South Carolina Democrats accuse Zais of truancy

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Several Democratic senators are accusing state Superintendent Mick Zais of truancy in what the Republican schools chief calls a blatant partisan attack.

Sen. Phil Leventis of Sumter says Zais’ calendar shows he took a cumulative 29 days of personal time, and was out for sickness six days, from the time he took office in January through Nov. 21. The information came through a public records request.

Leventis notes a student who misses 10 school days is held back.

Zais counters the previous Democratic superintendents were frequently absent while running for other offices — Jim Rex for governor and Inez Tenenbaum for U.S. Senate. Zais says he took days off to move to Columbia, his grandchild’s birth, son’s wedding, and a stamp collection convention, and counted political functions as personal leave.