Clark targets distraction of unequal school funding

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Frank had a major distraction Thursday in a visit from retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a Democratic presidential candidate who used Dillon High School's media center to declare his support for equal funding for America's schools.

"America owes every child the opportunity to succeed in life — the opportunity that can only come with a quality education," Clark said.

Under-funded schools "are simply unacceptable" and are contrary to the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation and mandated equitable funding, Clark said.

Frank, her long blonde hair nudging the shoulders of a bright green suit, cautiously watched her students file out afterward and reflected on what she could do with the kind of funding enjoyed by affluent districts.

"It means the difference in having quality facilities, more technology for our students, that I would be able to afford better programming for them that I can't afford now."

'The sad thing'

Frank says her low-rated DHS is getting additional help now, but it's a good news, bad news situation, in the form of state-paid teaching and curriculum specialists sent in to improve the quality of instruction.

"What the state is saying is they know we need more money; the sad thing is that after they get in here and we bring things up, they'll start taking those dollars away and if we don't have something else coming in, it's going to be back where it was."

Equity funding might not need presidential action. Lawsuits are pending that could force the Legislature to take action.

"In the long haul, we'd be competitive with the Irmos and the Dormans," she said, in a wistful reference to highly ranked schools.

Clark's one-stop visit, sandwiched between appearances in New Hampshire, came on the day the Democratic presidential field of nine dwindled by one with the withdrawal of former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.

Braun's name will remain on South Carolina's Feb. 3 primary ballots, which have already been printed.

Spending plans

Clark said that as president he would seek to fully fund the No Child Left Behind program and Individuals with Disabilities Act, provide more money for teachers in poor districts and rural schools, push for federal funding for school construction and renovation and send $20 billion to relieve state budgets and make it easier for legislators to boost education appropriations.

He also proposed government-paid health insurance for everyone through age 22 whose parents can't afford the premiums; $6,000 college grants for the freshman and sophomore years; and kindergarten for all four-year-olds.

In response to a question from the audience, Clark said he would pay for his program by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for those making $200,000 a year and more and a 5 percent surtax on incomes exceeding $1 million.

Clark also said he would end federal taxes on families of four with up to $50,000 income.

"There's plenty of money out there, it's just not in the right places," he said.

Citing recent renovations at Dillon High, Clark said educators and students have done the best with what they have, "but I know that most of the other schools in the district are still awaiting modernization. Despite your progress, our schools are not equal."

Dillon typical

Dillon is typical of the schools that equity-funding proponents say would be helped.

It received an unsatisfactory rating on its first two state report cards and a below average this year. Four of five students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and only 56 percent of its sophomores passed the exit exam on their first try.

While some students said they hadn't heard of Clark, he drew an outside crowd of loyal supporters and Democrats still looking for a candidate.

Felicia Payne, 43, a retired Army medical officer and Clark volunteer, drove from Columbia to hear him and came away with her views reinforced.

"I definitely believe, being a retiree, in Gen. Clark, the issues he's raising, especially for veterans." Clark, she said, as president will give veterans greater recognition while increasing public focus on their needs.

David Frazier, a 60-year-old retiree, made the 35-mile drive from Florence to hear Clark and found that "he said some good things but, I think, some unrealistic things; for instance, no federal tax under $50,000 for a family of four. I don't see how it's possible."

Looking for truth

Frazier said he's looking for the truth from candidates, "people who will make realistic determinations of where this country is going. I've heard some," he said, mentioning former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. Frazier attended a Dean campaign breakfast in Florence on Dec. 30.

Clark had already convinced Robert Davis of Lumberton, N.C., a retired teacher and Baptist minister, because of his background as a Rhodes Scholar and career Army officer.

"When he speaks to us in terms of delivering us from the war in Iraq, he's actually done that; when he speaks on how he will lead us, he speaks from point of reference, because he commanded (NATO) forces in Kosovo, without one single death. And, Gen. Clark has practiced and executed affirmative action in the service."

State Rep. Jackie Hayes, D-Hamer, joined the crowd, but said it wasn't an endorsement.

Clark has some "good points," Hayes said, and then wished he "could take two or three candidates and put them together so we'd have a great message."

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Dan Hoover covers politics and can be reached at 298-4883.