Category: Issue 12

On March 5, 2020, the South Carolina Senate voted to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina of 1976 and enact S419 “South Carolina Career Opportunity and Access for All Act.” The amendments in the new legislation appear to be driven by the State’s economic interests to retain existing and attract new industry. As reported by the Upstate Business Journal in July 2018,  the region’s increasing proficiency in several subsectors — advanced materials, aerospace, automotive, bioscience, and energy — continues to attract investment and jobs from new and expanding companies. “It’s impossible to overstate the role that manufacturing has played in transforming the economy of both the Upstate and South Carolina as a whole,” said S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “With the rise of complex manufacturing, our state and our workforce have built a reputation as a global-brand state — a state that not only makes things but makes them well,” he added. “This reputation continues to attract industry leaders from around the world who now view South Carolina as an industrial powerhouse.”

The antecedent to the achievement of the State’s goal is a high-quality educational system.  The results reflected in the 2019 South Carolina Report Card point to a potential shortage in the pipeline for qualified and highly skilled workers that could adversely impact legislative interests. Only 45.4% and 45.1% of third through eighth grade students, respectively, meet or exceed grade level standards in mathematics and English language arts.  During the same timeframe, only 38.9% of high school graduates demonstrated they were college and career ready. In spite of these results, South Carolina continues to attract global industrial players such as BMW, Michelin, Boeing, Ricoh and Volvo (to name a few), thus increasing the pressure to translate legislation into results.

The new legislation embeds executive and administrative oversight of the State Department of Education. The Senate bill (S419) restructures the Education Oversight Committee and creates a new ‘Zero to Twenty’ committee to provide executive branch oversight of programs targeted to learners in these age groups.  The modifications in S419 – to teacher work days and baseline salary, expansion and alignment of Career Pathways curricula, emphasis on Computer Science, the elimination of social studies state assessment, measures to add literacy reading endorsements for all instructional staff, teacher certification waivers for high performing districts and alternative certification pathways for licensure – respond to some, but not all of the Palmetto Teacher’s Association’s and SC for ED’s agendas and offers only structural answers to a systemic challenge.

This legislation follows previous attempts to reform rather than transform an educational system that to date has failed in its attempts to impact equity and support best practice innovations in student learning, especially for the State’s most disadvantaged students. It will be interesting to observe how the new legislation navigates the underlying interests and agendas of the sub-groups and administer a code of laws that will have real and sustainable impact to achieve the 2030 goal and improve the lives of all students and families in South Carolina.

On January 1, 2020, the use of recreational marijuana became legal in the state of Illinois (410 ILCS 705/ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act). I am not a big fan of the legalization of marijuana, and no, it’s not for any moral reasons, or the fact I was on the loosing side on the war on drugs. The sole reason being is that I feel as if this law is just a money grab. Rather than figure out how to bring good paying industries back to Illinois, many jobs have left over the years. Illinois law makers figured they’d rather legalize marijuana to collect the tax revenue to fix Illinois financial crisis caused by the law makers and their poor fiscal habits. Regardless of how I feel, recreational marijuana use is legal in Illinois and if the tax revenue keeps flowing, then it will remain a law.

The state of Illinois is unique from other states with legalized recreational cannabis use in that there are provisions in the IL law for equality in the Cannabis Industry, meaning areas of high crime and poverty will get assistance from the state with regards to obtaining distribution licenses, as well as provide low interest loans to qualified applicants who want to get into the industry. The law also provides relief for individuals who have been arrested in the past for minor drug offenses by expunging their records. The legislation covers who is legally allowed to use cannabis and the amounts they can possess. Employers’ rights are covered under the law as well, for example an employer may opt to have a “no drug use policy” and is protected by the law and an employer has the right to terminate employment if an employee violates a work place drug policy. Cultivation centers are regulated form how they are constructed, as well as the product needing to be tested based on state regulations. The law covers how the product is to be taxed and how the money is to be distributed throughout the state.

Over the last 80 years attitudes towards the legalization of marijuana have changed. In 2014, medical use of marijuana became legal followed by the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2020. Given the revenue stream as well as a new industry being created, this law is here to stay although I feel as if more should be done to bring other sources of revenue to the state and not just rely on this source on income.

2020 Presidential Candidates continue to call for free college tuition, in at least some circumstances. Public schooling is free from K-5 to grade 12. Some suggest that public colleges and universities should also be free. I disagree, higher education is a privilege not a right. Just like having a driver’s license, it is a privilege. I agree that everyone should have the opportunity to go to college, but that is where scholarship and grants come into play. The American tax payers cannot afford to send anyone who wants to go to college for free. We already pay enough in taxes as it is right now. After you graduate, you get a job and then guess what, now you are paying for all of these people to go to college on your hard-earned money. Next, if you flood the college system with hundreds of thousands of new students, you devalue the degrees. Now everyone can have the same education as you. How are you going to be marketable for a job when you have the same degree as everyone else that is applying for the same position? You can only go so high in the education system.

I say all of this to let people know that if you want something in life you have to go and get it. Nothing is free in this world. Everything comes with a price. So when people are complaining that college is too expensive and they can’t afford to go to school, I agree, but in order to get ahead in life you have to make sacrifices.

There are many solutions to going to college for free or for a reduced price. You can apply for scholarships and grants. However, many of these need to be revised. College tuition has risen so much over the past 10 years, now scholarship and grant processes need to catch up with the times. You can work for a company that offers college reimbursements. Many employers will help pay for your college tuition if you just ask. Then, there is the military. They truly offer free college tuition, but just like everything else in life, it’s not really free. You have to serve our county in order to come out with a college degree. So the moral of the story is if you want a college degree, “suck it up buttercup” – you have to pay for it just like everyone else.

In mid-September of 2019, I returned from the Bahamas after helping with the early disaster relief efforts on the ground in Abaco, where the eyewall of Hurricane Dorian passed through the area with record-level winds and storm surge. Our team was able to make over 1,000 gallons of drinking water and nearly 5,000 gallons of clean water for hygiene and sanitation for a community of Marsh Harbour residents that lost almost everything they owned.

When we arrived, there were almost 250 people in a shelter set up at the local primary school that had not had access to clean water in several days. We were able to purify fresh water that was stored in a cistern located in a utility building next to the school, meeting an urgent need for those in the shelter and in the surrounding community. Over the days we were there, the population in the shelter dropped nearly to zero, but the people in the surrounding neighborhoods started coming to get water from us.

I can truly say that I have never seen such widespread destruction in all my life. The entire town of Marsh Harbour was destroyed along with other communities on Abaco. While some better-constructed structures were still standing, none escaped without at least some damage. Electric utility poles were snapped. At the town’s water treatment plant, one of the large water storage tanks was shifted off its foundation while the other had its top ripped off. The trees that were still standing were stripped of their greenery. Water made it all the way into the second stories of most houses during the storm. Cars, boats, and debris were transported by the high waters and deposited in places where they didn’t belong. Several poorer communities (primarily consisting of Haitian immigrants) where the houses were not necessarily built to withstand even moderate hurricanes were wiped completely off the map. The extent of the loss of human life will likely never be fully known. Bodies were still being recovered as I was departing.

Most people had a story involving the personal loss of a family member or friend. The most extreme case I encountered involved a pair of brothers (around ages 15 and 13) who had lost their father in the storm. Their mother was no longer around, either. They were trying to decide whether to evacuate with at least one younger sibling to Nassau (the capital city, located on another island about 100 miles to the south) or to stay in their home. While the answer seemed obvious to me, the shock of the situation, the uncertainties surrounding evacuation, and the boys’ relative lack of life experience all conspired against them to create confusion and doubt. I spent some time talking with them, encouraging them to consider their younger brothers’ and/or sisters’ health and safety. At the end of our discussion, they seemed convinced that evacuation was the right answer, but I was unable to confirm whether they made it out or not. I did not see them return to our water point before I departed.

Despite all the misery and suffering, I also encountered a number of stories of strength and resilience. People were generally helping one another in whatever ways they could. They talked about rebuilding and were hopeful for the future – even in the face of the total destruction of their community.

The trip was a swirled mix of contradictory feelings. It was heart-breaking and inspiring. Emotionally draining but spiritually filling. Exhausting and energizing, all at the same time. I am glad to be home, but I ache to be back there again, knowing that these wonderful people have a long road ahead of them in order to get their lives back to normal. Please don’t forget them as they will need continued prayers and support in order to rebuild and restore their communities.

Photos and videos documenting some of my experiences and in Marsh Harbour as well as links to selected outside resources with additional information about Hurricane Dorian’s destruction in the Bahamas can be found online at https://sites.google.com/view/marsh-harbour/home.