Making a Flawed School Choice Bill (Slightly) Better

IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO IMPROVE A BADLY FLAWED “SCHOOL CHOICE” BILL, HERE’S WHERE TO BEGIN We recently released our initial analysis of S.279, the most prominent “school choice” bill currently before the General Assembly. While it may be encouraging to see lawmakers discussing the expansion of school choice, the bill is flawed.  The tax deductions [...]

School Choice This Year?

  NEW SESSION, NEW SCHOOL CHOICE BILL – SAME BAD IDEA  As was the case last year – and just about any year over the last decade – the current session’s “school choice” bill turns out to be little more than lip service to the actual policy. S.279 rehashes last year’s bill, H.4894, which would [...]

University Funding Up, Graduation Rates Down

OR: WHERE’S ALL THAT MONEY GOING, ANYWAY? State agencies submitted their budget requests earlier this month, as state law requires, and all but one higher education institution that submitted a budget requested increases. That’s not surprising, since state-supported colleges and universities have seen cuts in their General Fund budgets since the Great Recession began – [...]

More Money = Better Outcomes?

Before lawmakers try to “equalize” education funding among school districts, they’d better examine the premises of the proposed plan. The South Carolina School Boards Association has recently released a new education funding plan that would cost nearly $1 billion in new education spending each year. Specifically, the South Carolina Education Finance Restructuring Act would attempt [...]

Progress on School Choice?

NEXT TIME LAWMAKERS CLAIM THEY’VE DONE SOMETHING ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE, TAKE A CLOSE LOOK If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had this experience. You give your child a minimally difficult job – cleaning his room, say. After a few minutes, he claims to be finished, but when you examine his work, he’s clearly put forth [...]

What Can We Do about Higher Ed?

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE GOVERNANCE? Here’s an interesting exercise: Go to the Budget and Control Board’s website and download an Excel file containing the names, positions, and salaries of all state employees making more than $50,000 per year. The database is arranged according to salary, with the highest paid employees at the top. Now go [...]

School Choice in South Carolina: A (Very ) Short History

There are essentially two strategies in diplomatic negotiations. One is to ask for more than you know you’re likely to get, then to demand a portion of it and claim you’ve “compromised” on your original demand. The other is to make very modest demands and hope they’re met in full. Neither strategy has worked for [...]

Prepared in Mind and Resources? A Report on Public Higher Education in South Carolina

ACTA’s hope is that this report will be an urgent call to action to help the citizens and policymakers of South Carolina strengthen the state’s public higher education system and demonstrate leadership in being “Prepared in Mind and Resources.”

Fast Facts: ‘Prepared in Mind and Resources?’

The Policy Council and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni recently took a look at the state’s higher education system. What we found was bad news for taxpayers . . .

Ditching No Child Left Behind – all of it

At issue, of course, is the law Now Child Left Behind (NCLB), now in its tenth year. To understand what the news is all about, you need to understand what No Child Left Behind means for your child’s school.