While one candidate for S.C. superintendent wants to legalize marijuana, another wants the NAACP to end its boycott of South Carolina. A third candidate has close connections to the Bush family. A fourth has been a strong proponent of abstinence-only education.
And that only hits the highlights. There are eight more candidates for S.C. superintendent of education in the June Democratic and Republican primaries on June 10.
The job pays $92,007 a year. It is an administrative position with responsibilities that include overseeing the state Department of Education and serving as secretary to the State Board of Education.
With so many candidates in the Republican race, a primary runoff is likely on June 24.
In the 2010 and 2012 primaries, all of the nine state-level races that had five or more candidates required runoffs, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the S.C. State Election Commission.
“A runoff may not happen, but if recent history holds true we would expect to see one,” Whitmire said.
GOP concern: Common Core
A majority of the Republican candidates have one thing in common: their vehement opposition to Common Core.
The education standards were developed by state education leaders and governors in 48 states. The standards specify what students should know at various grades; how they are taught is decided at the state and local levels. But the standards are opposed bitterly by some who say the federal government has coerced states into adopting Common Core.
The state Senate has sent legislation to the S.C. House that calls for a review of Common Core standards by Jan. 1, 2015. New standards would have to be enacted if that bill becomes law for the 2015-2016 school year, but the new standards still could be similar to Common Core.
The legislative action means that South Carolina’s new superintendent could have little say in what becomes of Common Core. But the issue is dominating the GOP primary to determine a successor to Republican Superintendent Mick Zais, who is not seeking a second term.
GOP candidate Meka Childs, a former Zais aide, said she was amazed by the pressure she felt as a member of the Education Oversight Committee to adopt Common Core. That pressure, she says, came solely because Common Core was tied to federal money.
“I don’t believe all federal money is evil,” said Childs, of West Columbia. But she wants to eliminate the federal government weighing in on standards, which she said are best addressed by states.