APRIL 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Senator Bryant Opposes Teacher Furlough Budget
Senator Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) today voted against the budget passed by the South Carolina Senate because it resulted in the firing of thousands of teachers. Senator Bryant said that, “I opposed the Senate budget because it compels the termination of thousands of public school teachers across South Carolina. I supported yesterday the Ryberg/Davis proposal which funded education in the classroom at the highest level in the history of South Carolina and ensured that all teachers would be in the classroom next year. The majority of the Senate rejected that. I cannot support their proposal to throw teachers into the street.”
Senator Bryant noted that, “The Senate budget ensures that not only will thousands of teachers be shown the door but also that children next year will go into a classroom with twenty-five or thirty or more of their fellow students. Education, the real learning in the classroom, will only occur through the chaos that results from crowded classrooms and fewer teachers. Next year parents across South Carolina will be saying that, ‘Never have so many students learned so little from so few teachers.’”
Senator Bryant called upon the House of Representatives to reconsider the priorities of the budget and fully fund teachers in the classroom. Senator Bryant said that, “We provided a budget that fully funds classroom teachers. Teachers will only lose their jobs if the politicians in Columbia give in to the status quo.”
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