Education License Plate News Conference
April 16, 1996
It's great to be here at Springdale Elementary this morning. Thank you, Principal Smith, for letting us invade your campus today!
Springdale is just one South Carolina school that could see a tremendous benefit from what we're about to show you.
We're here to unveil an innovative new campaign for meeting the educational needs of our children.
It's a campaign that demands no additional taxpayer dollars...
One that addresses our schools' technology needs, and...
One that demonstrates in living color our state's commitment to public education.
I'm proud to announce that starting in August, we will begin issuing a special commemorative license plate...like the ones we already have for colleges and conservation. But this one will be specially designed to promote public education.
About the time school starts, SC drivers will be able to buy one of these plates at the DMV for about $54.
And all the proceeds will go toward computers for the classroom.
It's an idea that came from the grass roots...from Debbie Elmore out at Sumter School District 17...who's here with us today.
Rep. Bobby Harrell and Speaker Wilkins have voiced their commitment to sponsoring a bill for this fund. And they're joined by a couple of our education leaders...Sen. Nikki Setzler and Rep. Ronald Townsend...who will also work to this see project through.
At this time, I'd like to ask Dr. Nielsen and Mrs. Elmore to join me for a moment. We'd like to present to all of you the big picture, so to speak.
(UNVEIL PLATE)
This is a prototype of the billboard that will soon be plastered all across our state, promoting the education tags. We're planning a full-fledged promotional campaign for the plate...starting with these billboards.
And it won't cost us a cent. That's because we've entered a tremendous public-private partnership with John Hardee...president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of SC. Under Outdoor Advertising's public service program, billboard space has been generously offered statewide.
I can't thank you enough, John, for joining us on this mission. Plain and simple, this project won't fly without promotion. And your company's promotion will put this campaign in the public eye bigger than life.
Not only do we have private sector backing, but we've also got legislative and executive branch support. Thank you, Bob Peeler, for all that you're doing in education around the state.
And of course, this project is heavily dependent on cooperation across agency lines.
This is a great example of how much we can accomplish when we share resources under the Cabinet system. And it's the children who win.
Otis Rawl from the Department of Public Safety is here as the overseer of the DMV...the agency that will distribute the plates.
Every DMV office will have displays of the plate right out in front, explaining how it works and who gets the proceeds.
And since more than 70% of renewals are done through the mail, the DMV has agreed to work up some brochures on the plate to send with renewal notices.
The Department of Corrections will be using inmate labor to make the plates.
And I'm even planning to have the new plates put on every car of my protection staff!
Every plate counts in this campaign...because every plate sold puts us closer to our goal of bringing greater computer access to every child.
With computers, the world is virtually at a child's fingertips. And everyone buying an education plate will be part of bringing that world into South Carolina classrooms.
Now I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Nielsen, one of the authors of our State Education Technology Plan. She'll give you more detail about the computer needs of our schools and how the education community is planning to get behind this campaign.