SC Education Oversight Committee Adds New Member

For the many in SC who do not know, The Education Oversight Committee (EOC) is a committee formed in 1984 whose purpose was to administer the federal funds of the Education Improvement Act. It also makes recommendations to the General Assembly and state agencies on education improvements. The EOC’s web site states,

“The South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) is charged with encouraging continuous improvement in SC public schools, approving academic content standards and assessments, and establishing the state’s educational accountability system. The committee, which is a legislative agency, works closely with members of the SC General Assembly, providing data and recommendations regarding programs, policies and funding based upon the level of achievement for students, schools, and programs.”

More about what they claim they do can be found here.

How’s the EOC working out for SC? Is the EOC accomplishing their goals? Are they a needed committee? Has SC improved in the standings of public school education rankings in the USA or even global standings? The answer is NO, the EOC cannot take any credit for any substantial improvement in educational student outcomes since 1984. Sadly, SC continues to perform at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to educational outcomes for students despite spending an average of $11,178 per pupil. See here.

One would think the SC EOC would want to add members to their committee that would change the direction and help improve their outcomes. However, on Tuesday, Nov. 19^th the SC Education Oversight Committee (EOC) announced their new member would be Rep. Neal Collins, a state representative serving Pickens County residents in House District 5. It was reported he had been appointed by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means and Committee Rep. Murrell Smith, Jr., to serve as his designee to the EOC.

The question for taxpayers is whether or not Rep. Neal Collins is truly that change agent who will turn things around for the EOC’s dismal failures. Or is he just another educrat who will go along to get along and be “united” in agreeing to institute unproven educational policies that cost the taxpayer millions but with little return on investment?

Rep. Neal Collins, R-House District 5, Pickens County

Here is a list of some observations that the EOC press release failed to mention in their recap of Rep. Neal Collins’ history that may leave you scratching your head. They are in no particular order of importance.

1. Collins was booted from the SC House Education Committee back in January of 2018. If he was doing such a great job in education policy why would he have been removed? How does one go from getting booted off an important education committee to being placed on the EOC?

2. Collins pushes Competency Based Education/Personalized Learning which is an unproven bandwagon that was just renamed from being Outcome Based Learning or Mastery Learning which has been a proven failure in many states. See here. And see this link for article on failure of CBE.

3. Collins has little respect for our 1^st amendment right of free speech and blocks citizens from commenting on his social media page. He swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. Free Speech is in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. Is this who we want serving on the EOC? See this article. He still has not unblocked another citizen who doesn’t want to spend money on filing a court fee.

4. 

   Iman Fetullah Gülen of the Atlantic Institute. The Gülen religious movement, also known as Hizmet, has been officially designated as a terrorist group by Turkey since 2016. Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gülen and his followers for the failed coup of July 15, 2016. Gülen has denied any involvement in the attempted coup. The most recent solid information says that there were 150 plus Gülen schools in the US.

   Collins accepted an invitation and funding for his trip from Atlantic Institute, an organization aligned with Muslim Iman Fetullah Gulen who is under close scrutiny with the FBI and is involved with starting up 3 charter schools in SC. Is Collins’ interest in trips to Islamic countries really in what’s best for SC children? See this video. And see this link.

5. Collins supported and sponsored H 3346 a 7^th school board member legislation for the School District of Pickens County which grew government, cost the taxpayer, and the majority of the Pickens County voters did not want this 7^th board member. By adding another School Board Member it disenfranchised black voters in that redistricting process. Is this who we want serving on the EOC? See legislation here.

6. Collins continues to support the under funding of our Local Government Funding. This action leaves our school districts lacking in proper funding. Is that who we need serving on the EOC? See video here.

7. Collins introduced legislation H 4435 which would allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to be eligible for in-state tuition, state sponsored scholarships, and occupational and professional licenses. This legislation favors illegal students over American citizen students. Is this who we want looking after American students’ best interest in SC? See legislation here.

8. Collins supported/planned and help to organize an effort to hijack the Pickens County GOP Convention by trying to bring in delegates to the convention who had voted for democrats in recent elections. In fact, Collins, a registered Republican, admitted voting in the 2008 NC primary for Hillary Clinton. Is this hijacker someone who should be serving on the EOC? See article here.

9. Collins invited and escorted a Planned Parenthood activist who marched in the recent liberal Women’s March to his desk on the Columbia House floor. Planned Parenthood is America’s largest government-subsidized abortion provider. Again, is this who needs to be serving on the EOC? See here.  

Rep. Neal Collins has been said to have a “passion” for improving education in SC. However, he has no children of his own and no education degree under his belt. Would a parent take their sick child to see a person who simply has a “passion” for healing but has no actual formal education degree under their belt about how to heal their child?

Isn’t it time the Education Oversight Committee be abolished for failing in their duty to improve public school educational outcomes in SC? Shouldn’t our legislators put the question to the voters like they did about whether or not our SC School Superintendent should be appointed or elected? After all, we the people of SC deserve to have oversight of where and how our tax dollars are being spent.

Isn’t the EOC just another level of government bureaucracy that is inefficient. Shouldn’t our duly elected Governor, State School Superintendent and the appointed SC State Board of Education be responsible for leading the direction of public education? Shouldn’t more power be given to our local School Boards?

Why do we even need the EOC? We don’t. Ask your SC legislators who represent you to call for a referendum on abolishing the EOC in the 2020 election or to at least sponsor legislation to abolish the EOC. There is present legislation that is sitting there right now and needs to be pushed forward. See more here.

We here at The Standard think it is time to make meaningful changes to the governance of the SC public school system, which would include abolishing the ineffective SC Education Oversight Committee. 

Johnnelle Raines is a retired public school teacher of 29 years in the classroom. She is also a Board Member of the United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE).