DILLON, S.C. (WBTW)-Last year after a 21-year-long legal battle, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor for poor, rural school districts to get more funding for education. The state of South Carolina was accused of failing to provide minimally-adequate education in certain rural, poverty-stricken areas. One of those districts that says it’s struggled over funding is the old Dillon county district two which is now a part of “Dillon district 4.” the superintendent told news13 how the extra money could help the district.
“There’s a whole lot of things we don’t have,” said Ray Rogers, Dillon District 4 superintendent.
Ray Rogers has been working in education for almost thirty years…
And for thirty years he says it has been an uphill battle fighting not just for quality education, but basic educational needs.
“P.E. music, art, those kind of things in years past that we haven’t been able to have because of lack of funding.”
But those aren’t his only concerns.
“It shouldn’t be that a child born in Dillon South Carolina should not have the same education as one born in Columbia, or Greenville or Spartanburg.”
But Rogers says that has been the case due to serving an underprivileged population.
“And ninety percent poverty tells you what you’re dealing with and we have to be the brightest spot those kids have all day long…some have never had books read to them, some don’t have books in the home, those are things we take for granted.”
Dillon high school administrators say they have readers that attend their high school that are reading at a third grade level, others reading at a college level. With the budget they have now, they simply don’t have the money to have books that reach all these student’s needs.
“If you want kids to read better, they have to read a lot and they have to read books that they can actually read and not all kids can read the textbooks that are provided because many times they are too difficult,” said Blue Huggins, Dillon High School assistant principal.
Administration will push for more books as well as better technology and nicer, up to date facilities.
Superintendent Ray Rogers says if they don’t invest in education now, it will cost millions more later.
“If you don’t pay to educate these kids now in poverty then you are going to pick them up on the backside with the prisons and the unemployment that is going to come out of taxpayers’ pockets.”