Now that the June 13th primary is just weeks away candidates have begun rolling out their TV commercials. A couple of thoughts about the candidates and their messages. My favorite has been South Carolina's incumbent GOP Governor Mark Sanford. After four years of unremarkable leadership his claim to fame in his ads is that he saved the state millions of dollars by forcing state employees to room together during work related trips and routed them to affordable venues. It's pathetic that that's all he can come up with to brag about. First of all, I doubt very much that this move saved the state 'millions' of dollars, more like thousands. As an employee of a county agency working under a state grant, I can honestly tell you that I frequently room with others and we stay in what can best be described as borderline flea bag motels. Maybe the folks in Columbia are living it up in 5-star hotels but that hasn't been my experience.

Bob Staton is a Republican candidate for state superintendent of education. His TV message is that if elected he will run South Carolina's schools "like a business." My immediate reaction to this is that schools aren't a business. Education is a process, a struggle and a rewarding journey but it doesn't resemble a business.

A Democratic Action Committee recently polled 2,200 South Carolinians. One of the questions was "What are some of the barriers to future success in our state?" An overwhelming number of respondents said education, lack of education, lack of support for our public education system and lack of respect for public education. Education is a critical area for South Carolina. We don't need to run our schools like a business, or run them out of business with more accountability measures and testing. We don't need vouchers or public support for private schools. What we need is a life-long educator to work with teachers, administrators, parents, students and the state legislature on solving our problems.

Dr. Jim Rex, Democratic candidate for state superintendent of education is the best candidate for the job. Rex began his career as a high school English teacher and football coach. He's served as Dean of Education at Winthrop University and Coastal Carolina University and is the former President of Columbia College. Rex has seen and lived public education in South Carolina. He's articulate, welcoming of input from professionals and parents and most importantly has a detailed plan to support and uplift public education in our state. Jim has been forthright in his defense of public education and promises to fight against any school voucher program that would weaken fiscal support for public schools. He has invited and gained the support of teachers and administrators from across the state. Instead of advocating for abandonment of failing schools, Jim wants to increase parental choice to ensure that every child has access to the best school possible. Jim supports the Education Accountability Act of 1998, to reduce mandatory testing to the minimum necessary to track progress and draw comparisons. I think I just heard the cheers of teachers across the state and an amen from students to that proposal. Finally, Jim Rex wants to address and correct the minimally adequate standard for education in our state that has led to inequitable funding of public education. Jim wants to work with our state lawmakers to create a plan to adequately fund every school in our state, not just the ones with a solid tax base in urban areas.

To learn more about this dynamic and much needed candidate please click on http://www.jimrex.com/how_jim_can/ In the meantime get ready for a GOP blood bath over the education race. Bob Staton is already duking it out with the front-runner Karen Floyd for endorsements. Floyd favors school vouchers and is touting a plan to increase discipline in the class room with a "law and order" approach that sounds like setting up a mini correctional system for our youth. Mrs. Floyd is an attractive and wealthy marketing executive from Spartanburg County. She's going to be tough to beat but Staton and three other lesser known GOP candidates will do their level best to best her in the June 13th primary.

Our schools don't need police officers in every classroom and we don't need to run them like a business (think Enron). We need an expert educator like Jim Rex to get the job done.