By Gary Burgess Sr., special to Statehouse Report | The people of South Carolina should decide who the state superintendent of education will be. The governor of the state should not be given this far-reaching power.
The governor’s power has expanded to the point where numerous state
constitutional officers are no longer directly accountable to the people. Accountability to the people must continue to be the hallmark of this office which comprises the largest portion of the state’s budget. As a fiscal conservative, I believe accountability is imperative. The governors of South Carolina have been good politicians; nonetheless, a governor’s preference should never replace the voters’ voice at the ballot box.
Apparently, our current elected superintendent of education, Molly Spearman, questions herself; she supports this amendment to remove the vote of South Carolinians. She asserts, “When I decided to run, I checked the constitution to make sure I was qualified, and it turns out everybody is. (But) it requires a lot of skills and experience to run one of the largest agencies of state government and oversee 800,000 students.”
I do not support Superintendent Spearman’s liberal politics in running the office or her bullying of under resourced schools and districts, nor do I support her call for an ever-increasing education budget. Nonetheless, I do believe she possesses the skills to be superintendent of education. During my lifetime, all of the South Carolina state superintendents of education have been qualified.
My fellow South Carolinians, we are well-qualified to elect the state superintendent of education.
Vote No on Amendment 1!
Gary L. Burgess Sr., a Republican who lost in an eight-way 2014 GOP primary that included Spearman, is a member of the Anderson County Board of Education.
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We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Vote No on Amendment No. 1!!
Gary Burgess needs to be in charge.
Thank you, I realy appreciate your comments.