Search Result for: South Carolina


Rural School Funding News: New Education Clause Proposed in south carolina

...ffort to improve educational opportunity for all students in the state is taking a new direction in south carolina. Last month, a bill was introduced to amend the state constitution to guarantee “a high quality education, allowing each student to reach his highest potential.” Currently, the constitution guarantees “a system of free public schools open to all children in the State.” In 1999, the state supreme court interpreted that to mean “a minimally adequate&rdquo...
Date: 2008-04-01

Rural School Funding News: south carolina Rural Schools Have Their Day in Court

... may require registration or expire over time.   In a dramatic and at times heated exchange, south carolina Supreme Court justices assured lawyers for plaintiff districts that they recognize the severe discrepancies in the quality of education in poor and rural schools in the state. “But what would you have us to do?” asked Chief Justice Jean Toal.   Toal’s concern reflects a recent trend in some states’ highest courts to shirk their responsibility to determ...
Date: 2008-08-01

Rural south carolina Middle School Gets Donation of Furniture

...s installed the furniture and painted the building’s interior.     The rural south carolina school shot to national attention when President Obama quoted a letter written by 8th grader Ty’Sheoma Bethea in his February address to Congress. Bethea’s letter described deplorable conditions at the school’s facility and asked the newly elected president for help.   Sagus CEO Darryl Rosser heard the address and visited the school. According to Associated ...
Date: 2009-06-25

south carolina Begins Addressing Expected Teacher Shortage

...over time. Facing a potentially massive teacher shortage as many educators reach retirement age in south carolina, the state as well as several local school districts are developing a variety of strategies to recruit and retain teachers, especially in rural areas.   Many of the strategies attempt to ease housing challenges often faced by new teachers. These challenges can be acute in rural districts where, in many cases, there is little or no quality affordable local housing.   Fo...
Date: 2010-01-28

south carolina Changes Rules to Accommodate Shortfall

...This article appeared in the March 2009 Rural Policy Matters. south carolina is one of many states struggling to find ways to deal with the financial free fall that is forcing school districts to make cuts in every area. Legislators in the state House have passed a flexibility bill that relaxes some of the state’s program requirements. If the bill passes, districts would be allowed to furlough employees, opt out of the textbook replacement cycle, and allow school buses to run on regular d...
Date: 2009-04-01

south carolina Court Orders Gov. Sanford to Let His People Go

...Editorial, Marty Strange, Policy Director, Rural School and Community Trust     The south carolina Supreme Court has ordered Governor Mark Sanford to apply for federal stimulus money Sanford had insisted on not accepting because the federal government required it be used to help offset state budget cuts affecting schools and other public services. Sanford wanted to accept the money but use it to reduce the state’s debt.    It was as if Governor Sanford held th...
Date: 2009-06-08

south carolina Faces Multiple Budget Woes

...: Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. south carolina faces a state budget shortfall of $800 million and the consequences could be severe for schools that have already made dramatic cuts. Statewide more than 3,600 teaching positions have been eliminated, class sizes have increased, and many schools have reduced critical educational services and resources. Compounding these difficulties is the fact that the state lost its chance to rec...
Date: 2011-03-30

south carolina Report Examines School Governance Structures

...This article appeared in the June 2010 Rural Policy Matters. A recently released report in south carolina discusses the hodgepodge of governance structures among the state’s 85 school districts, but concludes that despite home rule, the state maintains the most control over districts. “School District Organization and Governance in south carolina,” released by the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs of Clemson University, concludes that state school ...
Date: 2010-06-25

south carolina Rural Districts Hear Familiar Refrain in Court

...: Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. south carolina plaintiff rural districts in the Abbeville school finance case were told they should ask to be consolidated, that they spend too much on administration, that they should be satisfied with an underfunded property-sales tax swap, and that although they may be suffering as a result of chronic fiscal starvation, there may be nothing a court can do about it. Chief Justice Jean Toal inte...
Date: 2012-09-26

south carolina Supreme Court Moves on School Funding Case

...n or expire over time. Nearly four years after oral arguments were made in Abbeville v. State, the south carolina Supreme Court has issued a two-page order stating that attorneys for the parties must return to court in September to re-argue the case. The order also states that the lawyers should be prepared to discuss any recent school finance legislation that may have had an impact on the facts of the case. Abbeville was originally filed by rural and low wealth school districts in 1993 as an ...
Date: 2012-05-30

south carolina System Subject of Gubernatorial Campaign

...Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. south carolina’s funding system is the topic of yet another legislative study committee. But committee members predict the law is not likely to be up for amendment, despite the fact that both gubernatorial candidates are expressing positions on the system. The state Senate Select Committee on K–12 Funding began meeting last month to review revenue and expenditure laws and make recomme...
Date: 2010-09-28

States' Rights, Anti-Tax Officials Block Local Efforts for south carolina Schools, Reject Federal Funding

...: Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. south carolina Governor Nikki Haley and State Schools Superintendent Mick Zais are making good on campaign promises to block taxes and reject federal investments in the state. While neither government official has the power to act fully on these promises, both have taken action on school funding matters to fulfill their stated goals. Governor vetoes state and local initiatives Schools anticipate...
Date: 2011-08-25

North Carolina, Others, Hotly Debate Charter School Rules

...schools was defeated, with much political maneuvering on both sides of the political aisles.  south carolina expanded its charter law to allow for single-gender and university-operated charter schools and to require regular schools to include charter students in extracurricular activities. Massachusetts increased the number of seats in charter schools. And, Missouri expanded the number of charter schools, but also added new accountability measures.  North Carolina plans could signa...
Date: 2012-06-26

Rural South Carolinians Help District Rethink Consolidation

...oss the country, and there’s no exception here,” says Calvin Morris of Wadmalaw Island, south carolina. “To rural communities, it’s a death knell.”   Residents of Wadmalaw and Johns Islands were on the front lines this winter when the county-wide school superintendent put forward a series of proposals to eliminate or reconfigure a number of African-American community schools in Charleston County, which encompasses both the urban center of Charleston and many ...
Date: 2009-04-02

2009 REWG: Make Your Plans

...North Carolina. It is a convenient drive from airports in Asheville, North Carolina and Greenville, south carolina. Read more from the November 2008 Rural Policy Matters....
Date: 2008-11-06