COLUMBIA — Several Republicans who want to be South Carolina's next public schools chief do not meet a little-known, almost forgotten job qualification signed into law four years ago, potentially whittling down the 12-candidate field before their names ever go on a ballot.Â
That 2018 law requires candidates for state superintendent to hold a master's degree, along with "broad-based experience" in either public education or financial management.
At least three of the eight GOP candidates who filed for their party's nomination by the March 30 deadline do not hold a master's degree, though one of them — top fundraiser Ellen Weaver — says she will by Election Day in November.
After a candidate forum March 31, Weaver told The Post and Courier she's pursuing a master's in leadership at Western Governors University, adding she enrolled "within this last month."
According to the website of the private, online university based in Utah, the degree is obtainable "in as little as 12 months," and students can start the program on the first of each month, indicating she could be starting her coursework April 1.
Weaver said she took no issue with the master's requirement.Â
"I think it’s perfectly reasonable that we have qualifications for the state superintendent of education," she said after the forum at the S.C. Public Charter School District headquarters in Columbia. She was among six candidates who attended.
Weaver, president of Palmetto Promise Institute, a conservative think tank founded by her previous boss, former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Bob Jones University in Greenville. Â
The superintendent's race is the most crowded of any statewide office in South Carolina following Molly Spearman's announcement last fall that she wouldn't seek a fourth term.Â
All three Democrats, as well as the Green Party candidate, have at least one advanced degree.Â
Charleston County School Board member Cindy Bohn Coats is running as a Republican for state superintendent. Provided
Other GOP candidates to confirm they lack a master's degree are Charleston County school board member Cindy Bohn Coats and longtime GOP activist Sheri Few, who said she has no intentions to exit the race regardless.
It is unclear if Charleston-area businessman Travis Bedson has a master's. He did not return phone and email messages March 31.Â
Like other candidates, Few said she knew nothing about the qualification until this week and said she learned about it through an opponent's supporter.Â
"I looked it up and was shocked," she said, adding she's hired a lawyer.Â
She said she thinks what she called unfair limitations on who can run for the post will benefit her campaign.Â
"My whole campaign is about 'I'm not part of the system.' The system is horribly flawed," said Few, who founded the nonprofit Parents Involved in Education and has previously run unsuccessfully for superintendent, Congress and for a S.C. House seat representing northeast Columbia suburbs.
"I will not abandon my campaign," she said. "If voters elect me, we'll have to go to court."
Six of the candidates vying to be the next state schools superintendent attended a forum at the S.C. Public Charter School District in Columbia on March 31, 2022. They are (from left) Ellen Weaver, Cindy Bohn Coats, Rep. Jerry Govan, Kathy Maness, Lynda Leventis-Wells and Kizzi Gibson. Chris Neeley, superintendent of the statewide charter school district, was giving closing remarks at the podium. Seanna Adcox/StaffÂ
At issue is a law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May 2018 that added qualifications for the job. It accompanied a separate law that asked voters on the ballot that November whether the governor should appoint the superintendent instead of the post continuing to be filled by popular partisan vote.  Â
Voters soundly rejected the idea, with 60 percent saying "no" to removing the superintendent from future ballots.
But the qualifications, approved overwhelmingly by legislators as a way to assure voters the governor would pick someone with at least those minimal skills, became law for all future superintendent candidates beginning this year, despite the referendum failing.Â
"Regardless of how it came to be," those qualifications are state law, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the State Election Commission.Â
The mandatory master's requirement for the job has been displayed since on the agency's website under the heading "candidate qualifications."Â
Greenville County school board member Lynda Leventis-Wells, who holds a master's in guidance and educational psychology, said it's highly disappointing that people who want to lead South Carolina's public schools didn't do their homework for what the job requires.
"If you're not reading those simple guidelines, that's like going to take a test and not reading the directions," said Leventis-Wells, adding that's the first thing she did before entering the race.Â
"All they had to do is read and see. It's just a no-brainer," she said. "I'm extremely disappointed in what has occurred. I hope they withdraw. They weren't qualified when they filed."Â Â
As part of the filing process, each candidate signed an oath that they already meet, "or will meet by the time of the general" election, all qualifications required by law. It is up to each party to verify its candidates meet those qualifications.
The state's political parties have until noon April 5 to certify to the Election Commission who is qualified to be listed on the primary ballots, Whitmire said.
GOP spokeswoman Claire Brady said the party will do that next week. It is unclear if the party will reject any of the eight Republicans who filed and, if so, return the $3,680 filing fee to anyone not certified.Â
Beyond Leventis-Wells, other Republican candidates reporting they hold a master's degree are Kathy Maness, director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association and longtime Lexington Town Council member; elementary school teacher Kizzi Gibson, who has a doctoral degree in online learning; and Florence One school board member Bryan Chapman, a pastor who holds master's degrees in divinity and religious education. Â
"I am qualified, and I think it's important that people who are running for the office of superintendent be qualified based on the law," said Maness, who has a master's in early childhood education.Â
Weaver, who announced her run in November, is way out in front in the fundraising race, with $126,000 as of Jan. 10, according to last quarter's ethics filings. Reports for the first quarter of 2022 are due in the coming days. Â
Screenshots of her campaign website show it was recently updated to include her pursuit of a master's degree.Â
"As a lifelong learner, I’m pursuing a Master’s degree in Management and Leadership that I will complete this year," it read as of March 30.Â
Her public education experience comes from her six years on the Education Oversight Committee, including as past chairman of the legislative-appointed board that oversees a watchdog agency independent from the state Education Department. She's also been a chief advocate at the Statehouse for school choice legislation that uses state taxes to help parents pay private tuition — proposals long opposed by public school teachers and administrators.
A key vote March 30 in the Senate puts advocates' nearly two-decade effort steps away from becoming law, though it still doesn't go far enough for some backers. The bill approved 25-15 provides parents up to $6,000 yearly, with a total cap of $90 million once fully implemented. Beyond tuition, the money could also go toward textbooks, materials, education services or equipment for disabled students.
The House has advanced a separate voucher proposal that creates a pilot funded through $75 million in unspent reserves. It would provide $5,000 for up to 5,000 students annually over three years.Â
In concluding her introductory remarks at the charter school forum, Weaver told the audience to focus on candidates' leadership skills.Â
"We all present slightly different strengths, probably slightly different weaknesses too. But, if I could leave you with one thing, I think what we really have to focus on in this race is who is going to be ready to lead from day one," she said.
