JOHNSTON - State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex made a stop in Edgefield County last week to speak with concerned parents about the state of the education budget and new funding ideas.

Standing on the commons area stage at Strom Thurmond High School, Mr. Rex addressed the current state of economics in Columbia, his thoughts on school choice, his ongoing battle over stimulus funding with Gov. Mark Sanford and what progress he felt has been made during his tenure as the state superintendent.

But the main thrust of his comments focused squarely on dollars and cents.

"We have to find a better way to fund our educational system," he said. "It's a Model T (an antiquated car model) system that not working and that hasn't worked in a long time. We need complete tax reform."

The current system funds education based upon state sales tax revenues.
And with the performance of the economy, monies for schools and teachers have sagged.

"This system has been cobbled together over the past 30 years by special interest groups," he added. "A lot of things should have changed and didn't."

Mr. Rex said he would like to see a neutral committee formed to assess the situation with the same objectivity as such groups put together to oversee the closing of military bases across the country.

"I just don't see any other way (other than comprehensive tax reform)," he said. "We have to bring these changes about. Meanwhile we are sliding further and further behind because we can't move forward. We can't keep doing things the same way. This is an area I hope we can come together on."

Mr. Rex said that stimulus funds for education - currently being withheld by Gov. Sanford on the grounds of mounting the state's increasing debt - could save 900 teaching positions.

He called Mr. Sanford's position on the matter "indefensible", adding that Mr. Sanford's stance "just doesn't make any sense to me" and that the move would "set us back a decade."

Mr. Rex said he would like for parents and taxpayers to learn more about his plans for reform - called Begin in 10: The Path to 21st Century Graduates - which would create a student-centered funding system, create a commission to look at reforming South Carolina's tax structure, extend full-day kindergarten to at-risk children, provide grants for innovative practices that work, install a new Foundation Program and create a statewide uniform millage rate to ensure stable local support for public schools.

Mr. Rex also attempted to deflect some of the heat being placed locally upon school district leaders and Superintendent Dr. Mary Crenshaw, saying "the solution is in Columbia, not in Edgefield."

Other key moments during the meeting included the following:

* Dr. Crenshaw responded to one concerned parent who wanted to know if indeed everything was being done to battle impending teacher losses in the fall by saying that "unfortunately, we will be cutting teachers, staff at the district level and some programs. The quality of education will still be there, but the funding is just not there. We have cut everything that we can, but with 1.8 million in budget cuts there is no way we can do it without cutting some positions." Dr. Crenshaw reported that the 32 teaching positions the district thought would be cut have been trimmed to just 20 following budget tightening measures.

* Dr. Crenshaw also stemmed rampant area rumors that Douglas Elementary School would be closing its doors by saying "we are not closing Douglas", which drew a loud round of applause from the audience. She did say that several ideas were being batted around in an attempt to stimulate the school's attendance - it suffers from a low enrollment - including a Montessori School concept.

* State Representative Bill Clyburn also spoke at the meeting, illuminating several bills he felt that taxpayers would wish to keep tabs on, including H3148 (funding for new rural infrastructure for county water lines he supports in the Northside and Westside areas), H3469 (would allow S.C. college students to take scholarship funding across state lines for majors not offered here), H3272 (reform of property assessment), H3301 (would help to curb predatory lending) and H3418 (would require voters to produce a photo identification at polling locations).