Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- A budget crisis has caused a lot of reflection in our schools, how they are funded and what needs to be cut, but State Superintendent Mick Zais says the focus needs to be on the output of education, not the input of dollars.
"The people who are left with no choices and no options, whose destiny is established by their zip code, are poor kids. And I want to do something for those families as well," Zais said.
Newly inaugurated State Superintendent Mick Zais says no matter the zip code, the dollar should follow the child. In our current state budget, that's an average of $11,300 per student, though currently, the funding varies greatly from district-to-district.
"At the end of the day, we want to fund students, not organizations or bureaucracies or programs," Zais said.
To Zais, the change would mean the power of taxpayer dollars would be in the hands of consumers, meaning the student and their parents could decide where the student would attend: a magnet school, a charter school, or a virtual school. It would open options and make way for achievement, in Zais' opinion.
Zais says charter schools are free from the bureaucratic requirements that handicap traditional schools; however, South Carolina's statewide charter district is the lowest-funded district in the nation.
"If that was one of our traditional geographic school districts, there would be a large outcry," he said.
Being from a military family that moved often, Zais had his own children in eight or nine schools across the country. He believes that experience offered him perspective. Now, he is touring schools in South Carolina to see how they compare nationally.
"I believe that poor children can learn, and that given good teachers and good administrators, that we can get far higher levels of achievement from some of our schools that have been perennially failing."
Gov. Nikki Haley recently suggested that the state superintendent's seat should be appointed by the governor, not elected into office by voters. Zais says this would be helpful, because the superintendent spends too much time campaigning, instead of doing their job.