We want good teachers. We don’t want
bad teachers. But how do we reach that goal? That’s the topic that Thursday’s
editorial addresses:
Browsing the S.C. Department of
Education’s proposed “Educator
Evaluation and Support Guidelines,” the model proposed to overhaul the
state’s system for measuring teacher success, two conclusions present
themselves.
It seems that the folks in Virginia, in a similar plight when it comes to worsening infrastructure and a lack of funds to fix it, are considering swapping their gas tax for a larger sales tax. And S.C. leaders, who for some reason decided that raising our outdated gas tax is strictly verboten, are looking north and wondering if we could do the same here.
I've got some of the same concerns as those cited in the article, namely that a higher sales tax would unfarily penalize people who may not even be driving, as opposed to a gas tax that at least relies on people who actually use the roads. It's also more regressive, and as we learned when we started making school funding rely more on sales taxes, it fluctuates quite a bit. Nevertheless, it's at least good news that legislators are talking about finding more funding somewhere, a major issue for the state we've pointed out several times in recent months.
If you're not like me and don't have your radio always tuned to NPR, you probably missed the interesting segment they did this morning on beach renourishment. Luckily, you've got me to point it out for you. It's a topic that's getting more attention following Sandy. And certainly one that resonates here. I believe (don't hold me to this, as I'm just working off my recollection) that the Dunes club up north is currently either in line for some renourishment work or in need of some, as waves continue to wash away its beach. Something that's been coming up at Horry County infrastructure meetings in the past few months.
Anyway, NPR did a good job of presenting both sides of the debate:
For half a century, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been in the beach business, dredging up new sand as shorelines wash away. Federal disaster aid for Superstorm Sandy could provide billions more for beach nourishment, and that's revived an old debate: Is this an effective way to protect against storms, or a counterproductive waste of tax dollars?
Wednesday’s good works editorial
profiles the amazing and praise-worthy efforts of Tracy Bailey and the good
volunteers at Freedom Readers:
A love of children and a love of
reading are the most important attributes for volunteer tutors in the Freedom
Readers Inc. programs in Conway, Georgetown and Myrtle
Beach.
Tracy Bailey, executive director of
the nonprofit, adds that love of children includes an understanding that “they
are rambunctious, they are energetic – and wonderful.” The point is, successful
tutors “can put the needs of the child first.” Freedom Readers spring sessions
began this week in two Conway locations, the
Boys & Girls Club in Myrtle Beach and in Georgetown.
For once, South Carolina's looking better than its peers when it comes to freedom of information laws. Poised to hit the U.S. Supreme Court next month is a Virginia FOIA case. Virginia, along with a few other states, is saying that its public access laws apply only to in-state citizens. In other words, if you'd like information from the Virginia government, you'd better be living in Virginia.
The counter-argument: Article IV of the U.S. Constitution, which provides: "The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states."
It'll be interesting to see which way this one goes. In the meantime, it's nice that SC has no such limitation on its law, though it could certainly use some stiffening up. If this case goes Virginia's way, however, I predict that may soon change.
What to do with the county's trash is back in the news, as legislators and county officials face off over the county's flow control ordinance. If you didn't catch it on Sunday, we got two of those folks, Rep. Alan Clemmons of Myrtle Beach and Solid Waste Authority chairman Danny Hardee, to share their take on the issue in a pro/con.
Clemmons:
Flow control ordinances create government-owned monopolies which can charge above-market prices because customers are prohibited by law from using a competitor. More here.
Hardee:
The flow control ordinance ensures low disposal fees for Horry County citizens, provides funds for our county’s state-of-the-art recycling and youth education programs, creates jobs for Horry County citizens, and prevents the possibility of trash being dumped in Horry County that is produced outside of Horry County. More here.
Tuesday’s editorial is on that most
perennial of subjects, a new highway to the area:
It’s easy to become cynical about the
prospects for any new highway to the Grand Strand. After all, we’ve been
promised one since the 1980s and have yet to see it materialize. But while
proponents of Interstate 73 – or any new road to our area – may seem locked in
limbo, there are a few bright spots on the horizon.
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