Imagine if you will, a world where the price of the houses in a neighborhood determines the quality of the education the children in that neighborhood receive. Sound familiar? It should. Unfortunately, this is the real world of education in much of South Carolina. Zip code equals destiny. Zip code school assignments can be a
Our team has been flooded with emails, phone calls, and testimonials from families received who are scared and confused about the implications of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the state’s fledgling ESA program, the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program. For many, the impact is that these low-income families will no longer
South Carolina is facing an energy crisis. In 2016, the average energy bill was higher for South Carolinians than for energy customers in any other state. We are still in the top five both nationally and in the Southeast. And it looks like power giant Santee Cooper is set to raise rates even higher. On
This op-ed by President Wendy Damron was originally published in The State. The old saying goes, “I’d rather have a workhorse than a showhorse.” South Carolina is fortunate to have a workhorse in Attorney General Alan Wilson. Since taking office in 2011, he has worked tirelessly to rein in the federal government’s overreach and reinvigorate
In the wake of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program weeks into the school year, South Carolina’s leaders have strongly spoken out against the decision, one which we believe is faulty and incorrectly decided based on a fundamental misreading of the state constitution and case
This article by Lisa Buie was originally published on the Next Steps Blog. In it, she quotes Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron. The big story: Nearly 3,000 low-income students and their families now find themselves scrambling for education options a month into the new school year after the South Carolina Supreme Court tossed out
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SC Supreme Court Finds Education Scholarships Unconstitutional 2,880 students see their scholarships cancelled weeks into the school year COLUMBIA — In a ruling handed down today, the South Carolina Supreme Court found in favor of the plaintiffs in Eidson et al. v. SC Department of Education et al. The 3-2 decision, written
Mikee Albin was a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran. He was living in an RV in the parking lot of the restaurant he ran, hoping to build up the business and achieve the American dream of entrepreneurship and homeownership. But his dream was sidetracked…badly sidetracked. Following an undercover investigation at his restaurant, where it was determined that
South Carolina localities have little to no statutory guidelines regarding when local elections are allowed, which has led to a much smaller voter turnout than the typical statewide general election. But local elections hold just as much importance, if not more, than statewide elections. There, citizens have the chance to vote for the officials that
I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on Barbara Nielsen. It was a civic club meeting in Columbia in early 1990, a statewide election year. Republican Carroll Campbell was Governor, but a Democrat held every other statewide office. There had never been a Republican State Superintendent of Education. As Barbara was being introduced,
