TAXPAYER-FUNDED MISINFORMATION FLOWS FROM THE “FOR THE CHILDREN” CROWD
You know, crap like this is why South Carolina is stuck in the dark ages …
The emails below – blasted out this week by the state’s educrats and school board members – are emblematic of the destructive taxpayer-funded dysfunction that cripples South Carolina.
Their basic premise is this: South Carolina’s worst in the nation public school system, which took in nearly $9 billion dollars in taxpayer funding last year, is being starved by $700 million. And … wait for it … the key to securing this $700 million check from the unwitting taxpayers is to lobby lawmakers against incorporating school choice legislation in the state budget.
Of course these emails were sent to public employees on public computers to read during public time. And of course there is no mention of what might actually be best for the kids or their parents. But there is an easy to use pre-written contact form to lobby lawmakers on public time.
Take a look …
(Click to enlarge)
The S.C. Association of School Administrators (SCASA) and the S.C. School Boards Association (SCSBA) are not merely aggressive roadblocks to reforming our state’s wasteful, worst-in-the-nation public school system. They are overtly-political taxpayer funded roadblocks … using your money to lobby against the best interests of our state’s taxpayers, parents and school children.
Both organizations are monopoly providers of services (consulting, professional development, insurance, etc…) which are either mandated by law or simply “necessary” for South Carolina’s 85 dysfunctional public school districts to operate.
Across the state, district superintendents and school board members have their SCASA and SCSBA dues paid each year as a matter of course. Meanwhile thousands more lower level bureaucrats and administrators are either members of SCASA or purchase their services since “that’s how its always been done.”
And let’s not forget the lavish taxpayer funded meetings and conferences SCASA and SCSBA have become infamous for putting on each year.
SCSBA takes in nearly $5 million a year and SCASA collects another $1.5 million. This pile of tax money translates into a lot of political purchase power.
After taking this money, these group’s lawyers, lobbyists and coordinators use the public schools’ communication network to lobby down the organizational chain of command.
The end result? Scared and misinformed classroom teachers calling and emailing state lawmakers during the school day, begging their representatives and senators to vote against charters / merit pay/ improved assessments / school choice / funding reform / consolidation / or any other long-overdue reform you can think of.
Of course these emails make no mention of the fact that H.B. 4576 includes a $200 a year tax credit for public school teachers to help offset the cost of personal spending on classroom supplies.
And as we noted earlier this week, classroom teachers know damn well that of the $11,754 spent per child on public education this year – less than half trickles down to the classroom.
Somehow – despite a record $9 billion taxpayer “commitment to the children” (not to mention another $1 billion sitting in reserve accounts) – teachers across the state still have to buy pens, paper and ink toner with their own money. And of course there is no mention in these emails of how similar parental choice programs have been proven to save money – and even correlate with public school spending growth – in other states where they have been enacted.
No matter what your thoughts are on the issue of school choice (if you care about academic achievement, you ought to support it) this type of taxpayer-funded special interest rent-seeking and politicization of the public sector ought to trouble you.
It’s government-subsidized lobbying aimed exclusively at preserving an incompetent bureaucracy – one that continues to produce diminishing returns on an ever-escalating investment even as it moves the goalposts in an effort to give the appearance of progress.
South Carolina will never emerge from its quasi-third world status until SCASA, the SCSBA and other public employee patronage machines are dismantled.
After all, they’ve made it perfectly clear what their objective is … and it’s got nothing to do with our state’s children. Or protecting your tax dollars.
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By Ken E. February 22, 2012 at 11:31 am
Hey Asshole. Stop railing against the reserve funds, which save taxpayers’ money. Tell the truth about the fund.
By johnb February 22, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Ken. E.–you don’t have a clue
By Ken E. February 22, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for your remarkable insight. Would you rather the school districts borrow money at a cost to the taxpayer?
By edrollins February 22, 2012 at 3:04 pm
It is lot cheaper for taxpayers to pay interest on 900M for
6 months than pay the 900M
By Ken E. February 22, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Not sure you know how this works.
By Ted Bell February 22, 2012 at 11:52 am
Another classy move by the education elites, up there on their taxpayer funded cross for the kids!
Hope they like their participation in the state retirement system – another quiet perk for SCSBA and SCASA staffers!
By Jan February 22, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I have no problem with school systems and teachers lobbying against tax credits and vouchers for private school parents. The state cannot afford it, and it will not improve eduction in this state. It is nothing more than a give away to the well connected, at the cost of the public at large. In fact I think it is their obligation to fight for public education.
The only way tax credits are fair to 90% of the state residents is if for every dollar that goes to private school parents a dollar comes out of public education, and every private school that accepts money from credits or vouchers are required to take any student who wishes to go there.
By BigT February 22, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Education is how LIBERALS steal from decent people, blackmailing them w/ their own children….
Most people don’t understand that it is their OWN vigilance that secures great students, of which SC has many.
Unfortunately, Yuppies like FITS are just as guilty in playing the RACE card, when he should be challenging ALL parents to attend to the basic needs of their children…
Parents can make for bad students, and parents make GREAT students, not school administrators…
But because of the cowardice to call out the negligent parents, administrators are able to claim it is their talent that makes some of our students the best in the world…
This ‘Last in the Nation’ mantra that FITS is too stupid to ignore, does not help either. It is another un-supportable cliché, that the lazy and un-intelligent allow to be used against us, for the dumping of more money to greedy administrators…
By Ken E. February 22, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Every state has great students, just as every state has not-so-great students. SC is not special at all in that regard. What truly matters is how the state is serving those students as a whole. This state is not doing so well.
I agree with you about parental involvement, but parents are one (large) piece of the puzzle.
By BigT February 22, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Parents are the MOST SINGLE imporatnat factor in the success, or failure, of students…
Once that is understood and widely accepted, the blackmail by greedy, highly paid, money-gobbling administrators can stop…
And then maybe we can give more compensation to the GOOD teachers (the ones who actually DO THE WORK)….
By Stephan February 22, 2012 at 12:07 pm
I resent the reference to quasi-third world. SC isn’t quasi – it’s actual.
Actual third world, that is.
By BigT February 22, 2012 at 12:18 pm
If it is 3rd World, it’s because of IDIOTS like you and FITS…
By George Plimpton February 22, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Where does the $11,754 spent per child on public education come from? How is it calculated? Where does the $1,880 per child come from? How is it calculated? Just curious since these numbers are thrown out as fact all the time.
By Jason JD February 22, 2012 at 2:16 pm
SC Legislature’s Website
Legislation > The Budget > FY 2011-12 > Temporary Act > Part IB Index >
Section 1 > “SECTION 1 – H63-DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION”
By Skidmarks February 22, 2012 at 2:13 pm
School ratings put the New England public schools at the top.
Study them then do what they do.
By BigT February 22, 2012 at 2:59 pm
That would mean making a vast majority of SC households two-parent and making the parents CARE about the future of their off-spring…
In other words: You’d have to eradicate Liberal excuses and myths…and repalce them w/ Santorum-level morality…
I don’t think the emdia would ever allow for that, do you???
By Ken E. February 22, 2012 at 3:29 pm
SC has about a 10% higher ratio of single-parent families compared to states in the Northeast. Damn 10% of families. It’s all their fault.
By BigT February 22, 2012 at 4:57 pm
No Ken, it’s never, never THEIR fault…or at least that’s what democrat politicians and liberals have been feeding you for generation of poverty after generation…
It’s ‘The Man’s’ Fault…
That works well for getting the Obama’s and Pelosi’s in office…and you really don’t care about the children you’re hurting…
As long as Obama can va-ca in Aspen and you can get fat off your do-nothing government job…
By victor February 23, 2012 at 10:26 am
Actually, they actually provide funding…
By ? February 22, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Ya know, a reasonable way to settle this issue and make everyone happy is to enact “school choice” but pay the schools anyway.
If the educators are genuine in thier concerns why not?
I know it’s simple, but for example:
1/3 of the $11,500 goes back to SC in budget savings, 1/3 goes to the school for the “missing” child, 1/3″ goes to the voucher for parents who either homeschool or send their kids to private school.
It’s a “win/win/win” for everyone.
Feel free to shoot my idea down now..lol
By Jan February 22, 2012 at 6:56 pm
Why do you guys keep making this stuff up. There are no missing children. They are already in private school. Tax Credits and Vouchers will go to the parents of kids who are not currently in public school. This will require us to come up with more money. There will be no savings. I am not interested in spending money that will have to be replaced by either cutting public schools, raising taxes, or cutting a program that may benefit me so some parent can send their kid to private school.
The only way tax credits or vouchers save money is if for every dollar you give a private school parent you reduce public education by a dollar. That will only work if private schools agree to take all applicants. The will never happen and unless it does giving them money is no interst to me. Nor should it be to any person who has children in public school or no children in school at all. In the end we will pay more.
I’m sorry but I have no interest in helping private school parents pay for their kids. Let them pay from their funds. Let them get a second job. Or maybe stay at home mom can go to work. Their kids will appreciate it, I’m sure.
It is grossly unfair to ask a public school parent to help some lazy private school parent pay for his kids to go to a school the public school parent’s kids may not even be able to get into.
By ? February 22, 2012 at 9:02 pm
“Why do you guys keep making this stuff up. There are no missing children. They are already in private school.”
You’re entire argument rests on the above statement. If you give parents the choice of where they send their children via rebating tax money back to them watch how many kids “withdraw” from the public schools.
Hence, you get substantial savings.
Yes Jan, there are savings.
By Ummmm February 22, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Pay the schools for performance. Pay them at the end of the year based on how many kids graduate, perform on standardized tests etc.
Also allow school choice – put the public schools in competition for the funds. They can either perform or get out of the ed biz.
By edrollins February 22, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Ken Childs, atty is on board of sc administrators assoc,
and then negotiates their salaries for the school districts
he works for.
By ? February 22, 2012 at 4:52 pm
lol…no “conflict of interest” there….
By A Humble Chef February 22, 2012 at 3:32 pm
Someone has to bring up the rear people! If you put 50 states in a line, someone has to be in the back….jeez! If you want to live in a state where your child will get the best public education, you should move to Connecticut. You’ll be blanketed in snow and surrounded by hipsters and liberals….but your kids will be smart! Lol….your kid is only as smart as they naturally are, in the event that you are pushing them to their potential. It’s SC people, we’re last in education but the world needs ditch diggers too!!!
By victor February 23, 2012 at 10:28 am
I guess the only people who should be lobbying the General Assembly are from the SCRG and the South Carolina Policy Council. Howard Rich has called them from New York and told them what is the best policy for South Carolina.
By Max_Power February 23, 2012 at 12:12 pm
What the eduZaisins don’t understand that vouchers can only be funded by STATE monies. Federal money will not “follow” the children to private schools. Current eduZaisins at the state department of education can’t seem to understand this. There is not a per child formula with federal monies. Look for public schools to have less money to pay for vouchers and private schools to say it is not enough to enroll your child. EduZaisins also have their eye on special education funds. With recent changes in the special education laws even a child with allergies who is getting treatment qualifies for services. They can’t touch this money but you can’t tell them that!