Gov. Mark Sanford and supporters of his tuition tax credits plan, called "Put Parents In Charge", are not happy about what has happened to the plan. The House Ways and Means Committee didn't have the votes to pass the bill, so it passed instead a different version.

The bill offered state tax credits to families making $75,000 a year or less if they send their children to private school. Lesser tax credits would be offered to cover the cost of books and supplies for families that opt to home-school their children, or to cover the cost of transportation if the parents transfer their child to another public school.

Opponents say the plan would drain millions of dollars from the state's public schools, and there was not enough support in the committee to pass the governor's plan on to the full House for debate and a vote.

Instead, the committee passed a scaled-back version. It would be a pilot project, offered in just two school districts. The state Department of Education would decide later which districts, with one being in the wealthiest 25 percent of districts and the other being in the poorest 25 percent.

A spokesman for Gov. Sanford says the governor will continue to push for the expanded version.

Tristen Sharpe is a former public school "Teacher of the Year" who is now teaching two of her three sons at home. Her oldest is still in public school.

"Everything worked out great and he has gotten a very good education," she says. "But every child learns differently, and when I realized that it wasn't happening the way it should and my sons' needs weren't being met, as a mother I had a duty to do something, step in."

She's a supporter of the governor's tuition tax credits plan, even though she wouldn't be able to make use of it.  She was there to support him in October when he announced his agenda for the year. And she even made a television commercial in support of "Put Parents In Charge".

While the governor and other supporters are upset about the scaled-back version, she isn't. "I think compromise is how most things get accomplished," she says. "Everybody has to give a little, and as long as it's not dead, it's still alive and moving, I think once they see it works and how well it works it'll take off. So it's just going to take a little longer." 

Rep. Adam Taylor, R-Laurens, introduced the pilot project amendment that passed. He didn't support the governor's plan and is concerned about how much it would cost. That's why he thinks it should be tried out first. "As people say, proof's in the pudding. Let's see whether or not this proposal works," he says.

The bill could still be amended when it's debated on the House floor. But several House members say they don't think there's enough support for the governor's plan for it to pass.