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Article published Apr 21, 2005
Floyd gets in the ring
Spartanburg's Karen Floyd did
not take a stand Wednesday on perhaps the state's hottest education issue, but
she delivered a blistering assessment of its school system as she kicked off her
campaign for state superintendent of education.Floyd -- flanked by smiling Pine
Street Elementary School children as she announced her candidacy in the
Republican primary that will not be held until June 2006 -- spoke in broad terms
of the need to improve state schools.But she offered few specifics.Floyd
declined to take a stand on school choice preferring to stick to her message of
"change by forging consensus."The state Legislature is currently debating Gov.
Mark Sanford's "Put Parents in Charge" plan.One of the central questions is
whether the state should give tax credits to families to send their children to
private schools.Floyd said the legislation is still evolving and she would have
a position when it was "further defined."When pressed on whether she supports
giving public money to private schools, Floyd said: "Giving parents choice,
particularly for special needschildren and underperforming schools is a
wonderful thing."An amendment that would have made "Put Parents in Charge" fit
that description died in the Ways and Means Committee on Monday, but will be
reintroduced when the full House takes up the bill next week.Current
Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum has stated she is against public
money going to private schools.Floyd -- who wore a geometric patterned dress
with green circles for her Spartanburg announcement -- did not mention
Tenenbaum, a Democrat, by name in her Spartanburg speech but did attack her
record.Floyd said South Carolina ranks last in the nation in high school
graduation rates and SAT test scores, despite ranking seventh in educational
spending.Tenenbaum's campaign office pointed out that average SAT scores have
improved since she took office. The campaign also cited numbers from the
National Center for Education Statistics that put the dropout rate at 3.3
percent, which would be eighth best in the nation.The accuracy of dropout
statistics cited by both Floyd and Tenenbaum have been questioned because of
differences in the reporting methods.In general, state children performed near
the national average in math and reading at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels
in 2003 tests, according to the NCES.Tenenbaum, who famously wore red suits
while campaigning for the U.S. Senate last fall, slammed Floyd in a statement
for beginning her campaign at Pine Street Elementary, which has consistently
received "excellent" ratings on state report cards:"Isn't it interesting that a
politician would choose a shining example of the tremendous progress South
Carolina has made in education as the backdrop for launching another attack on
our public schools," Tenenbaum said in a release.The Floyd campaign said the
challenger chose Pine Street Elementary to kick off her campaign because her
twin sons attend the school.Floyd does not have a background in education but
stated that her inexperience in the field would be an advantage."Sometimes you
can be so ingrained in the system that you can't exercise change," Floyd
said.The Spartanburg elementary school was her first in a tour of the state that
included Liberty, Columbia, McClellanville and Florence.A friendly crowd greeted
Floyd in Columbia. It was Spartanburg County Day at the Statehouse, and members
of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce joined area lawmakers to listen to
the announcement.Floyd's twin sons, Chris and Ernie, attended the news
conference with their mother. Floyd stopped her speech at one point because
Ernie was under the podium tickling her foot."Come up here, Chris," Floyd said.
The youngster quickly pointed out the mistaken identity, drawing laughter from
the crowd.Floyd has worked in business and served as Spartanburg County Council
chairwoman and Magistrate Court judge. She was also an assistant solicitor for a
year.She currently heads the Palladian Group, a Spartanburg-based public
relations firm.Floyd said she would not use the office of superintendent as a
political steppingstone, pledging not to run for another office while serving as
education superintendent.Staff Writer Robert W. Dalton contributed to this
story.Alexander Morrison can be reached at 562-7215 or
alex.morrison@shj.com.