I find this one very interesting. If you haven't heard, there is a growing controversy in South Carolina because Governor Mark Sanford's refusal of some of the Stiumlus money. Not just any Stimulus money, but specifically $700 million for K-12 and higher education. Here is the NPR Story. So, of course, schools are getting restless and teachers have even begun to pubically rally in Columbia. There is lots of speculation out there that he is doing it to prepare for a presidental run, but it is not just that he is doing it ... it is HOW he is doing it. Listen to this:
You can judge for yourself, and I would love to hear your comments especially from my cohort of S.C. readers, but I like the clear articulation of positions here. Gov. Sanford is willing to publically say that he supports fiscally harming kids in the short term in the hopes that they are fiscally better off in the long term. Whether or not you support this position, and I probably don't given that a good friend of mine is a teacher at S.C. State, the directness and clarity of the position is laudable. (Of course, that kind of clarity and directness is ususally what gets your thrown out of office, too).