S.C.
Everyone knows that (particularly in this economy).
A Midlands’ Elected Official said so. Even General Zod knows.
Fix S.C. education for all children.
Then we will talk about Howie’s voucher scam.
By James July 9, 2010 at 1:28 am
Government absolutely does have an obligation to educate its citizens. We have accepted that since the very beginning of our nation. Every civilized nation in the world has a public education system. Without an educated citizenry democracy cannot exist, and private education will not accomplish an educated citizenry. Those with resources will pay for education and those without resources will receive no education. The vast majority of people on this site would be nowhere had we not had a public education system.
The school voucher people never cease to amaze me. Its all about getting the taxpayer to help them pay for their kids private school. They don’t care about poor people. They just want a hand out, and for some inane reason they think I, who has no children in school at all, should have to help them pay for their kids private school. I am not interested. I am willing to help pay for public school, because I believe public education is important. I am not willing to pay to help some guy send his kid to private school period and I should not have to.
By James July 9, 2010 at 1:53 am
Oh, and less someone question my belief that the founding fathers supported public education, I offer the following.
“An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens.” Thomas Jefferson
See http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1350.htm