SC judge postpones decision on McMaster’s $32M spending on private school tuition aid
A South Carolina judge on Wednesday postponed his ruling over whether Gov. Henry McMaster can legally spend $32 million in one-time federal COVID-19 relief on private school tuition grants in the upcoming school year.
Last week, Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson temporarily blocked McMaster from spending the money, part of $48.5 million in federal aid the governor has in a discretionary account for educational purposes. Dickson ended Wednesday’s hearing without a ruling.
That earlier decision by Dickson was sparked by a lawsuit filed by Thomasena Adams, a retired public educator who lives in Orangeburg County, who sued the governor and the Palmetto Promise Institute this month, alleging the governor’s spending, out of his one-time federal Emergency Education Relief account, on private schools violated S.C. law barring public tax dollars going to religious or other private education institutions.
“The governor, by his own admission, has the goal of helping private schools,” said Skyler Hutto, son of state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, who represented Adams in court. “The governor’s office admits, for every SAFE Grant, there is a direct transfer of public money to the bank account of a private school,” he said, adding the school can decide how to spend that money.
But attorneys on behalf of the governor argued the money will go indirectly to the schools, going to the families first.
“They are indirectly provided,” said attorney Lisle Traywick.
Further, the attorneys said, should the judge rule in the plaintiff’s favor, it would unravel other programs that get public tax dollars — for example, FIRST Steps and the S.C. Higher Education Tuition Grants program. Currently, the governor’s first round of spending — $2.4 million — from his account for eight historically black colleges is on hold because many of the colleges are private.
Should the judge keep the injunction until a hearing can be held on the lawsuits merits, defense attorneys said they’ll likely requestextraordinary relief from the S.C. Supreme Court.
The state has more than 700,000 students who attend public schools compared with about 50,000 who go to private schools, which have lost millions due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The $32 million in spending would translate to an average $6,500 in tuition aid for about 5,000 students right now enrolled in private schools for the 2020-’21 school year. Only families who fall within 300% of the federal poverty threshold are eligible. About 10,000 parents have so far expressed interest in the grants, the governor’s office said on Tuesday.
Though families apply for the grants through a website run by Palmetto Promise Institute, a conservative think tank, the groups’ director Ellen Weaver said they will have no fiduciary oversight or involvement in the program.
Instead, oversight and vetting will fall to a grants manager through the governor’s office.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that about 10,000 parents have so far expressed interest in the grant.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
