Education Secretary: Stimulus Money Will Get To SC Schools

In a live online chat with the USA Today this morning, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said South Carolina will receive the $700 million in stimulus money despite Governor Mark Sanford declining the funding. Duncan said during the session, "Let me be clear. We're going to take care of the children of South Carolina," Duncan went on to say he's working on a plan to send the funding to the state, but declined to give any details.

Sanford's spokesman, Joel Sawyer, said in a statement: "It's unconscionable that anyone would on one hand say they're supporting stimulus spending 'for the children' while on the other hand fail to acknowledge the consequences that this level of debt will have on those very same children. The debt brought about by this stimulus bill and other federal spending that's being saddled on future generations is incredibly unsettling, as are the consequences of that debt in terms of future tax increases and the devaluation of the dollar."

The White House has twice turned down Sanford's request to use $700 million of the nearly $3 billion in stimulus money headed to South Carolina to reduce the state's debt.

Sanford announced Friday he wouldn't apply for the $700 million. The South Carolina House had already written its budget using the stimulus money, since Congressman James Clyburn, the U.S. House Majority Whip, got an amendment put in the stimulus bill to allow state legislatures to request the money if their governor did not. But now there are questions about whether that amendment is an unconstitutional violation of the 10th Amendment, which says powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved for the states.

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is looking into the question and promises an opinion by next week.

Congressman Clyburn says he spoke with White House and Department of Education staff members last week to ensure that South Carolina doesn't its lose stimulus money.

Meanwhile, state Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, sent a letter to Gov. Sanford Thursday asking him to reconsider his decision not to request the money. "Your decision is destined to create absolute chaos in governmental agencies that perform core missions for the people, and will hurt tens of thousands of South Carolina families at a time when uncertainty and fear over the economy already pervade almost every household," Leatherman wrote.

He says without the stimulus money, thousands of South Carolina teachers will be laid off and the state might have to close two or three prisons.

Gov. Sanford's spokesman says, "We put together a budget earlier this year that funded core government services like education and law enforcement, and without using stimulus dollars. We believe budget writers should take another look at our spending plan and dispense with the scare tactics."

Sen. Leatherman's response? "Oh, no, no, no, no, not scare tactics. This is for real and anyone who thinks it's scare tactic doesn't understand the real problems we've got in this state." He says the state budget has already been cut by $1.1 billion, so preventing cuts to education and prisons would be impossible without the stimulus money.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, says he's frustrated by the governor's decision not to seek the money. "If the governor chooses not to request the stimulus money and let our taxpayers pay it back anyway, without having received it, there really isn't any other choice. We put the money into K-12, the colleges and law enforcement when we passed the budget in the House of Representatives. If you take that money back out, it comes back out of K-12, the colleges and law enforcement," he says.