State of South Carolina secondary Archives: on Education
Ben Carson:
Free college is a non-starter
People need to know that free college is a non-starter. We're on the verge of economic collapse:
it's not just the $19 trillion, but it's also the $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
Source: 2016 CBS Republican primary debate in South Carolina
Feb 13, 2016
Bernie Sanders:
Pay for free tuition with tax on Wall Street speculation
I believe that we should make public colleges and universities tuition-free. I want all of our kids, regardless of income, to be able to get that higher education, college or trade schools.
By the way, I also believe we should cancel all student debt in America. We pay for it through a rather modest tax on Wall Street speculation. That is how we pay for that.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 South Carolina primary
Feb 24, 2020
Catherine Templeton:
Arm teachers: the only defense is a good offense
Saying "the only defense is a good offense," Republican candidate for governor Catherine Templeton said she supports arming teachers as part of an effort to improve school safety. Templeton responded to a question about school security in an
interview. "It is such a complex issue between mental health, between shoring up the infrastructure in our schools to make them safer, whether it is metal detectors or bullet-proof glass," she said. "Most immediately,
I think the school resource officers, law enforcement and any teacher if they want to be trained should be armed to protect our children."School security has become a hot topic in the state and throughout the nation since a gunman killed 17 people at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. Authorities in the Upstate have responded to a number of threats and perceived threats of violence at Upstate schools.
Source: Greenville News on 2018 South Carolina governor race
Feb 26, 2018
Elizabeth Warren:
We have an obligation to treat our teachers better
We've known for a long time that jobs that are predominantly held by women just don't simply pay as much as jobs that are predominantly held by men. This is a part of the inherent sexism in the system. We have an obligation to treat our teachers better.
I meet public school teachers who are working second and third jobs just to try to hold it together. I understand, teaching is a calling. If you treat people with respect, that means you pay them commensurate with the education that they have.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 South Carolina primary
Feb 26, 2020
Henry McMaster:
Invest in school choice & robust charter school program
On schools: What do we want? And what must we do?We want a multifaceted system, anchored by traditional public schools boasting the best teachers, principals and technologies. We want charter schools--all public--to flourish, including those for
children with special needs. Parents want vigorous, accountable, innovative school choice. So how do we accomplish this?
- Poverty is the enemy of education, but economic development often comes slowly. What can be done in the meantime?
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Good teachers and good principals clearly are the key to success.
- We must continue to invest in school choice. A robust charter school program allows parents to choose the education opportunities that best suit their children.
With the entry of Erskine College as a new charter authorizer, we are expanding choice across the state.
My executive budget increases per-pupil funding for charter schools, and establishes a transportation program to reduce barriers to access.
Source: 2018 State of the State speech to South Carolina legislature
Jan 24, 2018
Henry McMaster:
Supports arming teachers in schools
Republican candidate for governor Catherine Templeton said she supports arming teachers as part of an effort to improve school safety. Templeton responded to a question about school security in an interview. School security has become a hot
topic in the state and throughout the nation since a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14.
Authorities in the Upstate have responded to a number of threats and perceived threats of violence at Upstate schools.
Speaking in Anderson last week, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant talked about legislation that he sponsored before becoming lieutenant
governor last year that would allow school districts to consider arming teachers and other school employees. Gov. McMaster said last week that he would sign a bill to arm teachers in schools.
Source: Greenville News on 2018 South Carolina governor race
Feb 26, 2018
Henry McMaster:
ReadySC: triple funding for technical training
Last year, our readySC program trained over 3,600 people for 82 companies. My budget also triples existing funding for readySC, making more than $19 million dollars available for training new employees for business in the next fiscal year.
My executive budget prioritizes funding for our technical colleges to identify and recruit local businesses to participate in collaborative partnerships with high schools; to create internship opportunities; to promote certificate completion.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to South Carolina congress
Jan 23, 2019
Henry McMaster:
Full-time police officer to combat threats to schools
Our classrooms and schools must also be safe, free from distraction and violence. It's a fact: the presence of a trained certified law enforcement officer is the best and most effective deterrent against violence at a school.
My executive budget ensures that every public school in our state has a full-time, trained law enforcement officer and access to a mental health counselor through the Department of Mental Health's school services program.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to South Carolina congress
Jan 23, 2019
Henry McMaster:
Boost teacher pay; surpass southeastern average salaries
Last year, we raised the salaries of all South Carolina teachers. This year, I ask you to give each teacher an additional $3,000 dollar raise--which equates to an average 7% raise per teacher. South Carolina will vault into the "top 25" national
ranking for average teacher pay. We now rank 41st. We will surpass the southeastern average for the first time in many of our lives. And the minimum starting salary for new teachers will have jumped 26% in the last three years, to $38,000.
Source: 2020 South Carolina State of the State address
Jan 22, 2020
Henry McMaster:
Fund PreK for needy kids, including religious schools
In 2006, the General Assembly funded full-day, four-year-old kindergarten programs for Medicaid-eligible children in public schools and private childcare centers. I ask that you provid[e] every lower-income, four-year-old child the opportunity to
attend full-day kindergarten at the public, private, parochial or religious institution of their parents' choosing. That's right--the parents can choose. We will unleash the free market into early childhood education through parental choice.
Source: 2020 South Carolina State of the State address
Jan 22, 2020
Henry McMaster:
5% funding increase for colleges not raising tuition
Last year we took a dramatic step by freezing college tuition for in-state students. I urge you to do it again this year by providing a 5% funding increase for each institution that does not raise tuition. I ask you to provide an additional
$164 million for need-based scholarships and grants to open the door of opportunity for those students. I also ask that the state pay 100% of college tuition for active duty members of the South Carolina Army or Air National Guard.
Source: 2020 South Carolina State of the State address
Jan 22, 2020
Henry McMaster:
$13 million to establish Education Scholarship Accounts
I am setting aside $13 million in lottery proceeds for the General Assembly to establish Education Scholarship Accounts.
These accounts provide the opportunity for working or low-income parents to choose the type of education environment and instruction that best suits their child's unique needs.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address: South Carolina legislature
Jan 13, 2021
Henry McMaster:
Remove outdated "Common Core" textbooks from classrooms
Did you know that we still have a multitude of outdated "Common Core" textbooks being used in our classrooms--years after the General Assembly mandated their removal?
This year--like years past--I am proposing the funding necessary for the Department of Education to once and for all replace these books.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address: South Carolina legislature
Jan 13, 2021
Jaime Harrison:
Losing a whole generation of teachers because of low pay
Insufficient minimal requirements of teachers, Harrison insists, coupled with the persistent issue of low salaries, is a formula that will cause a child's education to implode. "We have to do more. We have to do better. We need to increase the funding
for public school teachers, because we're about to hit a crisis in this state where we're losing a whole generation of them because they can find other professions where they get more respect, more money and less stress."
Source: Essence Magazine on 2020 South Carolina Senate race
May 26, 2020
Jaime Harrison:
We need 50-state strategy to open up schools: testing, masks
Harrison: Teaching your kids from home is very, very difficult. We need a strategy, a 50-state strategy. We failed to act. The Senate failed to act. The White House failed to act. The governors failed to act. We need leaders who are going to step up
and act. We need testing here in South Carolina. We need to make sure that we have a mandate that said, "Folks, please just wear your mask so that we can bring down the transmission of this virus and then open our economy back up."
Source: 2020 South Carolina Senate debate (Rev.com transcript)
Oct 3, 2020
Jaime Harrison:
Reduce college tuition, address student loan crisis
Harrison: We are seeing and witnessing something that we have never witnessed here in America before. Young people have $1.6 trillion of debt. There is more student loan debt in this country than there is credit card debt. My wife and I are still paying
off our student loan debt. That's a burden for so many young folks. I want to work to make sure that we reduce tuition costs and work on the student loan debt crisis here so they don't have to be burdened with such debt to start off their lives.
Source: 2020 South Carolina Senate debate (Rev.com transcript)
Oct 3, 2020
James Emerson Smith:
Led fight against vouchers
Smith was key in defeating GOP proposals to use state funds to help parents pay private school tuition. Before his 2007 deployment, Smith got leave to fly back to Columbia,
energizing the opposition a day after private school choice advocates thought they had the votes on an issue that divided Republicans. Legislators then approved a public school choice plan.
Source: US News & World Report on 2018 South Carolina Governor race
Oct 2, 2017
Joe Biden:
Pay teachers more to get better educational results
Q: Compared to Japan, China & India, we have fewer young people getting science & engineering degrees. How are you going to reverse this brain drain?A: Change the fundamental way we educate our children. There's two things everyone knows: the smaller
the class size, the better the outcome; and the better the teacher, the better the outcome. In those very nations named, a teacher makes as much as an engineer. If we want the best students in the world, we need the best teachers in the world.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Joe Biden:
FactCheck: Japan pays teachers more, but not India & China
Biden may have made an overbroad claim about teacher pay. Asked why China, India & Japan have more students than the US pursuing degrees in science & engineering, he said: "In those very nations, a teacher makes as much as an engineer." Perhaps that's
true, but his campaign couldn't document it fully. Biden aides cited an article from a 2005 issue of Phi Delta Kappan magazine saying, "In Japan, teacher salaries are comparable to those of engineers." But the story makes no mention of China or India.
Source: FactCheck on 2007 South Carolina Democratic debate
Apr 26, 2007
Kevin Bryant:
Consider arming teachers and other school employees
Republican candidate for governor Catherine Templeton said she supports arming teachers as part of an effort to improve school safety. Templeton responded to a question about school security in an interview. School security has become a hot
topic in the state and throughout the nation since a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14.
Authorities in the Upstate have responded to a number of threats and perceived threats of violence at Upstate schools.
Speaking in Anderson last week, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant talked about legislation that he sponsored before becoming lieutenant
governor last year that would allow school districts to consider arming teachers and other school employees. Gov. McMaster said last week that he would sign a bill to arm teachers in schools.
Source: Greenville News on 2018 South Carolina governor race
Feb 26, 2018
Kevin Bryant:
Vouchers for public, private, or religious schools
Bryant indicated support of the following principles regarding education.- Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
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Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
Source: South Carolina Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2008
Kevin Bryant:
Abstinence-only and voluntary prayer in public schools
Q: Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives,
and HIV/STD prevention methods?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
A: Yes.
Source: South Carolina Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2008
Kevin Bryant:
Joins "Stop Fed Ed" vows to reject all Federal Ed mandates
Lt. Gov. Bryant, who is running for the state's top job in 2018, signed the "Stop Fed Ed" pledge from U.S. Parents Involved in Education. The group announced Bryant's signature Monday. The pledge calls for
South Carolina's governor to "reject all federal mandates tied to federal funding" and to "fight against federally mandated curriculum, standardized tests, and all illegal and unconstitutional mandates from the federal Department of Education."
Source: The State magazine on 2018 South Carolina Gubernatorial race
Aug 7, 2017
Kevin Bryant:
We leave jobs unfilled with "one size fits all" higher ed
In his [advertisement] entitled "Jobs and Education in South Carolina," Bryant addresses the abundance of available work--and chides the failure of our state's "one size fits all" higher education system when it comes to meeting existing
employment needs. "There are 60,000 unfilled jobs in South Carolina," he says in the spot. "A college education should do one thing: Help young people get jobs."
Source: FITSnews.com on 2018 South Carolina Gubernatorial race
May 29, 2018
Krystle Matthews:
Frustrated with SC's consistent inadequacy with education
I saw working families like (mine) who weren't benefiting from the economy, I saw women like me whose vaginas were being policed by those who don't have one, I saw parents like me who were frustrated with
South Carolina's consistent inadequacy with education for our children--I also saw black mothers like me and so many other people of color who fear for our kids safety every day when they just walk out the door.
Source: FITSNews on 2022 South Carolina Senate race
Apr 13, 2021
Lee Bright:
Advocates abolishing the Department of Education
Consistent with Bright's limited government ideology, he says government must get out of the way and give Americans freedom and "all of these economic problems would immediately resolve." Furthermore, Bright spoke to the trouble facing public education.
The states, not the federal government should handle decision making for education. "That's why I advocate abolishing the Department of Education."
Source: Edgefield Advertiser on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Oct 29, 2013
Lee Bright:
Real choice including private schools and home-schooling
Annual reports on the performance of South Carolina's schools, declare the need for real reform.
That reform cannot and will not happen without the bold leadership from our public school officials. South Carolina needs leaders in education who realize that one size does not fit all and that reform requires a willingness to change.
There are many alternatives that have proven to be successful such as charter schools, real school choice that supports private schools and home-schooling as well as programs where private and public schools work together.
South Carolina needs to attract the type of businesses that will strengthen the state's economy and in turn improve communities. This type of economic goal requires nothing short of a school system that produces a competitive workforce.
Source: 2012 South Carolina Senate campaign website, LeeBrightSC.com
Nov 1, 2012
Lee Bright:
Oppose nationwide Common Core standards
Question topic: The federal government should establish nationwide standards (such as Common Core) for high-school graduation.
Bright: Strongly Disagree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Lindsey Graham:
Sex education about abstinence, not contraception
Graham introduced the Parents' Rights Empowerment and Protection Act to strengthen parental rights by requiring any educational institution receiving federal funds to obtain the affirmative, informed, written consent of a parent before requesting or
conveying information to a child on matters related to sex or sexuality.p>Graham was also an original co-sponsor of a resolution to condemn the dangerous decision by a panel of Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals judges in California that reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because it contained the phrase "under God."Graham reintroduced the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act.
The bill seeks to correct the massive 16:1 funding disparity, which occurred under the Obama Administration, between contraceptive-centered vs. abstinence-centered sex education within current sex education policy.
Source: Vote-USA.org on 2020 South Carolina Senate race
Oct 25, 2014
Mia McLeod:
Prioritize pay increases for teachers, administrators, staff
I'll prioritize pay increases for teachers, administrators and staff and continue to fight for better protections, working conditions, resources and partnerships.
This will allow us to recruit and retain excellent educators throughout the state and create a world-class public education system that prepares our students to compete in a global economy.
I'll also work with the General Assembly to fully fund pre-K in every county-which will better prepare our children and save the state money in the long-run. We deserve a leader who doesn't play political games,
like trying to send $32 million to private schools while our public schools and teachers are struggling.
Source: 2022 South Carolina Governor campaign website MiaForSC.com
Jun 15, 2022
Mitt Romney:
Supports English immersion & abstinence education
In the toughest of blue states I've had to stand up for life, and I have. I've had to stand up for traditional marriage, and I have. I stood to make sure that we could have English immersion in our schools, because I think kids should be taught in
English. I fought for the death penalty. I fought for abstinence education. I have the kind of leadership that will allow America to build upon the same kind of reputation and heritage that we got from our conservative founders in this party.
Source: 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina
May 15, 2007
Mitt Romney:
Changed from closing Education Dept. to supporting NCLB
Q: You have been criticized for changing your position on some issues. You say that it's a part of learning from experience. Can you point to an area in which your learning from experience led you to change to a position that is less popular with the
Republican base?A: Sure, quite a few, actually. One is No Child Left Behind. I've taken a position where, once upon a time, I said I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education. That was my position when I ran for Senate in 1994.
That's very popular with the base. As I've been a governor and seen the impact that the federal government can have holding down the interest of the teachers' unions and instead putting the interests of the kids and the parents and the teachers first,
I see that the Department of Education can actually make a difference. So I supported No Child Left Behind. I still do. I know there are a lot in my party that don't like it, but I like testing in our schools. I think it allows us to get better schools
Source: 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina
May 15, 2007
Nancy Mace:
Strongly supports educational choice
The answer to many of America's problems is not government, Mace will tell you. In regard to education, Mace says the federal government is "hurting more than helping." She strongly supports educational choice, but believes any reform to
education must be made locally. "Parents, teachers, and local schools, in that order, should be the individuals setting education policy and making decisions about how to educate our young people."
Source: Edgefield Advertiser on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Nov 23, 2013
Nikki Haley:
Educate kids not based on where they happen to live
Our children are our future workforce, our future business owners, and even our future governors. The quality we give them now is the quality they will return back to South Carolina, the quality that will define our state long after we're gone. [Let's]
reform the Department of Education. We'll start with the funding formula. We need to educate our children not based on where they happen to be born and raised, but on the fact that they deserve a good, quality education, and they are our future workforce
Source: 2011 South Carolina State of the State Address
Jan 19, 2011
Nikki Haley:
Incentives for teachers, including tuition & grad school
We've proposed a new initiative that will help our rural schools get, and keep, the kind of highly qualified teachers their students deserve.- First, if a student graduating high school is willing to spend eight years teaching in their underserved
home district after college, we will pay for up to four years of tuition at a state school.
- Second, if a teacher who has graduated from college and is burdened by student loans commits to teach in a rural district, we will contribute to their student
loan repayment.
- Third, if a teacher has less than five years' experience and begins teaching in an eligible district, he or she will receive a pay bump, advancing his or her salary to the level of a teacher five years further down the road.
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Finally, if a teacher wants to attend graduate school at a state college or university, we will cover the cost of that education, again in exchange for a commitment to teach in a rural or underserved district.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 South Carolina Assembly
Jan 21, 2015
Nikki Haley:
Incentivize teachers to work in rural districts
We will aggressively start recruiting teachers to rural districts and, just as aggressively, incentivizing them to stay there. If a student agrees to teach in a challenged district for eight years, we will cover the full cost of their education at a
state university. For recent graduates who agree to the same commitment, we will repay their student loans. For career educators who want to grow professionally and teach in these challenged districts, we will cover the cost of their graduate coursework.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to South Carolina legislature
Jan 20, 2016
Nikki Haley:
Higher education system is flush with cash
I am not opposed to using South Carolina's bonding capacity to serve the most critical needs of our state. There are times it makes sense. But it is why I opposed last year any effort to bond out hundreds of millions of dollars to fill a wish list for
our already bloated higher education system. And no one can drive the campuses of Clemson and others, see the brand new facilities and tell me that they represent our greatest need. That is not true of elementary, middle, and high schools.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to South Carolina legislature
Jan 20, 2016
Rick Wade:
All 6 siblings attended public schools
Born in Lancaster South Carolina, "a mill town," as he describes it, Wade says his personal story "is so South Carolina.""I had very humble beginnings," he says. "A father who didn't graduate from high school,
was a fork lift operator in the textile mills, a mother who graduated from what then was called Lancaster Training School and was a nurse's assistant her entire life.
And six of us; five boys and one girl and we all went to the public schools. All of my brothers; four other brothers had distinguished military careers, following in my father's footsteps as a war veteran.
And I was the first person in my family to pursue advanced education at the University of South Carolina and then ultimately at Harvard University."
Source: TheGrio webzine interview on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Dec 13, 2013
Rick Wade:
Vision for S.C. focused on education and jobs
It would be intriguing to see two black candidates with opposite viewpoints on a laundry list of issues debating them before the people. At the end of the day, voters would be asked to choose not based on race but on these candidates' ideas and
philosophies.Wade believes he can articulate a vision--one focused on education and jobs, among other things--that many South Carolinians would agree with. He said he would take "my message to the people, wherever they are, whoever they are."
Source: The State magazine on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Aug 29, 2013
Thomas Dixon:
Entitlement to quality education, including college
Education: - All Americans are entitled to a quality education that prepares them to become self-supporting citizens, and this includes college.
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The U.S. Senate must adopt legislation that makes sure that receiving a college education isn't a life sentence of crushing debt.
Source: 2016 South Carolina Senate campaign website DixonForSC.com
Aug 8, 2016
Thomas Ravenel:
Charter schools' success prove point of local empowerment
The federal government should return power to the states. That in turn empowers local governments, which are closer to the people and thereby more representative. Individual freedom in this country is incrementally yielding to a growing government and
its insatiable desire for more and more government revenues. Stronger than the law of physics is the notion that as government grows, individual liberty shrinks.The recent trend of charter schools proves the point of local empowerment.
When given a choice, people across America are more and more choosing charter schools, which are publicly funded but operated outside the established education bureaucracy.
Charter schools bring control out of the distant halls of education administration and back to the neighborhoods. If this principle works on the school district level: and I firmly believe it does: it certainly can work on the federal level!
Source: 2004 South Carolina Senate campaign website, ravenel2004.org
Sep 1, 2004
Tim Pawlenty:
Let school districts decide on teaching intelligent design
Q: When you served as governor in Minnesota you named an education commissioner who equated the teaching of creationism with the teaching of evolution. Do you equate the teaching of creationism with the teaching of evolution, as the basis for what should
be taught in our nation's schools?A: The approach we took in Minnesota is to say there should be room in the curriculum for study of intelligent design. Didn't need to be in science class. We didn't decide that at the state level.
We left that up to the local districts and parents; I think that's a reasonable and appropriate approach.
Q: You didn't answer my question about whether you personally equate a faith-based theory with scientific inquiry?
A: I believe that should be left up to parents and local districts and not states or federal government.
Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in South Carolina
May 5, 2011
Tim Scott:
Oppose nationwide Common Core standards
Question topic: The federal government should establish nationwide standards (such as Common Core) for high-school graduation.
Scott: Disagree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Sep 30, 2014
Tim Scott:
COVID: direct some relief funding to school choice programs
Senators Tim Scott and Lamar Alexander offered a bill during congressional negotiating over COVID-19 relief funding that would redirect some of that funding to school-choice programs. Tying it to the economic harms and school shutdowns was wise, because
it signaled to families who might not traditionally support conservative politicians that the GOP was taking seriously their concerns about being able to continue sending their children to the schools that are best for them.
Source: National Review on 2022 South Carolina Senate race
Sep 30, 2020
Tommy Pope:
$100 million for repairs in poor rural school districts
The South Carolina House of Representatives produced an initial state budget, moving again on education improvements. This year's budget specifically addresses the needs of poor rural school districts in 39 counties which have struggled in the
past as a result of declining revenue streams, among many other challenges. It is incumbent upon our state to provide each child the same opportunities in education regardless of their geographic location; the
South Carolina Supreme Court said as much in their 2014 ruling which is the impetus for the actions we are taking today. In this initial funding proposal, $100 million has been dedicated toward repairing, maintaining, and in
some cases upgrading the environments in which our students learn. I'll have more information on the state budget in the coming weeks.
Source: 2017 South Carolina House campaign website TommyPope.com
Feb 27, 2017
Tim Scott:
In America a good education is the closest thing to magic
I think we need to have hard conversations with the American voters about not red or blue solution, but about American solutions. Let's have hard conversations about the fact that in America, a good education is the closest thing to magic. And that's
why 67 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents, 70 percent of Hispanics, 74 percent of African- Americans all agree that quality education is necessary for the furtherance of the American dream and the hardest hit communities.
Source: Fox News Sunday on 2022 South Carolina Senate race
Sep 11, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023