Calling your attention to two op-ed pieces today ...

I’ve been a little under the weather this week, and I’m late posting today.  I wanted to draw your attention to two op-ed pieces that point out some pretty important information for folks in our state.

The first (click here) is entitled, “Mandatory-funding laws are not created (or treated) equal" by Cindi Ross Scope.  Here’s a couple of paragraphs from the op-ed piece.

But unlike the tax-relief and the scholarship laws, the Legislature has not obeyed these laws since the start of the recession. Instead, it has suspended them, every year, and given schools and local governments part of what’s left after it obeys those laws that it deems more important. 

To paraphrase George Orwell, all laws are equal, but some are more equal than others. 

This year, the Legislature will have more than $500 million in new recurring revenue to add to the current $6 billion state budget. There would be $7 billion to spend instead of just $6.5 billion if lawmakers considered the $550 million for property tax relief as open to debate as paying for teachers and local government services. But they don’t. Likewise, if the pattern holds, lawmakers will spend an extra $15 million on LIFE, HOPE and Palmetto Fellows scholarships — over and above the $215 million the state is spending this year. Because like the property-tax break, they consider the scholarships sacrosanct.

 The other piece, by members of the SC State School Board, attempts to dispel some of the myths that have erupted regarding the Common Core of State Standards, and you can click here to read.  The authors point out their need to opine on the issue:

Out-of-state organizations from New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere are pushing a bill in the [SC] Legislature that would rescind the adoption the Common Core state standards. We can no longer stand by and watch the effort to dismantle them without calling attention to the loss that this reversal would represent for our children’s future.

I encourage you to check out these two articles so you understand a little more about the political process in our state.