Future of Education Superintendent will be on ballot this November

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)–  Voters will decide on a very important education amendment come November 6th.

Right now, the state’s superintendent of education is an elected official, but Amendment one would make it so that the governor would appoint the position.

Those who support the change say giving the Governor the power to appoint someone will allow vetted, qualified candidates to take the position.

“There are so many chiefs, no one really knows who really is the chief of education,” Molly Spearman said. Spearman is the current superintendent and said people should vote yes when asked about Amendment one on the ballot. She said there are a lot of qualified people who could do the job, but don’t have the money for a statewide campaign or can’t step away from their jobs to hit the campaign trail.  

“It would, for the first time, really give the gov. Office the accountability it needs for state education outcomes,” Shickre Sabbagha, Dir. of Student Retention at Midlands Technical College said. 

Right now, anyone who is over 18 can run for superintendent. Those who oppose the amendment change say that’s giving too much power to the governor, and that the people should be able to elect who they want to run the multi-billion dollar department.

“I think some voters will say they want to retain their right to elect the superintendent of education because they want a direct input into who is in charge of education,” Senator Brad Hutto (D, Orangeburg) said. 

“There is something to be said about having separately elected executive branch offices to hold that particular office accountable for that one outcome,” Sabbagha said.

The amendment change is a bi-partisan effort according to Senator Brad Hutto. Right now South Carolina is one of only 12 states in the country where voters elect the superintendent.   

“If they turn out not to be the very best person, guess what? The governor can fire them,” Mike Brenan said, who is on the SC Board of Education). 

The amendment vote will be on your ballot this November, but the change will not go into effect until 2022 if voters say yes.