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However, several Beaufort County School District principals said Thursday they not only haven't heard complaints, they haven't heard about Obama's plan to deliver a live speech Tuesday about persisting and succeeding in the classroom.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette attempted to contact each Beaufort County principal by phone or e-mail on Thursday.
"I've got to be honest -- I'm one of those who didn't know this was taking place until you told me," said Jeremy Dinkins, the new head of the Beaufort-Jasper Career Education Center.
The district's community services coordinator, Carol Bruno McMillan, said principals will determine if and how the speech will be presented to students. The only district-wide policy, McMillan said, is that wherever the speech is shown, "alternative activities" will be provided for students whose parents do not want them to see it.
Obama, who has said he hopes every public-school student in the country watches his presentation, will speak live at noon Tuesday for 15 to 20 minutes in a broadcast over C-SPAN and the White House Web site. The president plans to "challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning," according to the U.S. Department of Education's Web site.
But critics are wary Obama might deliver a politicized speech to an impressionable and captive audience. Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck called it "the indoctrination of your children," and Michelle Malkin's column was titled: "Obama's classroom campaign: No junior lobbyist left behind."
School districts in Horry and York counties were among those statewide that fielded numerous complaints from parents Thursday, according to The (Rock Hill) Herald and The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News.
But in Beaufort, McMillan said Thursday morning she didn't think the district had received any comments or complaints. And of the 14 principals who responded to questions about the speech, only a single complaint was reported.
A few principals, including Dinkins, had not decided if the speech will be shown to students.
Lady's Island Elementary School principal Terry Dingle said by e-mail the school would tape the message and determine if it is appropriate for elementary school students. If so, it will be shown if it doesn't run too long -- "I don't want it to supplant classroom instruction," he wrote.
Hilton Head Island High School principal Amanda O'Nan said the address will be shown in any social studies classes taking place at the same time as Obama's speech. However, there are no plans to show it to a wider audience at the school, and social studies students who don't want to see the message can opt out. The school had a similar opt-out plan for the president's inaugural speech this past January, O'Nan said.
"There is a potential value for students to watch this," McMillan said. She added that Sean Alford, chief of instructional services, told her the address can be a "wonderful conduit to enriching education" and doesn't think Obama's speech will be partisan.
Nonetheless, "some parents might not agree," McMillan said. She urged parents who don't want their children to view the address to let their schools know as soon as possible.
Several attempts to reach Alford for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
