News
South Carolina Department of Education superintendent hopefuls meet
February 19, 2010
South Carolina Department of Education superintendent hopefuls meet
Candidates reserve sharp issue divisions
By Aliana Ramos
Five of the seven candidates running to be the South Carolina Department of Education superintendent took on topics Thursday such as teacher merit pay, school funding reform and No Child Left Behind re-authorization before a crowd of 100 educators.
Candidates agreed on the need for comprehensive tax reform to fix school funding issues, control over curriculum, and that school operations should be decentralized and given back to districts and local schools.
The candidates seemed to distinguish themselves only on the issues of school vouchers, improving graduation rates and restructuring curriculum at Thursday's forum hosted by Winthrop University's Center for Educator Recruitment Retention and Advancement, but appeared to agree on nearly every other issue.
Frank Holleman, the sole Democrat running for the job so far, spoke out against school vouchers, a topic that has been controversial for lawmakers. The vouchers would provide tax credits for parents who send their children to private school.
"It would take hundreds of millions out of the state budget and out of classrooms," said Holleman, of Greenville, who has served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education. "One thing must be crystal clear: The superintendent must be an advocate for public education and not schemes that undercut public education," he said.
Elizabeth Moffly, R-Awendaw, who owns Moffly Construction and Real Estate, supports vouchers and school choice.
"I believe in a free market," said Moffly, who has also home-schooled her children.
Moffly also talked about the state's 73.7 percent graduation rate and the need for providing multiple avenues for students to graduate.
"What we found is students are dropping out mentally in middle school before physically dropping out in high school," she said. "If we want to have business coming into our states, we need to do something about the graduation rate. We have to give students different paths."
Moffly recommended dual college credits for core classes. She also said the state should bring its grading standards in line with other states. The credits needed for graduation also should be put in line with other states. One area to look at is potentially requiring two math classes instead of four for graduation, she said.
Kelly Payne, R-Irmo, a teacher at Dutch Fork High School talked about the link between education and employment.
"No longer are we just competing with other states; we are competing internationally," she said. "We need other opportunities to get our kids ready for the work force. It's all about keeping rigor, relevance and building community."
Payne said as an educator she understood the issues firsthand. "I see challenges to overcome and not conditions to accept," she said. "We need to embrace [change]. This job, as we know, is not about ambitions. This job is about our kids. We need someone who understands this. But who better than a teacher?" Former Anderson 4 Superintendent Gary Burgess, R-Pendleton, wants change, too.
He wants the state to look at doing away with the current standardized test called the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, which replaced the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests.
He said the state's current standardized tests were based on exams that were created before No Child Left Behind and were not designed equitably.
"We need to make sure we have a fair and reasonable measure," Burgess said.
He also pushed for using the state's education reserve funds to help struggling school districts.
"We are saving that money for a rainy day," Burgess said. "But if now is not a rainy day, I don't know what is. We need to use the funds that we have."
Mitchell Zais, R-Newberry, President of Newberry College, touted the importance of having good teachers in the classroom. He shared his personal experiences.
"At Newberry College, the dictum that guides our professors is 'Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care,'" Zais said. "Growing up, I was not always a good student. I was always in remedial learning groups. Only when I became an adult that I knew what dyslexia was. It was because of the teachers who cared I was able to overcome disability. Teachers don't have jobs, they don't have a professions, like soldiers, like [priests] we have a calling to serve ... to make the world a better place. I'm here to do that."
Reach Ramos via email at aramos@thesunnews.com.
