PICKENS COUNTY — A statewide teacher-walkout has been planned for May 1, but for teachers and students in Pickens County, it’s business as usual.
“Our only concern for May 1 is to make sure all of our students are safe and supervised, and we’re confident that they will be,” said School District of Pickens County Information Specialist John Eby. “Teachers have a set number of ‘personal days’ in their contracts that they may use to take a day off from work. Teacher absences on that day will be treated normally.”
In March, the House passed an 84-page bill which gave the state education superintendent more ability to take over low-performing school districts, created a $100 million fund to help bring businesses to places where schools are poor and struggling and created a student ‘bill of rights’ as well a new Zero to Twenty Committee that would oversee education from pre-kindergarten to universities.
It didn’t sit well with many educators.
Instead, teachers said they wanted a 10 percent raise, smaller class sizes and a 30-minute break to eat lunch and use the bathroom away from children. They also want more counselors and other support staff.
The largest of the new groups — SC for Ed — then called for teachers to take a day off from school Wednesday for a march on the Statehouse.
North Carolina teachers are holding a walkout rally the same day and to date, more than 1,000 teachers have signed an online pledge, stating they will converge on the capitol wearing red.
S.C. State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman released a statement opposing the walkout saying she would be “walking into the classroom of an absent teacher to serve as a substitute.”
“I am not doing this to help facilitate the walkout, but rather to do all I can to ensure as many students as possible receive the instruction they deserve,” she said.
“All can agree that areas of South Carolina’s education system are in need of improvement,” said Spearman. “This year, I have worked with the legislature to raise teacher salaries, provide additional mental health and safety resources for all students, and reduce excessive testing that takes valuable time away from teaching. Progress continues to be made but much more needs to be done.
“I support teachers using their voice to advocate for needed change and share in their commitment to ensuring reforms become reality. However, I cannot support teachers walking out on their obligations to South Carolina students, families, and the thousands of hardworking bus drivers, cafeteria workers, counselors, aides, and custodial staff whose livelihoods depend on our schools being operational.”
The S.C. Legislative Black Caucus took the other road and expressed support for the teachers saying: “We fully support South Carolina teachers who will rally at the State Capitol on May 1st for education reforms that actually help students reach their full potential. We thank our teachers for having the courage to organize, speak out, and take their concerns to legislators who can provide a better remedy, if they truly desire. We also thank the school board members, administrators, and parents who support teachers in their efforts for true education reform.
“We wish rallies and protests were not necessary, but sometimes we have to be willing to protest to bring about necessary change. Frederick Douglass’ words still ring true today, ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress,’” they said.
In Pickens County, as of Tuesday, the SDPC had 43 absences approved for Wednesday out of approximately 2,000 employees (with about 1,100 of the employees teachers).
“We don’t know how many of those absences are specifically for related to the walkout, but on a typical day we run about 80 absences,” said Eby. “So nothing appears to be out of the ordinary.”
