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Posted on Tue, Feb. 21, 2006

TV special becomes lightning rod for school choice in S.C.

JOHN C. DRAKE

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A "20/20" special that used South Carolina's school system as an example of how public schools are failing students has become a tool for school choice advocates in the state who cheered ABC correspondent John Stossel during an appearance here Tuesday.

Education officials have criticized the report "Stupid in America," which aired last month, as biased and unfair.

"I didn't know what kind of reception I would get for doing a show called 'Stupid,' some of which focused on South Carolina," Stossel told an invitation-only crowd at an event put on by two conservative advocacy groups - The South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolinians for Responsible Government.

Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife Jenny sat in the front row at the event. The couple appeared in Stossel's report explaining why they decided to send their children to private school when they moved to Columbia after Sanford was elected in 2002.

While he has been criticized for participating in a report that some say made the state look bad to businesses considering relocating to the state, Sanford said it was important not to gloss over the state's problems.

"Facts can be difficult and hard things to deal with," Sanford said after Stossel's remarks. "The reality is that John Stossel and '20/20' picked South Carolina because of what we all know. We rank at the bottom of a long list of standardized tests."

Stossel, who has been a correspondent for "20/20" since 1981 and co-anchor since May 2003, is perhaps best know for his weekly series of commentaries "Give Me a Break." He said he has long supported competition in the marketplace, a concept that he said should be embraced by public schools, particularly in South Carolina.

"Government monopolies fail," Stossel said "They have always failed."

Denver Merrill, spokesman for South Carolinians for Responsible Government, said Stossel was not compensated for his appearance and that he paid his own way to Columbia. The South Carolina Policy Council extended the invitation, Merrill said. He estimated that 400 to 500 people attended Tuesday's discussion.

Since the report aired, advocates for two key pieces of school-choice legislation advancing at the Statehouse have used it as ammunition. The South Carolina Policy Council called it "a wake-up call."

But Jim Foster, spokesman for the state education department, said Stossel only used interviews that supported his position in support of school choice and ignored evidence of progress in the state's education system.

"The only people who take John Stossel seriously are people who already share his opinions," Foster said. "It was obvious from the beginning that he wasn't interested in examining school choice in an objective way. He had his personal opinion, and he went looking for ways to support it."

Stossel's appearance came as a bill granting parents a state check or tax credit to pay private school tuition was introduced in the Senate Tuesday. The bill mirrors legislation introduced in the House last month. Supporters say it is better than "Put Parents in Charge," a bill that died last year, because the new legislation limits the scope of taxpayers eligible for the state support.

Another bill that would make it easier to create charter schools in the state is set to be debated in a conference committee of Senate and House members.

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