Senators: An education reform bill will not be passed this session
The head of the Senate Education Subcommittee says he does not his bill to be rushed through the Senate
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Seeing 10,000 teachers AND THEIR SUPPORTERS stand loud and proud on the State House lawn left Governor Henry McMaster (R-South Carolina) with a strong request for his state’s lawmakers.
“We’re all frustrated with the lack of response in the Senate. The Senate needs to act on the education reform bill. If we don’t pass that this year, then we’re sending a message to those that want to come live, work in South Carolina, to the people that live here and their children, that we’re not serious about fixing education,” Gov. McMaster said.
Even with mounting pressure from the Governor and educators across the state, some Senators say that there’s no chance an education reform bill will be passed this session.
“Having a rally really doesn’t move us faster or slower in one direction or another. The complaints that we’re hearing yesterday, we’ve been hearing since January,” said Sen. Greg Hembree (R-Horry County).
The Senate Education Committee has met 15 times over the past year, but some say coming up with the right reform bill will take more time.
“Certainly I wanted to move the bill this year, I mean it’s as if we didn’t want to do that, but I’m a whole lot more concerned about getting it right than getting it fast,” Sen. Hembree said.
Some lawmakers who took part in the rally say the point was not to push swift action on the Senate floor, but to set the tempo for the next session.
“We expect you to reach out to us in the summer, reach out in the fall. We’re willing to work with you and either try to find a way to make lemonade out of lemons and do something with a horribly crafted bill and try to make some good out of it, or we’re willing to throw away that bill and start from scratch,” said Sen. Mike Fanning (D-Fairfield County).
Sen. Hembree says the Senate Education Subcommittee is planning on meeting several times this summer. He also says a reform bill probably won’t pass until at least January.
