Budget17-18

Budget 17-18 Insider Edition Part 3: Education—Still Underfunded

As of late there seems to be no news except for bad news in regards to South Carolina education. Many have turned their eyes to education in the state with a recent U.S. News  & World Report that ranked South Carolina dead last in education. See the ranking here.

While many question just the accuracy of the aforementioned report, including us, and the factors taken into consideration to determine ranking—there is no question public education is in need of improvement in the palmetto state. But, are we really investing enough in education to make a real difference? Do you believe all students in this state have the same chance at a high quality education, no matter their zip code?

According to South Carolina’s own funding formula the answer is a resounding NO, and this year’s version of the budget did little to address the issue. The SC House approved 2017-2018 budget increases Base Student Cost by just $50…yes we said a whopping $50 – which brings the state supported base student cost per student up to $2,400. The major problem here is that the state’s own statutory requirement mandates $2,984 per student. I guess you can say SC students are being “short-changed” by Republican leadership in the state.

The discrepancy in actual funding and the mandate highlight a major issue in the state; many districts across the state are just not receiving the funding they need to educate students.

It was somewhat encouraging that despite falling short in funding for Base Student Cost, the SC House of Representatives did appropriate funds to address needs in the Abbeville Supreme Court plaintiff districts – those districts which the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state had failed provide a “minimally adequate “ education for in its 2014 decision.

Unfortunately these poor and rural districts which are set to receive $100 million dollars in additional funds from the Education Improvement Act and $9 million for teacher recruitment, maybe headed for a hard reality…this $100 million may actually be “phantom dollars.”

More to come on this subject…

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Budget 17-18 Insider Edition Part 2: House Republicans Say No to Tax Relief?!

A late night amendment proposed on March 14th  by Democratic Representatives Russell Ott, Gilda Cobb-Hunter, and Patsy Knight that sought to provide tax relief for working college students was met with staunch opposition by House Republican leadership. That’s right SC Republicans were anti-tax credits! – at least when it came to SC hardworking college students.

The proposed amendment would have provided a $300 tax credit to WORKING students enrolled in South Carolina public colleges and universities. Even more disturbing the tax credit would have only been applied to students working full time. Though one would think the GOP would be happy to throw support behind a move to slash taxes for students who understand both the value of earning an education, and the value of making a dollar, the roll call vote to table the amendment certainly proved otherwise.

Ott proposed that $6 million dollars that became available in the budget after the deletion of another line item be used for the creation of the Tax Relief for Students Fund. Ott and his co-sponsors believed that this would be a, “good opportunity to send money back to the taxpayers,” and support students who are also burdened with the responsibility of working a full-time job.

The Republican Majority sealed the fate of the amendment with a motion to table that ended in a 60-47 vote that closed the door on tax relief for students and ensured that struggling college students will continue to do just that. See Vote Here.

So House Republicans don’t believe in offering tax credits/breaks for SC students, which would have been a positive to the local communities and economies they reside? We ask you, the people of South Carolina, which is the party of fiscal conservatives in the Chamber? Are taxes breaks only acceptable for the rich in the state?

This is yet another example of failed leadership by Republicans in SC.

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Budget 17-18 Insider Edition Part 1: $8 Billion Dollar Budget Falls Short on Compassion

In addition to passing a $8 billion dollar budget that merely placed a band-aid or kicked-the-can down the road, on the majority of the huge challenges we face as a state like properly funding Public Education, increasing teacher pay, giving long-lasting solutions to our Retirement/Pension System, and actually providing comprehensive solutions and funding to our Infrastructure (roads, bridges, rail, broadband), last week state leaders (solely Republicans) also managed to shut-down and killed a measure which would have increased funding for full-time Elderly Caregivers. Ironically this measure found its death on Alzheimer’s Day at the Statehouse.

Caregivers are defined as a family member or paid helper who regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person. Yep, unfortunately, denying funding to this group of selfless South Carolinians is as bad as it sounds.
Democrat and former nurse Mary-Gail Douglas of Fairfield offered up an amendment during the budget debate that sought to increase assistance for caregivers of the elderly, many of whom care for stroke survivors, dementia and Alzheimer’s patients etc.

She rose to give an impassioned speech, which was met with an applause, pleading “for more than 700,000 caregivers in our state…because they don’t have lobbyist”.
And if you thought no one would dare to rise to speak against an amendment to help full time elderly caregivers–Wrong. Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee did the (dis)honors. However, the current Chairman of House Ways and Means, Brain White, did offer to move the money for the program from a “meal assistance program” if it was adopted (how kind -_-). Really Chairman White?!  While we do respect the efficiency, Chairman White knows better and we expect him to correct this in the near future. We will be watching.
Representative Douglas explained to her colleagues that the $400,000 increase would benefit fulltime caregivers who care for the elderly in their homes instead of nursing homes. She explained that these funds are often distributed to receipt at approx. $400 per case and that the funds allowed for caretakers to take an average of 5-7 days off from their daily duties. She also revealed that In-Home Elderly Care actually saves the state millions of dollars in associated nursing home cost.

The amendment was ultimately defeated courtesy of the majority party, the “compassion members’ of the Republican Caucus, in a 43-66 vote.
With votes like this it stands to reason why South Carolina keeps finding itself at the bottom of the list when it comes to quality of life.
We simply ask Republican leadership in the House, “What would Jesus do?”