During last year's gubernatorial campaign, GOP candidate Mark Sanford's platform impressed many, us included, as well-thought out. One exception was his view that S.C. school districts should build more neighborhood schools, which sounds great but isn't.

Now, the task force that Gov. Sanford appointed to investigate our state's quality of life is echoing Sanford's smaller-schools sentiment. "The current trend toward 'mega-schools,'" members said in a news release on their findings last week, "threatens that sense of community, negatively impacting our quality of life. New public schools are increasingly massive and far from the communities that they serve."

Some new schools in Horry County certainly fit that description.

The task force recommended giving school districts more flexibility in site selection for new schools, capping enrollments at new schools and renovating existing small schools instead of building large ones to replace them.

If this sounds familiar, that may be because Sanford said virtually the same thing in his State of the State address in January. Noting that the Florida Legislature "just did this, limiting elementary schools to 500 students, middle schools to 700 students and high schools to 900 students," he asked S.C. legislators to "send me similar legislation."

What could possibly be wrong with approaching new-school construction in this fashion? The cost.

Larger schools are more cost-effective to build.

Florida's mandate has proved a disaster for local taxpayers, because no money for new school construction accompanied it down the pipeline. Sanford noted separately in that same speech that South Carolina has no new money for anything this year.

What we have shaping up here, in short, is a Scud aimed squarely at the wallets of folks who own taxable property. In this instance, legislators should balk at giving Sanford what he wants.