School Choice for South Carolina

Last night, I attended an informational meeting regarding a new bill that will be introduced to our state legislature in the months ahead. It includes a tax credit and scholarship program for those who choose to educate their children via a charter, private, parochial or home-schools. If the bill passes, it would provide some financial relief for those paying school taxes, plus private school tuition. It would also give opportunity for many students who cannot afford a private school education to obtain one.

So many are afraid of the term "School Choice," but let me give a simple explanation. We already give financial assistance for school choice at the college level. Students in SC can receive the LIFE, HOPE, and Palmetto Fellows scholarships, the GI Bill, etc.) They can use that money to attend the public or private institutions of their choice. SC has also given financial assistance (ABC Vouchers) for preschoolers. So, why are we so afraid of giving financial assistance to students in grades K5-12?

I personally believe it is due to fear and lack of education. People think school choice would take money away from the public schools, but that's NOT true! Public school funding is based on programs, not on the number of students. EXAMPLE: If a school with 10 students had $100,000, they would spend $10,000 per student. (By the way, SC averaged over $11,000 per student last year.) If school choice passed and 2 students left the public school to attend a private school, the public school would now have the same $100,000 to spend on only 8 students. That means the spending increases $2,500 per student remaining in the public school. On the contrary, if 2 students left the private school to attend the public school; then the public school would have the same $100,000 to spend on 12 students. In that case, the spending decreases to $8,333 per student.

In addition, all schools benefit when there is healthy competition. They are forced to improve their product and it is the students who ultimately benefit! Fifteen states have already have some form of School Choice and several more are considering it. I challenge anyone to find a state where the public education system has been hurt by school choice. In fact, what you will find is that the test scores in almost all schools have improved and the per-capita spending on each student has increased. The FACT is that everyone benefits from School Choice -- but most importantly -- the children benefit!

No one will argue that SC desperately needs to improve education across our state. Our best school district (York 4) was 126 points behind Chapel Hill, NC on the SAT scores; yet our kids are competing with students in Chapel Hill for jobs and college acceptance. As bad as that number sounds, York 4 was 326 points above Hampton 2. Instead of addressing the problems, some legislators and educators are simply playing the "spin" game. Jim Rex stated that 77.1% of SC students graduate, but Education Week found it was just 56%. The New York Times stated that "South Carolina mis-reports dropouts by 22%." SC education is in need of change!

I'll be honest and admit that I wasn't a real fan of the "voucher" proposal made several years ago, but this School Choice bill has nothing to do with vouchers. This bill is going to propose tax credits/deductions for any spending on a child's education and also offer corporate tax credits for companies contributing toward scholarships. In this scenario -- everyone wins! Let's push for school choice and begin to move SC forward with regard to education!