Lottery proves to be a regressive tax in South Carolina

Columnist Dwayne Green, writing in the Charleston City Paper, took up recently an issue that catches my attention from time to time, the evidence that poor people who play the lottery the most get the least benefit from it, directly and indirectly.

Green writes, persuasively,

What if the S.C. General Assembly announced a new tax that would be paid primarily by the state's poor and minority citizens?

And that the majority of the money raised would not be used to help failing schools or aid students from impoverished backgrounds, but instead be used to provide scholarships to college-bound high school seniors, regardless of their financial needs?

To lessen the sting of such a seemingly unfair system of revenue collection, the payment of the tax would be 100 percent voluntary.

How enthusiastic would the average South Carolina citizen be for such a plan? If you could rate that enthusiasm on scale of one to zero, I'd say zero, unless the plan also promised participants a one in a 100 million chance of becoming a millionaire.

Apparently, this remote chance of becoming instantly rich is all that it takes for people to line up to pay the State of South Carolina hundreds of millions in revenue that they would not otherwise pay. This is the reality of the S.C. Educational Lottery, which for fiscal year 2010-2011 exceeded $1 billion in sales, something that it has only managed to do two other times in its decade-long history.

Championed by Democrats and former Gov. Jim Hodges, the lottery has become a regressive tax in the hands of a Republican-dominated legislature that decides which programs the lottery will fund. Data on lottery ticket sales show that poor citizens participate in the lottery much more than more affluent citizens do, but benefit decidedly less.

Since the S.C. Education Lottery began conducting demographic studies in 2002 — the first year of the lottery — those studies have underscored the fact that it operates as a regressive tax.

In 2008, a survey was conducted of South Carolina residents by the Alpharetta, Ga.-based firm Research Inc., the results of which were reported by the Arkansas News Bureau website when Arkansas hired South Carolina's former lottery director, Ernie Passailaigue. Although people in households earning under $40,000 comprised 28 percent of South Carolina's population, the survey found they accounted for 31.3 percent of its lottery players and 53.4 percent of its frequent players.

Meanwhile, a 2003 state lottery study conducted by the Columbia-based Market Search Corporation also found that 53 percent of all South Carolina residents had played the lottery as of that year, with 62 percent of African Americans having played, as opposed to 49 percent of Caucasians. That same study found that although the majority of state lottery players were white, the incidence of frequent lottery play was disproportionately higher among African Americans and players with household incomes between $10,000 and $50,000 (55-61 percent).

The overwhelming support of the lottery by South Carolina's poorer residents would not be as problematic if the majority of the funding went back to those communities with the highest need. However, the state lottery commission reports that from Jan. 7, 2002, through June 30, 2010, 73.36 percent, or $2,276,017,843, of the General Assembly's appropriations from the Education Lottery Account supported scholarships, grants, and other higher education programs, while the state Department of Education received 24.14 percent, or $549,949,126.

The college-bound recipients of these funds already have the benefit of excellent scholastic records, and they receive these funds regardless of their ability or inability to pay for college.

Despite its voluntary nature, there is no question that the S.C. Education lottery qualifies as a regressive tax since it imposes a greater burden on the poor than the rich, relative to resources. The continued participation in it can only be explained, in part, by an ignorance of the odds and where the money spent actually goes. That so many people buy in proves the old adage, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

Press conference brings attention to educator salaries

When was the last time you saw The State and the Charleston Post & Courier publish stories about restoring educator salaries, on the same day?

Both are trailing the Charleston City Paper by a day, but better late than never. Nothing beats a trend, and news of this one may reach the Upstate by this evening or tomorrow.

The spark for this feeding frenzy by the media is a press conference held just a couple of hours ago at the State House, featuring fourth-grader teacher Patrick Hayes of Charleston. Hayes initiated the online petition -- at the advice of his wife, we've now learned -- in frustration at having his salary frozen for four years. Hayes previously taught in California, where he was a member of an educators union, and where educators are accustomed to organizing in support of their interests.

Thanks to that experience, Hayes is a motivated fellow.

Hayes used a fellow teacher, Lindsey Egloft, as an example. Egloft said she makes $36,679 teaching fifth grade at Drayton Hall Elementary. According to the salary schedule or her district -- given the credits she has earned in a Master’s degree program -- Egloft said she should be making $38,050.

Next year, with lawmakers’ 2 percent raise, Egloft said she would be making $37,360.
...
“I’m going to stop talking about this issue when I’m being paid the salary I was promised when I took the job,” Hayes said.

A pretty pithy summary of the press conference, according to non-media sources who were there. Still, it's coverage. Maybe a later iteration will offer more detail of the dialogue between Hayes and Egloft.

The Post & Courier published a bit more background in its report:

His online petition, Restore Teacher Salaries, has amassed nearly 7,000 signatures since he posted it about a month ago, and his goal is to reach 20,000.

"There's a huge well of resentment about the way teachers have taken the brunt of the state's mismanaged finances," Hayes said.

South Carolina has seen a 24.1 percent drop in per-pupil spending from 2008 to 2012, which is the biggest decrease of any state, according to the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Hayes, a married father of two, isn't one of the district's well-known teacher leaders, but he stays informed on local and statewide issues.

When he heard about the governor's "inflammatory" budget proposal -- which would decrease education funding by nearly $80 million despite a statewide surplus -- he said he felt compelled to act.

Hayes wrote emails to lawmakers and encouraged his co-workers to do the same, and his wife suggested an online petition. He told fewer than 100 people about it, but support grew fast.

"It's the nature of the cuts we've seen the last few years," Hayes said.

Lawmakers have slashed the funds that go to school districts, and they've given local education officials permission to ignore the salary schedule that dictates what teachers are supposed to be paid.

In Charleston, that has meant teachers haven't had a cost-of-living adjustment in three years or a step increase for additional experience in two years.

"It's the only career advancement we have unless we leave teaching and become administrators," Hayes said. "It's not a lot of money, but it's something that's going to happen every year and makes life a little easier."

Charleston County Superintendent Nancy McGinley has said giving teachers the pay they deserve is her No. 1 budget priority, and Hayes said some teachers plan to focus their advocacy on the local school board.

Hayes knows that part of the challenge is raising awareness, and he said a lot will have been accomplished if teachers' salaries can be restored in one year.

"It will take a combination of the state spending more money and districts prioritizing it," he said. "Most people have no idea that this has been going on, but when they hear about it, they want to help."

When educators organize, educators and students win.

I'm a great believer in organizing.

I believe that when educators organize, educators and their students win.

Even better, when educators and parents organize together, nothing stops them from achieving their mutual goals, because even in a state like South Carolina -- where the legislature has total control of everything -- what motivates lawmakers is motivated, organized voters.

So I'm so proud to see an educator -- a fourth-grade teacher in Charleston named Patrick Hayes -- stepping up to help organize educators, parents and others behind a single, simple message: To use the windfall revenue surplus to restore educators' salaries.

Today's Charleston City Paper tells what motivated Hayes:

"I was shown a piece of paper when I took this job that showed how much money I was going to make in 2012, and I made my plans around that," Hayes says. While state legislators hash out the budget for the fiscal year that begins in July, Hayes still has a mortgage to pay. In the spring of 2010, as Charleston County schools forced teachers to take unpaid furlough days and the state legislature debated whether to cancel its requirement for the "step increases," as the annual raises have been called, Hayes was about to become the father of a baby girl. To plug a hole in the family budget, he took on two extra jobs, working as an in-home tutor and helping to organize a summer camp at the school.

And what suggested to Hayes that stepping up and organizing educators works?

Experience.

"It's almost embarrassing the amount we're looking for here," he says. "It's embarrassing that we have to go out and fight for this."

Hayes previously taught in California, which allows teachers to join unions. In South Carolina, teachers are barred from collective bargaining. "With the salary, the tradition is I just sit back and wait and see what they hand me," he says.

We cannot change our history, but we can learn from it and change our future.

Where we have come from doesn't have to be where we remain, or where we should go.

All it takes to change is to organize.

So, go here. Sign the petition. And say something.

Need inspiration?

Need help?

Need a reason?

About seven thousand have already volunteered to help you. Take a look:

Matthew Wilt Feb 27, 2012 Sumter, SC
But we're only babysitters, right?

Brian Davis Feb 27, 2012 Pamplico, SC
We need to be paid for all the work that we do...We do way more than teach to those who think we do nothing!!!!

Patsy Rankin Feb 27, 2012 Seneca, SC
Teachers are the people who shape America's future. We pour ourselves into students and inspire them to be great! Pay teachers what they deserve.

Elizabeth Humphrey Feb 27, 2012 ORANGEBURG, SC
I am a young teacher, and I am not getting paid enough to teach my Science class. My materials are becoming scarce. Also, if our pay continue to decline, then that will leave our classrooms with 35 students plus, and a higher drop-our rate because we will not be able to meet the needs of our students one-on-one. Please unfreeze our salaries, because we are the ones that make a difference as we teach, touch, and inspire our future visionaries.

Bonnie Friedman Feb 27, 2012 Mount Pleasant, SC
We need to pay teachers what they deserve. They are teaching and caring for our future! Without good teachers SC will stay in the bottom for education!

Erin Campbell Feb 27, 2012 Marion, SC
Please honor our salaries. I have been teaching for 4 years and struggle to take care of my son. I only make $28,000/year. I could work retail and make more money. I could substitute teach up north and make more money. South Carolina's education is going to start suffering and we already don't have a good reputation.

Carolyn Mayton Feb 27, 2012 Rock Hill, SC
I will support our teachers always! God Bless them and our children. I have a son who graduated last June and a daughter who is a Junior this year.

Tricia Wells Feb 27, 2012 Gilbert, SC
I support the SCEA's efforts to rebuild and restore teachers' salaries.

We're not alone. Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Brandy Eubanks Feb 27, 2012 Ladson, SC
Students can't be put first if you put teachers last.

Michele Peacock Feb 27, 2012 Rock Hill, SC
I won't be voting for Haley next go round either.

Olga Pickering Burke Feb 27, 2012 Charleston, SC
Our teaches deserve more pay. Our children deserve great teaches. Gov, Haley you understand our needs.

Lisa Hawkins Feb 27, 2012 Florence, SC
Use returning revenues to honor our state's commitment to fully fund our schools.

Robert Shank Feb 27, 2012 Georgetown, SC
Teachers need raises now, we are falling behind every day further and further.

Mary Ingrassia Feb 27, 2012 Saint Helena Island, SC
As a former public school teacher I can't imagine Ms. Haley's outrageous attitude regarding the SC teachers. They deserve to have their salaries raised! Hers should be cut!

Sarah Johnson Feb 27, 2012 Mt. Pleasant, SC
Invest in our schools, our teachers, our children - not in Teach for America, Common Core, and punitive high-stakes standardized testing.

Debbie Murphy Feb 27, 2012 Prosperity, SC
Please not I have taught for 31 years in TN and SC last years salary was my lowest for 9 years. I think this is a sad fact for the BUSINESS of education.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Nancy Bradshaw Feb 27, 2012 Irmo, SC
Has your operating funds been cut by 24%? Are you being paid the amount listed in your contract? Why are we different?

Monica Y. Williams Feb 27, 2012 Camden, SC
Please give teachers the step increase this year which is 2012. We haven't had a raise in 3 or 4 years and everything else is going up. Gas is going up, grocery prices are going up, and daycare prices are going up. Please help teachers live a life that is fit for a public servant!

Tamayu Wiles Feb 27, 2012 Ridgewood, NY
Being one of the most important jobs teachers help shape what our world is to be for the next generation, a top salary is indicative of that work, a low salary is not! A happy teacher is a happy student

Melissa Sadek Feb 27, 2012 Blythewood, SC
Teachers deserve more than we could ever give them. Have you seen the children they have to deal.with on a daily basis! !!

Brenda Roy Feb 27, 2012 Columbia, SC
Restore SC schools and stop the privatization of our public schools.

Tim Moore Feb 26, 2012 Andrews, SC
Honor your promise

Willette H Williams Feb 26, 2012 Denmark, SC
Restore retired teachers' salaries also. Retired teachers are being discriminated against yet we are paying retirement from our wages and still frozen with retirement pay. Not right. We should not be penalized because we are retired.

Harriett Davis Feb 26, 2012 Orangeburg, SC
For the last four years, we, teachers, have continued to do an exemplary job in the classroom despite our pay. We have been overlooked for far too long. We deserve a raise for the extraordinary jobs we do despite our pay.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Stephanie Bowling Feb 26, 2012 Blythewood, SC
Do we value our children's teachers or not? Would the state cut the pay of their doctors and dentists if those were state jobs? I don't think so. Teachers are just as important, if not more, in the lives of children.

Jean Bowers Feb 26, 2012 Greenwood, SC
Teachers give their all to the good the bad and the ugly, and their parents. They deserve a raise and more respect.

Cynthia Layton Feb 26, 2012 Orangeburg, SC
Teachers put in more hours than most people with their job. It is very difficult for them to raise a family and pay bills with what they make. Without teachers you would not have politicans, doctors or lawyers who make alot more than teachers. Please support education and give teachers a well deserved raise.

Debra A Cherubini Feb 26, 2012 Chapin, SC
SC has cut more from education than any other state! WOW. While we are at the bottom of the states when it comes to getting a good education. Making more cuts makes no sense!!

Beverly B. Ramsey Feb 26, 2012 Charleston, SC
Teachers put in more hours than most people with their job. Please give them what they deserve and you will keep the qualified teachers. It is very difficult for them to raise a family and pay bills with what they make. Without teachers you would not have politicans, doctors or engineers who make alot more than teachers. That is not right.

Michael Eippert Feb 26, 2012 charleston, SC
I have 2 dedicated teachers in my family and they're both grossly underpaid for the amount of work that they do.

Rebecca Lauder Feb 26, 2012 Greenville, SC
The children of SC are more important than most of the issues our legislators have chosen to debate! Please be a responsible representative and speak for our children!

Kayla Griffith Feb 26, 2012 Orangeburg, SC
Teaching is on of the only jobs you plan on going into without ever getting a raise. If this happened in the business world people would quit.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

T. Clanton Feb 26, 2012 Catawba, SC
Our dedicated South Carolina teachers should be rewarded by giving them decent salaries they deserve. The lies and deceit the Government continues to practice will discourage future students from perusing teaching degrees. Give them what they are promised and what they deserve!

Renee Cogburn Feb 26, 2012 Blythewood, SC
For my sister-in-law, Cassie Cogburn and all other teachers out there. No one in a working position of any kind could have made it without a teacher!!!

Benjamin Edge Feb 26, 2012 Central, SC
Teachers are more important than corporate tax cuts

Kathy Dezern Feb 26, 2012 Seneca, SC
Why has South Carolina always put education in last place on it's list of priorities? We have the most ill educated population in the Nation and it shows in levels of income, crime, teen pregnancy you name it and we are plagued by ills due to lack of education.

Gabrielle Clossman Feb 26, 2012 Bluffton, SC
I am a fourth grade teacher who has had my pay frozen for two years now.

Ghussan Rouse Greene Feb 26, 2012 Orangeburg, SC
Teachers deserve a raise for dealing with the students of today; they are a handful.

Cheryl Fiedorczyk Feb 26, 2012 North Charleston, SC
When the men and women running our state show that they have faith in the educational system of SC, everyone will win. I have worked in other states and never have I seen such a negative attitude toward teachers as that which is displayed here by our government officials, county board of education systems, and the public.

Darlene Swope Feb 26, 2012 Lexington, SC
The future of SC and the USA lies in the education of our youth.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Robert McManus Feb 26, 2012 Lexington, SC
Put OUR money to use for better performance from our teachers; too many of them have to use their own money to buy supplies that our administration types will not! I Further, cut the administration if that is what is needed to accomplish this!

James A. Stuckey, Jr. Feb 26, 2012 Charleston, SC
Quality education needs to be a top priority, certainly in dumb, illiterate, and poor South Carolina.

Mary Crum Scholtens Feb 26, 2012 Mt. Pleasant, SC
Teaching is one of the few professions where we must pay for our own continuing education in order to renew our license to practice. This alone is reason enough to compensate us fairly for our years of experience and service.

Dr. Gloria D. Winkler Feb 25, 2012 ORANGEBURG, SC
Everyone seems to applaud athletes and the like and forget the ones who actually taught these individuals. Why must teachers suffer financially?

Tomalyn Jamison Feb 25, 2012 West Columbia, SC
Please show that education is a priority in our State by putting the $$ back into it!

Beverly Diane Frierson Feb 25, 2012 Columbia, SC
Let's honor those who are entrusted to teach our children with salaries that make it clear we appreciate professional educators.

Deborah Galloway Feb 25, 2012 Anderson, SC
I have friends with children in the school system. Friends and family members in the school system teaching. I see them by supplies for their student out of their pockets. If they want to see them succeed. Building more schools and employing no more teacher. How will the students get an education? Teacher not getting raises. But trying to help the students.

Amanda Haffenden Feb 25, 2012 Summerville, SC
The children and teachers of SC deserve better. Teachers spend their vacations and evenings working for their students and should be compensated accordingly. If my husband were paid hourly for all the time he spends teaching and preparing for teaching, he would be making approximately $9 an hour. SC can't afford to be last in education. We need to increase salaries to compensate our teachers and to ensure that our children receive the best educations possible.

Katherine M. Blake Feb 25, 2012 Andrews, SC
Apparently, Gov Haley and the legislators forget that it all starts with teachers. NONE of them would be where they are without the dedication of the teachers of the world! They should be compensated accordingly.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Kristin Sigalas Feb 25, 2012 Summerville, SC
Restore SC teacher's salaries!

Kelly Mitchum Feb 25, 2012 Bamberg, SC
Teachers deserve to be compensated for all they do. Their job is hard enough as it is, so don't make it worse by having more budget cuts or salary freezes. They also need to be able to punish unruly kids so they can teach those willing to learn!!

Loree B. Paschal Feb 25, 2012 Lugoff, SC
Considering the responsibllity given to teachers, I (a retired educator) feel it is almost criminal to withhold money from our teachers. Sometimes a teacher is the only person who calls a child by his/her name during a day. Many bright teachers leave the profession because they have no promise of earned income increases. Cut somewhere else; maybe stipends for legislators travel, etc.

Eileen Sullivan Feb 25, 2012 Cayce, SC
I am a teacher in Lexington 2. We teachers desperately need a raise in order to keep up with the cost of living during these terrible economic times. I have spent a great deal of my own money on school supplies for my students & classroom. Please use returning revenues to raise teacher salaries!

Dottie Baker Feb 25, 2012 Bishopville, SC
Gov. Haley needs to remember her roots! I do sign the petition, gladly

Patti Parker Feb 25, 2012 Greenville, SC
To Governor Haley and our Legislature: Please PROVE that education IS a priority in this state. It is our only hope for the future. Teachers work extremely hard for their students, but are not paid wages that will support a family. If you want to continue having quality teachers, better pay is the way to prevent their talents from going to other professions and industries!

Rhonda Brummel Feb 25, 2012 Bamberg, SC
Gov. Haley I voted for you because I thought you supported ALL educators - I am quickly losing faith in what you say and do

Mike Vaughn Feb 25, 2012 Great Falls, SC
End your assault on education of our children. I will remember your actions on election day.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Leigh Ann Osborne Feb 24, 2012 Bamberg, SC
Education in SC cannot survive more cuts in funding. Teachers are educated professionals working with the state's most precious resource for the future -our students. Send the message to teachers and students that education is important in SC!

Nichole Yoch Feb 24, 2012 Augusta, GA
I live in GA, but I am a SC educator. Pay us what we are worth. I just completed my Master's degree and my increase in pay does not even cover my student loans. Unacceptable!!! We work hard for our students and we deserve to be justly compensated for it!

Rose Harris Feb 24, 2012 St. Stephen, SC
Restore teacher salaries.

Mary Evelyn Martin Feb 24, 2012 Richmond Hill, GA
I have many teachers in my family in SC and they are living below the poverty line. PLEASE PAY THEM A DECENT WAGE!

Gail Moore Feb 24, 2012 Greenwood, SC
I think we deserve our salary plus all of our National Board Compensation. We work hard to better ourselves as educators. Not only do we work a full time job at our schools but the work comes home with us where we work at night and on weekends for the betterment of our students as well as ourselves.

Kellie Conner Feb 24, 2012 Lake Wylie, SC
The public schools need more funds to better educate our students and teachers need their salaries they were promised.

DOROTHY ELAINE GAUTIER Feb 24, 2012 MT.PLEASANT, SC
Why do we continue to punish teachers? It is so unfair. You make their jobs harder, and and cut, cut, cut. My daughter is a wonderful teacher, and can only teach, because her husband has a good paying job. If not, she would have to leave a job she loves, to make more money.

Joetta Balsley Feb 24, 2012 Plymouth, IN
My daughter has been teaching in south Carolina schools for four years. My husband and i have to supplement her income so she can pay a car payment, pay rent and buy groceries and pay a few other bills. There is not enough money in her paycheck tp live

Katie Johns Feb 24, 2012 West Columbia, SC
It's a shame when a professional National Board Certified teacher with 7 years experience in the classroom and a proven record of success cannot support a family of three on her salary.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Davis Marret Feb 24, 2012 Charleston, SC
This is my 4th year teaching and I make the same as I did my first year!!! This is horrible! Help us please

Jon Crawford Feb 23, 2012 Mt Pleasant, SC
Please honor the daily commitment of SC teachers to their students, our children, and our future. Fugitive corporations do not deserve any more breaks than they already get; teachers need a raise, and legislators should match at least the mid-range of salaries nationwide for qualified instructors in public schools.

Evelyn Anderson Feb 23, 2012 Greenville, SC
If only our State leaders were as dedicated as our teachers...

David L. Rice Feb 23, 2012 Charleston, SC
I can't think of a better way to spend the tax money than in support of education and in particular teachers. Are we as South Carolinians doomed to eternal last place?

Maureen Adkins Feb 23, 2012 Hanahan, SC
Education should be our biggest investment in our future. Although I have no children left in school, I fully support paying my taxes that go to our education system. Give our teachers the raise they deserve.

Peggy Edmunds Feb 23, 2012 Sumter, SC
My husband says I had the only job in America where I was expected to pay for my own supplies. I was a teacher.

Allison Poston Feb 23, 2012 Scranton, SC
You're reading this because someone taught you how. Juss sayin'. :)

Stacey Schmidt Feb 23, 2012 Columbia, SC
Teachers should be some of our highest paid officials. They are preparing our children for the future. Teaching is one of the hardest yet most thankless jobs!

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Megan Spradlin Feb 23, 2012 Mount Pleasant, SC
My mom is first grade teacher and her job is super important. Non only are they educators but teachers are the guardians of our democratic society, and it is their purpose to prepare their students to enter into the society and sustain it.

Rebecca Freeman Feb 23, 2012 Aiken, SC
Return revenues to honor our state's commitment to its teachers and fully fund our schools.

Karen Flowers Feb 23, 2012 Columbia, SC
I was a public school teacher for 30 years and now have worked with teachers for 12 more. My son is a teacher, but I am sure for how long. He cannot afford it. Just because teachers are treated poorly doesn't mean they have to be paid poorly. Please restore the teachers salaries that have been cut over the last few years by using returning revenures.

Joni Carr Feb 23, 2012 Murrells Inlet, SC
Education is the path for a successful future to all South Carolinians. In addition to the doctors, lawyers and "chiefs", the butchers, bakers and "candle stick makers" need a high quality education to survive. You KNOW that we get what we pay for, so RAISE the amount of taxation to pay teachers more competitive wages to keep them in SC with our children and grandchildren!!

Eleanor K Linder Feb 23, 2012 Greenville, SC
Please help our children and grandchildren. They deserve good, better paid teachers.

Karen K Wehman Feb 23, 2012 Columbia, SC
How can we continue to cut education funds whe we still rank 47th , or very near the bottom, in education?

Georgia Arnold Feb 23, 2012 Orangeburg, SC
I ask that salaries be restored to teachers and funding to schools.

Alan Gramet Feb 22, 2012 Pawleys Island, SC
It is deplorable the way this state values education! How do yo expect to draw additional industry to this state with sub standard education. DO NOT CUT any additional funds! We should be allocating more not less

Marilyn M. Davis Feb 22, 2012 Charleston, SC
I am in full favor of the state reinstating raises for teachers. I bet if the Governor was told that she could not get a raise she deserved she wouldn't be happy about it. Teachers in this state already make less than their counterparts in other states. I am sad to say that I cheered when Ms Haley won the governorship, I thought that she would be an advocate for educators. Boy was I wrong!!! She wants to keep slave labor alive and well in SC. Too bad we went from good ol boy, to bad ole girl. So sad. Can't wait for election time. We need to correct this wrong. SC is finally making headway in improving education levels and it is thanks to its teachers. How about giving more than a pat on the back for a change.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

JAMES W. GARRICK, JR. Feb 22, 2012 Greenville, SC
Even my evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist brother voted against SC's governor and, obviously by now to thinkers, he was right again. More embarrassment for dear sad SC.

Judy Powell Feb 22, 2012 West Columbia, SC
If you want to see the quality of teachers decline, beat them down by diminishing their pay. Teaching is so very much more demanding than most people realize. The best and the brightest are so talented that they could easily succeed at careers that pay much higher salaries than teaching. So if you want to skim the best off the top and take second and third tier quality teachers, be prepared to pay the cost in the quality of instruction that students receive. You have cut >20% from education and now have a billion dollar surplus in the budget. I dare those in power who cast a vote that has such far-reaching effects to spend a week in a classroom, teaching standards, maintaining discipline, being a counselor, mentor, parent, encourager, etc. See how much you think you should earn. We truly have our priorities misaligned in this state. I am a retired educator who loved every position I ever held. I made a difference. I hope and pray that you restore teacher salaries before the great ones buckle under the decisions that reflect a lack of appreciation and less money.

Connie Gecy Feb 22, 2012 Simpsonville, SC
Teachers deserve so much more than they are paid. I hope you sign this and pass it on to others. Teaching is a difficult job and getting harder every year!

Karen Rhodes Feb 22, 2012 Florence, SC
We need to take care of our teachers!

Thomas Powell Feb 22, 2012 CHESNEE, SC
With what all the teachers have to do these days they deserve every penny you could give them. How do you expect to educate our children if you do not support our teachers?

Marian Martin Feb 22, 2012 James Island, SC
I am making the same salary I made 6 years ago but paying higher prices. I can't afford to pay my family's medical and dental bills. You people in government jobs don't care about public school servants. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Anne T. Heles Feb 22, 2012 Port Royal, SC
As a retired teacher I agree whole heartedly that the teacher's salaries to be be restored. Visit classrooms and see what goes on.

Emily Knight Feb 22, 2012 Florence, SC
As someone new to the teaching profession (3 years) I am still hopeful that I can make a difference in students' lives and help them succeed in school and in life. It his hard to keep this hope, though, wondering if I will ever get paid more than 29K a year (what I made my 1st year of teaching.) Some day, I would like to buy a house, have a family, and be an adult. I net about 2k a month. I grew up Catholic. If I wanted to take a vow of poverty, I would have just become a nun teacher.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Kathleen France Feb 22, 2012 columbia, SC
Return us to our days of honor and do the right thing.

Robert Gowan Feb 22, 2012 Taylors, SC
I am a public school teacher and recently a father! I can't afford to support my family even with my wife working full time as well. I am a very qualified 6th year teacher whose salary has been frozen for the past 4 years. If this continues through next year I am in danger of losing my home, which will cause me to move. Talking to fellow teachers, we all feel the same. South Carolina is in danger of losing qualified teachers, only to replace them with less qualified ones, or even worse, none at all.

Leigh Watson Feb 22, 2012 Anderson, SC
The teachers in this state deserve better. You will find less and less people going into this field without better funding. We already see it in math and science.

Brittany Hilley Feb 22, 2012 Abbeville, SC
We can't move forward as a state, if we don't have teachers to educate the future generation. If we can't pay them or they can't find a job, they WILL go somewhere else that will and we as a state will fall behind every other state and be the laughing stock of the nation.

Victor Cruz Feb 22, 2012 Charleston, SC
Shameful we have to be doing this. Please, paid teachers what they deserve, fund schools properly.

Virginia Clark Feb 22, 2012 LADSON, SC
You are shortchanging our children and grandchildren. The corporations make billions of dollars of profit as it is.

Bob Bouton Feb 22, 2012 Greenville, SC
Use returning revenues to honor our state's commitment to its teachers and fully fund our schools

Rod Mattingly Feb 22, 2012 Beaufort, SC
Which comes first? Industry requires a skilled/educated workforce. We are way behind. Pay our teachers; bonus superior results. Motivated teachers and principals will lead their students to success. Nikki, wake up!!

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Jeannette DuPree Feb 22, 2012 Columbia, SC
Teachers deserve higher pay than athletes, actors, politicians...and they deserve RESPECT! No wonder this country is going to the dogs!

Patrick Nasarre Feb 22, 2012 Charleston, SC
Education should be a priority for every government of every country who wants to lead the world. That's the only way this world will get better!!!!!!

Deborah Bannister Feb 22, 2012 Charleston, SC
Please acknowledge the hard work of South Carolina teachers. I easily work 12 hours a day and six days a week on behalf of this state and its students. Cost of living is rising, but legislators seem to think I can live on what I did 6 years ago. With stipends and programs that have been cut, and no cost of living raises, I am making several thousand less than I did 4 years ago. I have not cut my service to YOU. I work just as hard, pay out of my pocket for what you have taken away, and do all the duties and extra-curricular activities that I did before. I support South Carolina education. When will you support me?

Cara Spitz Feb 22, 2012 Mt. Pleasant, SC
Teachers have not received a pay increase in 4 years, contrary to what our signed contracts state our salaries should be. This makes it very difficult to live with the cost of living continuing to rise (groceries, electricity, etc..) and no salary increase.

Erin Hudson Feb 22, 2012 Spartanburg, SC
As a first year teacher who is leaving the field, I can say that I have stood side by side with incredible people every day who work hard for next to no pay because they love students. It isn't right, and the fact is, many of these people have to leave the field or get second jobs because the salaries are not enough.

Tim Huber Feb 22, 2012 Summerville, SC
No school administator should be making significantly more money than a classroom teacher earns. Get that worked out and some of the funding issues would autocorrect.

Deborah D. Wimberly Feb 22, 2012 Bennettsville, SC
Not only is the Govenor and the State Superintendent targeting teacher salaries they are also keeping the base student cost at a level that goes back to the 1990s, despite state law. How can this be?

Bonnie Poore Feb 22, 2012 Abbeville, SC
How can the children get the education they need in over crowded class rooms? We need teachers and they deserve to be paid for what they do. Let the governor work without pay, give up her salary for the budget.

Elita Pillin Feb 22, 2012 Irmo, SC
Gov. Haley, Didn't a teacher educate you???

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Winnie Williams Feb 22, 2012 Seneca,, SC
Please be rminded that our Education Programs determine the condition of SC. Please do not fail our children nd the future of SC.

Thelma L. Cummings Feb 22, 2012 Anderson, SC
Governor Haley, Pleasse honor the commitment as promised to the Teachers of S.C, so that our children can get the Education needed. That's what our Taxdollars pay for.

Joyce Roberts Feb 22, 2012 Camden, SC
Education funding should be a priority. Growing the economy starts with our school-age children and the BEST teaching staff possible.

Gwendolyn Smith Feb 22, 2012 Little River, SC
I knew that Nikki Haley was against education from the start that's why I didn't vote for her. Wish all educators did the same.

Daniel Craig Lathey Feb 22, 2012 Sullivans Island, SC
Since moving to South Carolina, it has become very evident that the government of this state cares very little for public education. It is a shame to see the people in charge constantly asking more from us while taking away our resources for both doing the job and living our lives. All that will be accomplished by this course of action is forced movement by our quality teachers to go elsewhere where we are appreciated.

Marilyn Turturici Feb 22, 2012 Spartanburg, SC
Our teachers and students deserve the respect and commitment by the state to fund education.

Michael Schilter Feb 22, 2012 Folly Beach, SC
A world superpower cannot exist unless its citizens are educated.

Cara Finley Feb 21, 2012 Sumter, SC
We need to only restore teachers salaries, but increase it so that it is equal to our level of education and other occupations with the same level of education and expertise.

Elise C Hind Feb 21, 2012 Honea Path, SC
The future looks very bleak for public education. I imagine recruiting new teachers will become very difficult if the class loads continue to grow and the working conditions continue to decline. Couple that with decreasing salaries and lack of job stability and you have a budding crisis on your hands.

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Amy E. Campbell Feb 21, 2012 Pelzer, SC
I'm a teacher that loves her students and the job that I do. It's not about the money for me, but I work hard and I'm educated. I use much of my own money to provide the things that I need to do my job well. I also buy my students things so that they do not have to do without. I pray that SC will not let us down.

Erica Skibinski Feb 21, 2012 Charleston, SC
4th year teacher...still getting paid 1st year salary. This makes it difficult when I bought my house considering I thought my salary would increase with my experience. I am dedicated to my job, I coach, and I work on committees. Now I want to be able to pay my mortgage without having to sacrifice groceries or supplies for school. You need to invest value into the people that train the children of the future, and you definitely need to get rid of the teachers that don't have success in the classroom.

Karen Oliver-Paull Feb 21, 2012 Indian Land, SC
It is a disgrace that our teachers are paid such low salaries and then expected to write lesson plans for each child who is not proficient for their grade level. Most of the teachers I know stay well into the night at school to get everything done that is required of them. Many of them are depressed because they feel like they are not valued as human beings because they get such low pay, have too many students, and are under pressure to teach children of people who treat our school system as free daycare. The least you can do is pay them properly. It makes me feel sad when people hear I'm from South Carolina because they assume that I come from a state full of ignorant people. Well, they could be right as ignorance is due to a lack of education.

Kathy Rackley Feb 21, 2012 Charleston, SC
I support the SC teachers and the need to raise their salaries in order to attract the best talent to teach our children. Give teachers the raise they deserve and need.

Lauren Vaughn Feb 21, 2012 Boiling Springs, SC
As a teacher, I certainly appreciate this petition!

Betsy Long Feb 21, 2012 Camden, SC
All funding for K-12 public education needs to be restored. Our children deserve to be educated for the future with adequate resources, starting with highly qualified, fairly paid teachers.

Richard C Goldie Feb 21, 2012 Gilbert, SC
Neither one's political party nor one's political orientation should come into play when the issue of priority for proper support for our schools arises.

Michael Scott Steedley Feb 21, 2012 Walterboro, SC
I'm a college educated teacher who never entered the public school sector because salaries are so low it makes it difficult to survive. This is a very sad fact! Teaching is one of the most valued professions of all and should be recognized as such!

Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Joyce Thomas Feb 21, 2012 McClellanville, SC
It is embarrassing that these professionals are paid so poorly. They are, after all, the people who are preparing OUR CHILDREN FOR THEIR FUTURE. What could be a more important job?!?

Susan Best Feb 21, 2012 Salem, SC
SC should make education a top priority! Broken promises to honorable public servants is disgraceful! Put our children first if you care about the future of our proud state!

Stevie P Shirey Feb 21, 2012 Summerville, SC
They are held to high professional standards but not paid or treated like professionals. With public universities costing $10,000/semester, how do we expect to attract new teachers at $24,000/yr starting pay? HUGE problem on the horizon.

Jo Carlisle Feb 21, 2012 Chapin, SC
The dedication and caliber of teachers in this state is threatened by cuts to our educational system. These are people to whom we entrust the future of America, our children. We must reward these dedicated individuals not penalize them for choosing such a demanding career!

Susan Arentsen Feb 21, 2012 Pawleys Island, SC
Having been in an excellent system in Illinois, I have been impressed by the talent and dedication of teachers in this area. Our children desperately need to continue to have this level of public school teachers if our state is to thrive. It takes generations of excellence for families to inculcate the value of education for their children if they themselves are not educated. Please help us to live up to the public's promise to our teachers.

Kelly Herring Feb 21, 2012 Rock Hill, SC
I am so disappointed in our govenor and legislature. Our children are the future of this state and I can not believe you want to put there education in jepordy. I have personally talked to people who deciced to live in NC because the SC schools are so bad. I am a retired teacher and am proud of my contribution to helping SC youth. Please wake up. SC polliticians are putting our chances of encouraging business growth in peril. I have NO confidence in my state leaders..

Laural Christine Webb Feb 21, 2012 Taylors, SC
Education level is South Carolina is not very high. Our so called intelligent governor thinks will increase the level of education. Tell her to stop sitting on her brains and do what is best for our kids.

It's your turn. Go here. Sign the petition. Say something.

Charleston City Paper recaps Haley's tumultuous first year

Governor Nikki Haley's reportedly publishing a book -- can you say 'candidate for national office,' and 'profiting from public service,' boys and girls? -- this spring, but Chris Lamb of Charleston has beaten her to the punch with a Cliffs Notes edition of her first year in office. Lamb is a communications professor at the College of Charleston, and author of a new book of his own, the soon-to-be-released "The Sound and Fury of Sarah Palin."

Lamb's delightful litany was published in the Charleston City Paper just before New Year's Day but it bears review as Haley's attentions return to her job and she begins her second year in the office.

The past couple of weeks, of course, don't really count, as she's played escort to Mitt Romney -- I guess they never did make it to Scott's Branch School -- and bathed in the bright attention of national media spotlights.

But after the confetti is swept up, and the tears mopped up, on Saturday night, the big names and big cameras and big satellite trucks will move on, leaving Haley to do her job.

A depressing circumstance for a young woman with a large ego and outsized ambition, yes, but so much more depressing to the millions of men, women and children who live and labor without a better, more knowledgeable, more committed, more focused, more ethical, more sensible, more thoughtful governor.

We are but stepping stones to Haley's future career moves: FOX News commentator? Cabinet Secretary? Think tank mouthpiece? Ah, the high-dollar career options stretch numberless before her, equal to the great and terrible needs of South Carolina's people. She has dozens of career paths to choose from; we have but one governor, to whom we are contemptible.

Thanks to Chris Lamb, we have a Year-One chronology of Haley's contempt. Assuming reasonably that Romney passes over the troublesome Haley for a vice presidential candidate with more gravitas and less self-interest, leaving her unfortunately to occupy our chief executive office for another whole year, here's hoping Lamb will provide the same service next winter.

While running for governor of South Carolina in 2010, state Rep. Nikki Haley campaigned against wasteful spending. If elected, she promised fiscal responsibility and personal accountability. Her administration would be transparent, honest, and ethical. She also vowed that she would protect South Carolina's business interests, especially when it came to the state's ports in its competition with Georgia. On Nov. 16, 2010, Gov.-elect Haley told a crowd of a thousand people in Charleston that she was tired of "Georgia having its way with us." This would not happen on her watch, Haley said.

In January, Gov.-elect Haley flew on a Cessna Citation X jet on business to San Diego. The Associated Press later estimated the cost of the flight at $20,000. The Post and Courier, citing a private booking service, said the cost was $35,000. The Post and Courier reported that Haley told the S.C. Ethics Commission the flight was worth $1,400. Ethics Commission Director Herb Hayden told the newspaper that intentionally under-reporting the value of a flight, which amounts to unreported campaign contributions, would violate ethics laws.

Haley became governor on Jan. 12, 2011, nearly a year ago. According to a recent Winthrop University poll, only about 35 percent of South Carolinians approve of the job she is doing. To give her the benefit of the doubt, let's examine her first year in office according to the issues she laid out for voters while campaigning for governor.

What could be fairer?

Jan. 13 The Associated Press reports that Haley will pay her chief of staff, Tim Pearson, $125,000 per year, $27,500 more than Gov. Mark Sanford paid his chief of staff the preceding year.

March 3 Haley appoints a campaign contributor, attorney Tommy Cofield, to the University of South Carolina's Board of Trustees, replacing Darla Moore, the largest benefactor in the school's history.

March 10 Haley establishes the nonpartisan, taxpayer-funded S.C. Health Planning Committee to study how to respond to a federal mandate to implement national healthcare in the state. Haley says the committee will decide "whether or not the state should establish a health insurance exchange," which creates a marketplace where insurance plans are sold.

March 14 According to documents received through a Freedom of Information Act request, The State newspaper reports that Haley's 2008 application for a job as a fundraiser for the Lexington Medical Center listed her previous salary at $125,000 a year, $100,000 more than what she declared on her tax returns.

March 15 Haley tells the Associated Press that she did not fill out the application and said she never earned that much nor told anyone she did. When Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey is asked why she did not fill out the application and if she did not, who did, he had no comment.

March 16 Mark Shelley, the Lexington Medical Center's director of marketing and public relations, tells the Post and Courier that it is "highly unlikely" that anyone other than Haley filled out the application.

March 31 Haley dictates the conclusions of the Health Planning Committee before the committee has had a single meeting, the Post and Courier reports in December.

April 21 According to documents obtained through a FOIA request, The State reveals that Haley's office tried to convince news organizations to report that Darla Moore was replaced on the USC board of trustees because she ignored multiple requests to meet with the governor. The documents provide no evidence that Haley tried to contact Moore prior to March 3.

June 2 Haley orders state legislators to Columbia to finish a package of government restructuring bills. She threatens to send state troopers to collect the legislators at a cost of $42,500 a day.

June 6 The state Supreme Court rules that Haley's attempt to order legislators back to work is an "unconstitutional violation of separation of powers."

June 18 Haley and a delegation of 26 go to Paris to recruit business to the state. North Carolina sends seven people. Georgia sends two.

Sept. 5 Post and Courier reporter Renee Dudley writes that the governor's June trip to Paris cost the state an estimated $127,000. The costs include airfare, five-star hotels, cocktails at the Paris Ritz, a $25,000 soiree for foreign business leaders at the Hotel de Talleyrand, and a chalet at the International Paris Air Show. "There is a method to the madness," Haley says. "I am selling the state the only way I know how."

Sept. 8 Haley calls Dudley a "little girl" during a nationally syndicated radio interview with talk radio host Laura Ingraham.

Sept. 8 Haley tells the Lexington Rotary Club that half of the applicants for jobs at the Energy Department's Savannah River Site failed drug tests and half of the remaining applicants couldn't pass reading and writing tests.

Sept. 9 Haley responds to demands that she apologize for calling Dudley a "little girl" by saying, "I'll forgive her bad story, if she'll forgive my poor choice of words." Haley does not explain what she means by Dudley's "bad story" and offers no evidence to contradict the facts of the Post and Courier article.

Sept. 12 The Post and Courier reports that Haley and her staff stayed overnight at luxury beach cottages at Kiawah Island. The staff retreat costs $3,641. By comparison, Gov. Sanford held his staff retreats at his family farm in Beaufort, where they cooked hamburgers on a fire pit and slept in sleeping bags.

Sept. 20 Haley acknowledges she can't support her claim that half of the applicants for jobs at the Energy Department's Savannah River Site failed drug tests and half of the remaining applicants couldn't pass reading and writing tests. She says that she had probably repeated the story "a million times." She defends her comment by saying, "I never felt like I had to back up what people tell me. You assume you're given good information."

Nov. 8 The Post and Courier reports that Haley is in California again to speak to conservative groups, expand her national image, and raise money for her 2014 re-election campaign. The newspaper reports that Haley has flown more than 50 times and has spent a month and a half outside South Carolina since becoming governor. It says the governor has accepted 20 flights from people with potential business with the state, including three who were appointed to important government positions.

Nov. 10 The board that oversees the Department of Health and Environmental Control overrules a staff decision and approves a water quality permit for the Georgia Ports Authority to dredge the Savannah port. The decision is made without public hearings or feedback from political, business, or environmental leaders. Critics charge that Haley and the board, which is comprised of the governor's appointees, betrayed the state's interests by giving Savannah a competitive advantage over Charleston. Haley dismisses bipartisan criticism that DHEC's decision was influenced by a campaign fundraiser she attended in Atlanta with people with a financial interest in the Georgia port. The P&C reports that the fundraiser was held a few days before DHEC's decision.

Nov. 18 The Post and Courier reports that the governor's trip to Europe cost the state $158,000 and not $127,000, as earlier reported.

Nov. 20 The State discovers from a FOIA request that Haley's staff has deleted e-mails between staffers, raising concerns that the deletions may violate state public records laws.

Dec. 8 Lawmakers, business groups, and environmentalists publicly challenge DHEC's decision. "I don't think this issue is going away any time soon," state Rep. Chip Limehouse says.

Dec. 11 A Winthrop University poll reported that 34.6 percent of South Carolinians approve of the job Haley is doing as governor. Her approval rating, according to the poll, is 10 points lower than that of Democratic president Barack Obama.

Dec. 14 According to e-mails released as a result of a FOIA request, the Post and Courier reports that Haley ignored the recommendations of the nonpartisan committee, which met 30 times over seven months and was authorized to implement national healthcare reform. The newspaper reports that the governor's office had failed to turn over a March 31 e-mail revealing that the governor dictated the committee's conclusions before it ever met. Committee members call their efforts a waste of time and taxpayers' money.

Dec. 16 Haley says the committee never considered "a state health exchange." The Post and Courier reports that this contradicts her statement on March 10.

Dec. 16 Haley endorses former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Dec. 16 Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh says that Haley put her personal ambitions over her Tea Party supporters by endorsing Romney. Limbaugh criticizes Haley's endorsement as politically motivated. She wants to be vice president, he says.

Will Mt Pleasant's gated communities secede from CCPS?

Mount Pleasant has a rich cultural history. It was once a mecca for African-American musicians from Count Basie and Louie Armstrong to B.B. King and James Brown. There's no sign of that now, as all those musical landmarks have been replaced by manicured right-of-ways and gated communities. Still, realtors in Mount Pleasant boast, "...[T]here is a certain look and feel to Mt. Pleasant that people seem to find attractive that is difficult to explain."

Mt. Pleasant is home to more luxury communities than other Charleston areas. Recently developed I’on has received natural acclaim for it’s [sic] blend of historic Charleston architecture, a historic district look, and integrated shopping and dining. In spite of zero lot lines and escalating prices, homes in I’on never stay on the market long. Mt. Pleasant in stretching northward past Hwy 41 with homes ranging in price from the high 200’s to well over $1 million.

Mm, tres chic.

The Charleston City Paper reports that some of Mount Pleasant newer residents are dissatisfied with being part of Charleston County -- more specifically, part of the Charleston County Public Schools -- and they're reaching into South Carolina's past for a solution to their dissatisfaction: Secession.

Parents at a public-input meeting for Charleston County School District Monday night proposed making Mt. Pleasant its own school district, an idea that has been bandied about in the past.

Lynn Franchak, who has children attending Cario Middle School and Wando High School, was the first to propose the idea of a Mt. Pleasant school district in her brainstorming group. She says parents have been talking about it since her family arrived in the town six years ago.

"We've worked hard to build a nice life and live where we do and pay the taxes that we do," Franchak said. "We feel that this town is large enough to support its own school district. I also feel as though being part of the Charleston County School District, it brings our standardized test numbers down, it brings our attendance down, it brings our graduation rates down, and so we hurt because of that."

Understandably, no one wants to be "brought down." Perhaps it's true that parents in Charleston's other municipalities aren't excited about having average or below-average standardized test scores, or attendance rates, or graduation rates. It may be that those schools 'cross the river need a few more resources to help raise their results. Might additional tax revenue from the gated enclaves of Mount Pleasant help lift all boats?

Coincidentally, one parent did propose raising taxes to support education, although his idea was not voted to be one of the top recommendations.

Apparently not. Easier to draw some new lines, keep in the luxury and keep out the needy.

The article notes that about 50 parents were split into two "focus groups" at the meeting, and the groups brainstormed a set of recommendations for the county board of education. After "narrowing" the list, it included these:

• Expand the elementary schools' third-grade academies.

• Keep a focus on literacy and expand professional development for teachers who teach reading skills.

• Expand pre-kindergarten programs.

• Stop over-testing to allow more time for instruction.

• Encourage vocational education as well as college-oriented instruction.

• Stop teaching to the standardized tests.

• Consider Montessori school models.

• Keep fine arts.

• Keep physical education.

• Consider improving technology to move toward paperless classrooms.

• Shrink class sizes.

• Improve teachers' pay.

More of these sessions are scheduled, so we may hear more talk of secession, and more about the Mount Pleasant residents suffering from being part of the Charleston County Public Schools.

The public is invited to attend sessions at James Island Charter High School (Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.), Stall High School (Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.), and Burke High School (Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.).

Haley to college students, seasonal workers: Get a job

Irony: A woman who couldn't explain what, exactly, she did part-time for a consulting firm and a hospital, gets elected governor of a state whose chief industries are tourism and agriculture, and she quickly moves to block a policy that pays unemployment benefits to seasonal workers and college students when their tourist- and agricultural-season jobs come to an end. Seven months after taking office, her state is tied for fifth in the nation with 10.5 percent unemployment.

At least a few of these college students are South Carolina's future classroom educators, getting a head start on finding summertime jobs to augment the low salaries they'll collect once they find a coveted teaching job.

Chris Haire of the Charleston City Paper caught an item on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel and wrote about it:

According to Gov. Nikki Haley, hordes of college students have been filing for unemployment benefits once their summer jobs have ended. Even worse, the state was actually playing along, paying them what I would imagine are millions and millions of dollars every year.

Thankfully, Gov. Haley put an end to this wasteful and shameful practice, according to the Fox News report. To which I have to say, bless you, Nikki, bless you.

However, in her interview with Fox News, Haley wasn't clear on exactly how many college students were receiving unemployment checks and how much money the state was paying out to them.

In order to get an answer, I sent an e-mail to Haley's ever-prompt spokesman Rob Godfrey. Below is the letter:

Hey Rob,

Chris Haire with the Charleston City Paper again.

I've got a couple of questions about a statement that Nikki Haley made on Fox News this week regarding unemployment benefits for seasonal employees.

During the interview, which you can find here, the governor says that thanks to her efforts, the great state of South Carolina "stopped giving benefits to seasonal employees that were college students working for summer getting benefits."

This is the first that I have heard that the Palmetto State has a problem with college students bilking the state out of unemployment money. It's quite surprising that it has been allowed to go on all these years. Believe you me, I'm glad that Gov. Haley has put a stop to this practice. It is a travesty.

However, I need to get a few numbers and whatnot from you.

One, how many college students working seasonal jobs were collecting unemployment in 2010, 2009, and 2008? (I'm sure these figures are readily available.) And then can you give me figures concerning how much unemployment money was going to these particular college students for those years as well?

Two, the governor claimed on Fox News that benefits to seasonal employees have been stopped. However, reading over the law and other reports, it would seem that benefits haven't stopped; they've merely been changed or limited? In fact, seasonal employees who are laid off during the season can still collect unemployment.

Perhaps you and Haley are aware of another definition for "stopped" that I'm not privy to. I've spent the vast majority of my teen and adult years either drunk off my a** or high as a kite, so I easily could have missed any changes to the lexicon. If you can point me in the direction of an online dictionary with this definition, I would appreciate it.

Three, you know, I just can't stop thinking about all of those college students getting unemployment benefits, and, well, I don't know about you but I sure could have used a few extra bucks in college, and I'm just baffled that none of my friends told me about this. ... How did Haley first hear about this? Is this something Haley has firsthand knowledge of? Did she collected unemployment benefits while a student at Clemson? ...

Four, The Sun Times out of Myrtle Beach seems to indicate that the vast majority of seasonal employees in Horry County that collect unemployment benefits are not college students seeking summertime jobs, but the men and women, the husbands and wives, the fathers and mothers, who call Myrtle Beach home; they are the ones who work in the hotels, restaurants, bars, and other places of business serving the Grand Strand's seasonal tourists. Have you considered contacting The Sun Times seeking a retraction?

It bothers me to no end to think that the media has no regard for the facts and, in this case, would ignore the horrible truth that Haley uncovered: that South Carolina college students, particularly those in Myrtle Beach and, I would think, Charleston as well — gasp — have been filing unemployment claims when their summer jobs came to an end and not, well, adults who have families to support, mortgages to pay, and groceries to buy. (Fortunately for Haley, the latter vote but the former do not.)

Five, and please forgive me for asking this, but the naysayers out there, the negative ninnies, might say that Gov. Haley claims that college students were bilking the state out of vast sums of unemployment funds in order to make her accomplishment seem all that much more grandiose. I know that's a strange claim to make.

After all, Haley certainly accomplished quite a good deal by changing the rules regarding who does and who doesn't receive unemployment benefits, so it would make absolutely no sense for her to act as if college students were solely responsible for bilking the state out of what I would think would be millions of dollars by falsely filing unemployment claims.
...
Once again, Rob, I appreciate your help, and I look forward to your prompt reply.

Best Regards,

CWH