School Choice ‘Rescue’ Fund Lands Another Big Donor

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A rescue fund established by a South Carolina-based advocacy organization to assist thousands of Palmetto State families placed in limbo by an activist court ruling continues drawing significant donor support.

In fact, the fund is closing in on the dollar amount it needs to ensure that all school children adversely impacted by last fall’s court ruling have the funding they require to remain in the choice program – i.e. to stay in the schools of their choosing.

Six months ago, a previous iteration of the S.C. Supreme Court struck down broad sections of the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) – a program created by the S.C. General Assembly and administered by the state’s Department of Education (SCDE). According to the court’s 3-2 ruling, the fund – which provided 5,000 scholarships to students at $6,000 a pop – constituted a “direct benefit” to private education institutions in violation of “constitutional limits on the use of public funds.”

FITSNews has repeatedly editorialized against the court’s opinion – which was decisively rebuked by current chief justice John Kittredge.

“Our constitution allows the legislature — and only the legislature — to make this policy decision,” Kittredge wrote in a scathing dissent of the majority opinion authored by justice Garrison Hill.

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In addition to calling out lawmakers for appointing left-of-center judges who fail to follow the constitution, we have also noted their failure to fight for the ESTF law – and, more disappointingly, their refusal to even debate broader universal school choice proposals.

The problem? Their slavish devotion to a failed government-run system that continues delivering inferior results at an escalating price tag… with a hefty dose of woke indoctrination.

According to the S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs (SCRFA) office, per pupil funding in South Carolina in the current fiscal year is a record $18,842 – and that total doesn’t include local bond issues or money the schools stash in carry-forward accounts. That’s a staggering $13.46 billion, based on the state’s current student population.

Anyway, the court’s decision to scrap the state’s fledgling choice program was not only wrong – it was deliberately hurtful. Justices decided to indulge their activist streak roughly a month into the 2024-2025 school year. That left thousands of families holding the bag – until a coalition of activists and donors led by Wendy Damron stepped in.

Damron is the president and chief executive officer of Palmetto Promise, a conservative South Carolina advocacy organization which has pushed ESTF legislation. Her group moved quickly to establish a rescue fund to assist families impacted by the ruling – and donors moved just as quickly to fill its coffers so these families wouldn’t be left in the lurch.

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This week, Damron’s group announced the receipt of another big gift to its fund – a $250,000 contribution from the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation. The DeVos gift raises the total amount collected by the fund to $2.5 million – which is $500,000 shy of the amount required to “ensure families have the stability they need while lawmakers work toward a long-term solution to restore school choice in South Carolina.”

“This donation is a lifeline for families who have been left without options, and it brings us one step closer to ensuring that every student can remain in the school of their choice,” Damron said in a statement released by Palmetto Promise.

A former U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos has used her foundation to “invest in initiatives that expand access to quality education across the country,” per the statement.

“No child in South Carolina should be limited in their educational options,” she said. “A poorly reasoned and terribly timed judicial decision threw thousands of lower-income students and their families into chaos, not knowing if they would be able to stay enrolled in their schools or not. These kids deserve better. We are proud to partner with Palmetto Promise Institute and many other like-minded individuals to ensure every student can stay in the school that works for them while the governor and legislature fix this problem. We look forward to education freedom’s return to the Palmetto State soon.”

Are the governor and the legislature actually working to fix this problem, though?

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RELATED | SOUTH CAROLINA STILL MISSING THE MARK ON CHOICE

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Legislation currently moving through the S.C. General Assembly, S. 62, would essentially restore the ESTF program – but the debate over its funding source continues to divide lawmakers. Sadly the $70 million to $110 million in choice envisioned by the bill pales in comparison to choice proposals adopted recently in other southern states.

As previously reported, according to the Cato Institute, South Carolina lags well behind its neighboring states and regional rivals in academic freedom – ranking No. 27 on the group’s latest list. Florida and Georgia rank No. 3 and 8, respectively, while North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia rank No. 12, No. 14 and No. 15, respectively.

Until that changes, nothing will change with regard to the Palmetto State’s atrocious academic outcomes.

As for Damron, the former leader of the successful S.C. Convention of States movement recently received the Heritage Foundation’s ‘Doer Award’ for her efforts on behalf of the rescue fund.

For more information on the fund, click here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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