The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

Black legislative, community and education leaders joined state Superintendent Jim Rex on Thursday in denouncing a bill filed by Sen. Robert Ford that would offer tuition tax credits to students who attend private schools.

The group instead championed competing legislation that would increase choices within the public school system by requiring new options in elementary, middle and high schools within two years.

The opposition comes two days after Ford, a Charleston Democrat, advocated using public money to allow students to transfer out of failing schools. It’s the latest battle in the state’s ongoing debate about private school choice. While Ford’s bill would give money to public school students who transfer to higher-performing public schools, the most controversial part of the legislation is its redirection of public money to private schools.
Some say competition from private schools would be good for the public system, while others say taking money away from public schools will only hurt them. Those fighting Ford’s bill said they don’t see a groundswell of support in the black community for it.

„As an African-American and an educator, I’m shocked and appalled that this is the position that someone who is supportive of our community would propose,“ said former state Teacher of the Year Traci Cooper. „It’s bad legislation.“

Others who spoke out against the bill included former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney; state Sen. John Scott, D-Columbia; Rep. Anton Gunn, D-Columbia; and state Chamber of Commerce board member Steve Benjamin. Local representatives included the Rev. Joe Darby, pastor of Morris Brown AME Church and Charleston vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Clay Middleton, a community organizer and Iraq war veteran.

After hearing the names of those who spoke out, Ford said that none of them have made „one contribution to black people or to education.“ None would send their children to a failing, predominantly black school, and they should be more worried about the hundreds of thousands of black families in that situation rather than criticizing him, he said.

„No matter what we do, they come out with some sort of plantation response because someone like Jim Rex makes them do it,“ he said. „They never support nothing in the black community. … They’ve never left South Carolina, and they don’t know what other people around the country are doing.“
Darby said he hadn’t spoken to any of Ford’s constituents who agreed with the senator, and he encouraged Ford to host a public meeting so residents could share their ideas on his plan.

„I think the senator has miscalculated the level of his support, to put it kindly,“ Darby said.

Ford said he’s received hundreds of supportive phone calls, with more support from his district than any other area.