Gov. McMaster’s $32M COVID spending on private schools could land in SC Supreme Court
The question of whether South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster can legally spend $32 million in federal COVID-19 aid on private school tuition grants could soon get the attention of the state Supreme Court.
Lawyers representing a retired educator, the governor and conservative think tank Palmetto Promise Institute plan to file a joint petition to the S.C. Supreme Court, asking it to take up a lawsuit that put into question the governor’s spending on private schools, attorney Skyler Hutto, who is representing the plaintiff Thomasena Adams in the case, said Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges McMaster violated state law by spending public money on religious or other private education institutions.
Last month, Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson temporarily blocked the governor from spending the money that is part of a total $48.5 million in federal aid the governor has in a discretionary coronavirus account specifically for educational purposes.
Dickson held a hearing last week in Orangeburg County, but had not yet ruled on the case as of Tuesday. He did, however, rule to dismiss the state of South Carolina as a party in the lawsuit. In court last week, attorneys for the governor said should the judge keep the injunction, they would ask for extraordinary relief from the state Supreme Court.
The governor’s office did not respond by print deadline.
Hutto told The State on Tuesday the Supreme Court would offer both parties a quick resolution before the school year starts.
“A final ruling from the Supreme Court would give us everything we need to get money in the hands of public schools in need of emergency relief,” Hutto said.
Hutto, who is representing Adams with his father, state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said the petition will include new parties: Orangeburg County Schools, a teacher and a parent and teachers group S.C. Education Association and its president, Sherry East.
News of the plan to petition to the Supreme Court was first reported by Charleston’s Post and Courier.
Last month, McMaster announced at a Greenville Christian school his intentions to spend $32 million on private school tuition aid.
That spending broken down would mean an average $6,500 in tuition aid for about 5,000 students now enrolled in South Carolina’s accredited private schools. But it would be open only to families who fall within 300% of the federal poverty limit.
McMaster used the same account to spend $2.4 million on eight of the state’s historically black colleges. But because most of those schools are private, attorneys told the judge last week that money has since been put on hold.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Gov. McMaster’s $32M COVID spending on private schools could land in SC Supreme Court."
