Zais blasted over denial of grants

COLUMBIA -- Superintendent of Education Mick Zais is pitting a political fad against the future of South Carolina schoolchildren, state Rep. Joe Neal said Tuesday during a Statehouse rally.

Neal, a Democrat from Hopkins, said Zais, a Republican, is failing the state by rejecting tens of millions of federal education dollars. About 50 people turned out for the rally organized by the Legislative Black Caucus, the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and several education associations.

"Superintendent Zais has made a series of bad decisions, a series of bad decisions that are now costing our children in this state access to quality education," Neal said. "Let's stop governing and leading by political rhetoric."

This year, Zais refused to apply for two, one-time grants: Race to the Top and Ed Jobs. The Ed Jobs grant would have given South Carolina access to $144 million. Race to the Top would have allowed the state to compete for a portion of $200 million.

Jay W. Ragley, deputy superintendent for legislative and public affairs at the state Department of Education, said those programs required "significant financial commitments of state dollars, and in the case of Race to the Top, would become an unfunded federal mandate after the one-time federal funds were exhausted."

But those grants do not represent the whole picture, Ragley said.

The Education Department will distribute about $930 million in federal money this fiscal year, most to the classroom, he said.

"For anyone to claim the agency has turned down all federal funding is either uninformed or engaging in a partisan, misinformation campaign," Ragley said in an email to the media.

Molly Spearman, executive director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, said principals and superintendents do not see the federal cash as coming with strings attached.

Spearman said Zais is allowing the federal money -- generated in part by South Carolinians' income tax dollars -- to go to other states.

"Kick him out!" yelled M.L. Kohn, a retired teacher from Columbia.

Kohn said money isn't the only answer -- but it is an answer.

Roger Smith, executive director of the South Carolina Education Association, said Zais' actions were tragic for the state's children.

The Legislative Black Caucus set up an online petition at www.sclbc.org.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855, follow her on Twitter at @yvonnewenger and read her Political Briefings blog.