Where a school should go in any county is not generally considered a statewide issue, but where the new high school goes in northern Beaufort County has unfortunately become an issue with statewide implications.

For this reason, I need to lay out my concerns and opposition to what is proposed north of the Whale Branch River.

I do so reluctantly because on a political level there is much to lose and little to gain -- the only certainty is offending advocates for a school north of the Whale Branch.

I'm also reluctant because on a personal level our family owns land that would obviously be made more valuable if a school did come to this area.

Yet I have to overlook both of these concerns and speak up if I'm going to stay true to what I've always been about during my time in politics -- challenging the status quo and watching out for the taxpayer.

Here are three issues in this debate that have statewide implications -- all of which warrant our collective concern and action as taxpayers.

First, bad decisions about where to put schools, sewers and roads hit taxpayers hard, and we too often make these bad decisions in South Carolina.

Building a big school in an area where there is no sewer and very few students -- where sewer treatment will have to be built and where students that now attend Battery Creek and Beaufort high schools will have to be bused in -- is an amazingly bad use of taxpayers' dollars.

This is a reflection of our state's historic way of doing business and has implications well beyond Beaufort County.

We spend 130 percent of the U.S. average on the cost of government in South Carolina because we don't prioritize public investment.

Too often at the state level logical policy plans fall prey to politics.

We are a small and very political state that has an unfortunate history of discarding good plans based on whomever yelled the loudest, contributed the most money or banded together politically. While we would all love a library, health clinic or new road just around the corner, it is something we cannot afford as a state.

My campaign for governor was based on changing this.

Second, if government doesn't have to play by the rules, then who does?

The Comprehensive Planning Act was enacted into state law in 1994 and dictated that all 46 S.C. counties must have a plan if they wanted to enact zoning ordinances.

Whatever its faults, the comprehensive plan, the product of thousands of people who invested tens of thousands of hours, prioritizes public investment in Beaufort County.

If the school district, a governmental entity with taxing authority, doesn't obey its guidelines, how can we ask others to?

If you care about planning issues in this state, or even local land-use issues on Lady's Island or Hilton Head, what happens with this school has big implications.

For instance, in the comprehensive plan debate now going on in Lexington County, many private landowners do not want their land zoned. As governor, it will be difficult for me to suggest private landowners ought to adhere to zoning or comprehensive plan limitations when government won't. Simply put, if private landowners must live according to a comprehensive plan, government should as well.

Third, I believe education spending ought to focus on the areas that will bring the greatest result -- classrooms and teachers.

Those dollars should not be spent to build a sewer system and roads to enable a school that should be built where adequate sewer and roads already exist.

They should not be spent to bus a lot of kids into a school far from their homes.

These dollars should be spent in the classroom to maximize learning. If a school is built north of the Whale Branch, two things are certain: those dollars will not go to the classroom and Beaufort County education over time will cost you more through both state and local taxes.

All of this means local taxpayers in Beaufort County should contact their local and state representatives about this school site.

I ask you to make your voice heard and tell local officials that they are accountable to you for the wise use of your tax dollars, that comprehensive infrastructure planning is necessary for the long-term good of the county, that they, like you, must obey land-use law, and that education funding should be spent within the classroom.

One final thought, closer to home: There have been real passions on both sides of this debate, and I admire the convictions of many advocates for a school north of the Whale Branch.

For many in this debate the focus seems to lie not on the logical place to build a school but on a need for economic development in northernmost Beaufort County.

If this is indeed the case, I will commit to working with the County Council to find ways to enhance job and economic opportunities for this community. An educated mind will lead to economic development.

I do not believe, however, sticking kids from the Beaufort area on a bus and driving them to a school north of the Whale Branch is the way to realize either of those goals.