The bill being drafted by state Rep. John Graham Altman III would transfer all of the position's authority, responsibility and duties and nearly all of its funding to the governor's office. It would leave behind only the office itself and its salary.

After such a transformation, the office would be nearly powerless to affect the state's educational agenda, making its evolution to an appointed position nearly a foregone conclusion.

"Our public education system is a mess," Altman said. "Everybody recognizes that. But there are some people out there who think all we need to do is raise taxes and give more money to educrats who drove the car in the ditch. I want to give that power to the governor's office and give the people the chance to elect a governor on the No. 1 issue in the state."

Altman's bill represents a slightly different approach to an idea that is gaining steam around the Statehouse. With South Carolina in the middle of a possible $500 million budget crisis, government restructuring is the issue de jour these days.

Already, much has been made of Gov. Mark Sanford's commitment to this. His commission on Management, Accountability and Performance released a report last month that highlighted several moves to reduce government waste. One more controversial suggestion dealt with eliminating at least three constitutionally elected offices.

The education superintendent and adjutant general should become Cabinet positions appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, the report said. The secretary of state would be eliminated and its duties rolled into the Revenue Department.

Legislators in both the House and the Senate are working on similar plans. The only question seems to be which elected positions would be eliminated, but most seem to agree on eliminating the education superintendent.

"I think if you take a look at all of the constitutionally elected officers we have and you say which one makes the most sense to be appointed, you would say the superintendent of education," said Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville.

Wilkins has two bills in the House that deal with government restructuring. One proposes the establishment of a Department of Administration, and the other proposes the elimination of four constitutionally elected offices: comptroller general, state treasurer, secretary of state and education superintendent.

"There are other positions that I think need to be appointed as well, but the one that seems to have a consensus right now is the superintendent position. I think everyone agrees that education is usually the top issue in a campaign, and it's hard to hold a governor accountable for something he has so little control over."

Over in the Senate, the mood is similar. President Pro Tem Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, chairs a Senate task force on government restructuring and said that of all the positions that might be eliminated, the superintendent of education has the most support.

"However, I think this idea could get tied up if our proposals for reform aren't broader than that," he says. "The superintendent of education is the one office controlled by a Democrat. If you focus solely on making that an appointed position, you will have to answer questions about 'Why this position and not secretary of state?' "

McConnell said the same would be true of focusing on any one elected office.

"We have a golden opportunity here to make government more accountable, to make government better," McConnell said. "But to do so, we need to have a broad approach to reform and then we need to give the public a clear choice with a defined message."

McConnell said to make restructuring work, lawmakers need to make statutory changes that allow for more oversight and more direct lines of responsibility.

Changing a constitutionally elected position requires two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate and then approval in a statewide referendum.

Altman's bill would bypass this, at least initially. Leaving the superintendent in place and removing its power would require only a majority vote by the House and Senate and no change in the state's constitution.

"There seems to be an overwhelming consensus that this needs to be done," Altman says. "I studied the matter and came to the conclusion that this is an easier way to do it."

Once the superintendent has lost its funding and responsibilities, getting the votes to make the position an appointed one will be a much easier task, he said.

"This is not a silver bullet," he said. "It is not an incantation of magic. It's just an easier way to get accomplished what most people agree needs to get done."

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