South Carolina tells US Department of Education to take a hike

South Carolina School Superintendent Mick Zais told Washington DC to take a hike!  He won’t be applying for any of their offered school bailout money.  As reported in the Charleston Post and Courier, Zais wrote in his response:

[Students’] future is not brightened by saddling them with the outrageous credit card bill that awaits them at graduation, courtesy of the federal government. By now, it should be obvious to Washington that South Carolinians and the American people are fed up with deficit spending.

The South Carolina education bureaucracy is trying to force him to change his mind. The Educrats are planning a protest in front of his office on Monday the 15^th at 10 AM at the corner of Bull and Senate streets in Columbia. I understand that there will also be a counter protest to support Zais at the same time and place!  So if you can go and show your support for Zais, please do!

But if not, please take a moment Monday morning to contact Superintendent Zais and tell him we don’t need the bailout money from Washington.

The answer to South Carolina’s education problem is not a bailout from Washington.

And don’t forget, with every dime that comes from Washington comes mandates.  These mandates burden us with requirements that keep us from solving our education problems.  Washington cannot know what is best for South Carolina.  They do not understand what we need.

We cannot afford to take money that binds our schools to the will of Washington Educrats.

In trying to twist Zias’ arm and embarrass him into accepting the money, the US Department of Education sent him a letter to “remind” him that he had rejected the money. In reply Zais said,

I regret that your agency wasted taxpayers’ resources to inform the state again about something it and USDE already knew.  Instead, your letter appears as another attempt to inject Washington politics into South Carolina’s affairs.

Contact Zais as soon as you can and tell him not to fold to the pressure of the Educrats.

Tell him we don’t need another $144 million in debt from DC.

Superintendent of Education
Mick Zais
Rutledge Building
1429 Senate Street
Columbia, SC 29201

803 734 8492
info@ed.sc.gov