In an email yesterday, Democratic candidate for state superintendent Frank Holleman pointed supporters to an AP article highlighting Frank's recent appearance at a teachers' forum where he debated a field of 6 GOP candidates vying for the state's top spot in education:
Last week, I joined other candidates for Superintendent of Education for two joint appearances, one before the Teachers of the Year from all over South Carolina and a second before School Board members from across the state.
I was the only candidate to oppose tax credits and vouchers that take funds from our public schools and undercut public education. The two leading candidates for the Republican nomination openly support tax credits, and the rest either support tax credits and vouchers or will not oppose them. These schemes once again divert South Carolina's attention from the hard work of improving student achievement, are bad fiscal policy for the state budget, and are harmful for both public and private schools.
As The State and The Charlotte Observer reported about our debate before South Carolina's Teachers of the Year: "Frank Holleman, who is running for the Democratic nomination, drew the most applause when he said anyone running for the post should support public education and not programs that give parents vouchers or tax credits to send their children to private schools."
My opponents' support for tax credits or vouchers guarantees them significant financial contributions from out-of-state voucher backers who have sent large sums of money to pro-voucher candidates in past elections.
We agree. Ongoing efforts to strip public education of public money and divert those funds into private institutions threatens to gut an already-hobbled system of public education on which students across the state rely for a chance at a successful professional career after graduation.
For more on the New Democrats' ideas for education, check out our Reforms page.
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