{"id":8088,"date":"2018-04-13T17:27:42","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T21:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/?p=8088"},"modified":"2018-04-16T14:02:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T18:02:07","slug":"finding-funding-searching-for-solutions-to-dillons-funding-outcry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/finding-funding-searching-for-solutions-to-dillons-funding-outcry\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for solutions to Dillon’s school funding dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Top Image” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DillonFW3_MB-1.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Top Image caption” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

Dillon Four District Office, was built in 2008 after government funding was granted to construct this building and Dillon Middle School (formerly J.V. Martin Jr. High School).<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DillonW1_MB-1.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

Though his background was not in education, Senator Greg Hembree is passionate about creating a well educated community to ensure a brighter, safer future for South Carolina’s next generations.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Dillon4Graphic.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” \/][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DillonW2.1_MB-2.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

Superintendent Ray Rogers of Dillon School District 4 has been a catalyst in making change for the school district in his 27 years as superintendent.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DillonW5.1_MB.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

Courses like Mrs. Anne Johnson’s gifted and talented course offer students of Dillon Middle School the chance to take on challenging projects and work on building research skills.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 5″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DillonW6.1_MB.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 5″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

Teachers agree that hands-on projects are an exciting way to keep students engaged and interested in learning, however the fight for funding makes it difficult to have the necessary resources to make these projects possible.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

It is a chilly fall morning when the superintendent of Dillon County School District Four receives a call from a parent, notifying him that her five children would not be making it to school because she has no means of transporting them.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Ray Rogers jumps into his small van and heads over to the home to find a car in working condition.\u00a0 After asking the mother why she could not take her children to school, she explains to Rogers that if she were to have taken her children to school, she would not have enough gas to make it to work.<\/p>\n

This scenario is one of countless ones that Rogers has faced in his 27 years at Dillon Four. It is not uncommon for students to often be neglected by their parents and guardians, leaving them to find their own way home after school, practices and other extracurricular events. That\u2019s when school resource officers, teachers and other faculty step in to help their students.<\/p>\n

In a state that ranks 41st <\/sup>in education<\/a> as of Feb.<\/span>\u00a02018 by USA Today<\/span>, it is difficult to find a one-time solution to the rampant\u00a0problem in an education system that has lagged since South Carolina moved from an agricultural economy to an industrialized one. South Carolina has struggled\u00a0in the national<\/span> rankings for years, usually sitting close to the bottom. But where does the problem lie? Does the issue solely root itself in funding? Do legislators and school districts agree on the causes and effects for the case?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prevailing theme in South Carolina is that we underfunded K-12 pretty badly,\u201d said State<\/span> Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Dillon, a Horry County native. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

When looking at funding for South Carolina, Hembree compared state<\/span> funding to California and Illinois schools, which are union states that pay teachers more than South Carolina pays teachers but have the same average per-pupil spending.<\/p>\n

Dillon County School District Four \u2014 at 90 percent poverty \u2014 is among two dozen districts that receive less funding than large urban districts in S.C. because the formula is based on property taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are major problems, especially with rural South Carolina,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

A lawsuit pushing for more equitable funding for the state\u2019s poorest districts took more than 20 years to reach the state Supreme Court. In 2015, the high court ruled that it was up to the state legislature to come up with a more equitable formula; that ruling was overturned two years later.<\/p>\n

Dillon County was included in the \u201cCorridor of Shame<\/a>,\u201d an investigative documentary by Columbia public relations executive Charles T. \u201cBud\u201d Ferillo. Released<\/span> in 2005, the film<\/span> exposed conditions of schools along the I-95 corridor, which in turn brought light to the matter of poor funding for lower-income districts.<\/p>\n

Across the board, statewide school funding has increased in South Carolina from the 2013-2014 school year to the 2017-2018 school year. However, cases where that may not be enough are what Rogers calls \u201cblessings.\u201d In 2007, then-Sen.<\/span> Barack Obama made a visit to J.V. Martin Junior High<\/span> School during his presidential campaign after seeing Ferillo\u2019s documentary. Rogers shuffled through his folder filled with photographs of Obama, proudly showing them, noting that \u201cno matter what you think politically, he is a very brilliant man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama\u2019s visit resulted in funding for the rebuilding of J.V. Martin\u00a0now Dillon Middle \u2014 and the Dillon Four district office facility.\u00a0 The facilities were completed in 2012, but there was still a hole in the heart of Dillon Four \u2014 a brand-new school, yet the students were still severely struggling.<\/p>\n

Six years later, the beaming, fresh Dillon Middle School stands tall, full of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, many of whom do not know the history of their school.\u00a0 Assistant principal Walter Jackson did not wish to speak on funding issues because he felt that was something the principal or superintendent could address better, but he did discuss the atmosphere and enhanced learning in the new building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a clear focus for the future and are getting our students ready for a promising future in the best way we can,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

He also showed his appreciation for the new technology that came along with the building of the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology is the way of the future, and the fact that it is used instructionally every day in the classroom is amazing,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

Teachers who have been with Dillon Middle School since before the construction of the new building feel thankful for the new school. Anne Johnson, teacher for gifted and talented students spoke<\/span> enthusiastically\u00a0about the technological enhancements of the new building.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology enhances learning,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

She and curriculum specialist Kathi Campbell agreed that receiving new and improved technology in the classrooms gives students the opportunity to experience the world around them, especially since many of them have not had the opportunity to go far from their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only know the street they live on,\u201d Campbell said, stressing the importance of virtual learning simulators and other new programs that were made possible through federal funding granted to the school.<\/p>\n

Though the virtual experiences have played a significant role in students\u2019 learning, a large funding goal is to allow students to take field trips.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a poverty-stricken district,\u201d Johnson said. “Our kids don\u2019t have twenty dollars to hand out to go here and there.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is where virtual learning is useful in districts like Dillon Four where field trips are not always an option.<\/p>\n

Hembree and Rogers both noted students near the coastal region of South Carolina often have never even seen the ocean \u2014 though many of them live only a few miles from it.\u00a0Hembree introduced<\/span> an idea discussed by the education committee of a traveling display of modern-day industry jobs and wildlife simulators to move from school to school in rural areas. This would allow students to have some kind of experience with the world outside of their communities where poverty is high, income is low, and many families struggle day to day.<\/p>\n

Hembree finds that having funding for learning materials and technology is important, but in certain scenarios, continuously funding\u00a0schools \u201cis like pouring water on concrete.\u201d He believes that involving parents and community members in the lives<\/span> of students is the best way to ensure educational success.<\/p>\n

Rogers, Jackson and both Dillon Middle teachers all agreed that a change in community environment is what the state needs to ensure a promising future for South Carolina K-12 students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing more than a marketing campaign \u2014 I think that would be money well spent,\u201d Hembree said in regard to how the community can be more involved in encouraging education.<\/p>\n

Hembree explained that the best way to reach out to parents who may not have gotten a quality education is to teach them the importance of encouraging their children to love learning. He referred to the \u201cif you can read this, thank a teacher\u201d bumper stickers from the late ’90s and how this is an effective tool to remind community members that \u201cteaching is an important and noble profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers agreed with Hembree, although he made the point that some communities, like Dillon, are filled with children<\/span> raised by single parents, many of whom did not receive a high school diploma and work two to three jobs to support themselves and their children.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the parents that have more than one job, it\u2019s difficult for them to make it to their child\u2019s events,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Rogers noted that there is no industry in Dillon \u2014 no large plants or factories \u2014 making it difficult for the economy to open up and generate a steadier income for the residents of the county.<\/p>\n

After nearly 20 years of being kept on hold and a visit from a senator who would eventually become president, Dillon Four received the new school it longed for. But funding for education is not a \u201ccut-and-dried\u201d topic that can easily be resolved when faced with issues, especially in South Carolina where economic growth and industrialization is unforeseeable in many rural areas.<\/p>\n

While the new building was a major improvement from its former facility, the community of Dillon has not seen the substantial development in its community economy that would trigger growth, which is the indefinite challenge the community will face.<\/p>\n

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