Democrats to McMaster: GOP is to blame for SC’s education, state agency failures
Moments after S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster delivered his State of the State address Wednesday night, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford blamed the issues with the Palmetto State’s education system and crises at several state agencies on his Republican colleagues.
Delivering the Democratic response to McMaster’s address, Rutherford said his conservative colleagues had neglected the state’s education system and the needs of teachers for too long.
“Rhetoric aside, the fact is that Republicans have been in charge of our state for nearly 20 years straight – long enough to be responsible for the very problems they claim to be solving,” Rutherford said. “Year after year, we see these same problems go from bad to worse.”
Rutherford called for the Legislature to pass substantive education reforms. Specifically, the Richland County Democrat called for his colleagues to fix equity issues in school funding and raise teacher pay. McMaster has proposed raising teacher salaries, including Wednesday in his address.
Both the House and Senate have produced legislation aimed at improving the state’s public schools. The House passed a massive bill last year and has introduced more this session.
State senators are debating an education bill which includes proposals to create a uniform system for high school students to have dual enrollment in college courses; address behavior for school board members; and set up processes for how interventions into failing schools and districts by the state would work. Debate on the Senate bill is expected to last more than two weeks.
The legislation comes as teachers around the state have called for less testing, limited class sizes, more days for teacher planning, increasing teacher pay, an earlier start date, and freedom to speak up about how to improve education.
Critics say the legislation does not go far enough, calling for a teacher bill of rights and saying the bill adds more duties for educators.
“Like they do every few years, Republicans will pass a bill, call it reform, and then call it a day,” Rutherford said. “That cannot be the case this time.”
Rutherford applauded McMaster’s push for expanding free, 4-year-old kindergarten for children in poverty, but said that the idea originated with Democrats.
“At the State House, a Democrat will propose an idea, Republican leadership will ignore it, and then — years later — a Republican says it and we clap,” Rutherford said.
The Richland County Democrat also took shots at the governor for proposing giving taxpayers yet another refund check in his executive budget.
This year, McMaster asked for $250 million to provide rebate checks for taxpayers across the state. Instead of the flat $50 that lawmakers doled out last year, the checks would depend on the amount of taxes that the resident was paying.
The announcement came after budget forecasters said the state would have nearly $2 billion in new money to spend this year.
Rutherford urged his colleagues to use that money to fund the Department of Social Services and the Department of Corrections, two departments that have jockeyed for the position as the lowest funded agencies of their kind in the country. He added that on top of being underfunded, those departments are also frequently engaged in lawsuits, which are costly.
“We cannot afford to waste this money,” Rutherford said. “A tax rebate would be nothing more than a gimmick from the governor and we don’t need another one of those.”
Rutherford also pointed out that passing a so-called “fetal heartbeat” bill, which is currently being considered by the State Senate, will also likely lead to expensive litigation. The bill — which resembles legislation passed in other states that have faced legal challenges — would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and only allows exceptions for rape and incest if the woman reports the crimes to police.
Though Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey has said Republicans don’t have the votes to overcome a Democratic opposition, McMaster has continued to call for senators to pass the bill.
“Let’s quit wasting money on lawsuits we cannot win in court,” Rutherford said. “Let’s quit wasting time on divisive issues, when we should be working to find common ground.”
Rutherford also voiced support for passing a bond bill to fund investing in infrastructure, legalizing medical marijuana and legalizing gambling.
He ended his speech with a call for his colleagues to work together in the upcoming year.
“To the Governor, to my colleagues in the House, and to my friends in the Senate: let’s work together to tackle the challenges we face,” Rutherford said.
Joseph Bustos contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 8:00 PM.
