The Opinion Blog

The County that Reads

Reading = good. That just about sums up Tuesday’s editorial:

Being in the business of writing and publishing, we’re just a bit biased when it comes to literacy. Reading is a good thing. Well, more than that, actually. It’s a life necessity.

So when we heard about Conway’s upcoming RiverRead festival, we were more than a little bit excited. What better to celebrate than the joy of reading? And especially during National Library Week.

If it Ain't Broke ...

Friday’s editorial (if you’re not already tired of the subject after the marathon discussion yesterday) takes on the issue of policy governance in Horry County Schools:

Socastee High School teacher Robert Chandler carries first and last names that mean “bright with glory” and “candlemaker,” appropriate for somebody who’s become doggedly determined to shine a light into dark places. Horry County Board of Education members might be forgiven for believing that the name actually means “thorn in the side.”

How Should We Measure Teacher Success?

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.

Teens and Infants Given New Home

Wednesday’s editorial:

As a long-time children’s advocate, Lorretta Keeling was deeply concerned by the number of homeless students in Horry County Schools, especially teenage girls soon to be mothers. So Keeling founded the Horry County Teens and Infants Shelter Home.

The Perils of Privatization

Thursday’s editorial attempts to explain why privatizing the state’s school bus system really isn’t a great deal for taxpayers or students:

If the state budget decreases and the size of S.C. government shrinks, does it mean taxpayers are also benefiting and paying less money? Not necessarily.

Take school bus privatization, which Gov. Nikki Haley proposed once more in her 2013 executive budget, released Dec. 20.

What We're Thankful For

Thursday’s editorial gets in on the holiday spirit:

Today, we as a nation set apart a time specifically for giving thanks, a day for looking back upon the gifts of the past year and reflecting on all the good that we have borne witness to. Rooted in our country’s harsh Puritan heritage and made official in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln in the midst of our worst trial as a nation, the holiday is more than just a time to gather with family and friends and loosen our belts a notch or two.

Congratulations; Now Get to Work

So much for the campaign. Now it’s time to actually get some work done, as Thursday’s editorial says:

The ballots are in, the votes have been counted (and in Carolina Forest they’re being recounted), the victory and concession speeches have been given, and residents and politicians alike are breathing sighs of relief as we return to our normal lives after yet another divisive political season. But if you’re one of those elected, now comes the hard part.

Bessant and Martin for School Board

Friday’s second editorial offers our recommendations for school board seats:

Though it has seen quite a bit of turnover this year, the Horry County Board of Education has just two contested spots left to fill on Tuesday: District 9 and 11, both of which cover areas in northern and western Horry County.

District 9

Incumbent David Cox has shown himself to be a capable board member, who knows the issues in play and consistently votes with the conservative majority to avoid any hint of higher taxes. We have few qualms about his fitness for the office. Nevertheless, our first choice for the seat would be his Democratic challenger, Ronald Bessant.

Why We Recommend

Why do we even bother to share our thoughts on the upcoming election? Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain:

Over the coming week, The Sun News editorial board will be sharing our analyses, and our recommendations, of the candidates running for local, state and federal offices in the Nov. 6 election.

We do not call these pieces “endorsements;” nor do we think of them as such. An endorsement, in our view, is an exhortation that you vote for a particular candidate, and that’s not what we’re doing.

We simply want you to have as much information about these races as possible as you go to the polls. In these pieces, we will describe our impressions and critiques of these candidates in a way that the journalists who write in our news pages will not. (Rest assured, as always, that the two functions of newsgathering and opinion writing are separate at The Sun News.)

Hard Questions About College

Sunday’s editorial asks some tough questions about who’s going to college and why they aren’t succeeding:

Sandwiched inside the article The Sun News published last month when data on local, state and national SAT scores were announced was this sobering sentence: “The College Board considers 1,550 a benchmark for indicating college success.”

Those who read that far into the news story came upon the benchmark after learning that Horry County’s average SAT score was 1,484, Georgetown County’s average was 1,364, the state average was 1,431 and the national average was 1,498.

In other words, the average student SAT test taker, whether on the local, state or national level, is not considered likely to succeed in college. Those results come on top of similar ones from the ACT test, the other popular college entrance exam. A report this year by the organization behind that test found that only 25 percent of ACT-tested high school graduates nationwide were adequately prepared for college in all four subjects it covers: English, reading, math and science.