Legislative Positions: 2012 General Assembly

Funding for K-12 Education

Position: The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees strongly supports a complete overhaul of the funding structure for K-12 education in order to provide a predictable funding stream and equitable funding for the educational needs of all students, regardless of where they live.

Rationale: The current funding structure is a hodgepodge of exemptions, special legislation, local legislation, year-to-year provisos, and regional politics. Further, because of Act 388, funding for K-12 education is overly dependent on the sales tax, which is highly susceptible to changes in economic conditions. The proposed Education Finance Reform Act (EFRA) provides a solid basis for reform, although it would require a complete restructuring of the sales tax.

Vouchers and Tax Credits

Position: The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees strongly opposes legislation that would directly or indirectly subsidize elementary or secondary private, religious, or home schools with public funds.

Rationale: Proposed legislation in this area would drain $800 million more in funding for K-12 education over the next 13 years, in addition to the $750 million in cuts that have already been absorbed since 2008. Further, the proposed legislation lacks adequate public accountability for academic results and would allow non-public schools receiving the benefit of public funds to “pick and choose” its students. Additionally, although the proponents of this legislation tout its benefits for economically disadvantaged students, the legislation contains no mechanism for tracking the degree to which these students are actually served and how they achieve academically.

Pupil Transportation

Position: The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees supports funding for pupil transportation that will increase the number of school buses, provide for expedited replacement of the state’s aging bus fleet, and enable school districts to make appropriate decisions to ensure student safety.

Rationale: Because of the inadequate number of buses in the state’s fleet, bus routes, especially in rural areas, are excessively long and require students to spend as much as 3-4 hours per day on a bus. Further, the average age of the current bus fleet is extremely high, which results in frequent mechanical breakdowns and disruptions to service. Also, because of an inadequate number of buses, students within 1.5 miles of a school are not provided bus transportation without additional cost to the district or to the family, even if a safe walking route is not available.

Flexibility on Textbook Funding

Position: The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees supports funding flexibility that would allow districts to receive funding to utilize online learning resources instead of traditional textbooks.

Rationale: As technology becomes more powerful and less costly, traditional textbooks will become less effective teaching tools because they are not as interactive, flexible and current as online resources. Additionally, they cause significant health and logistical issues because of their size and weight. School districts need to have the financial flexibility to choose learning resources based on what is best in terms of student learning.

Funding for Career and Technical Education

Position: The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees supports increased funding for Career and Technical Education.

Rationale: Over the past several years both state and federal funding for Career and Technology Education has declined even as the need and demand for highly skilled workers for business and industry has increased. Career and Technology Education is critical to economic development in Kershaw County and South Carolina as a whole. Technology is at the heart of all careers. Students must be prepared for post-secondary education and training in order to compete for high wage jobs and have successful careers. By completing programs of study in Career and Technology Education, students are better prepared for highly skilled jobs as they enter the workforce.