Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Editorials

Editorial:Take a careful look at new school options

IslandPacket newsroom@islandpacket.com

Technical and career education for public school students in Jasper and Beaufort counties is on the verge of a major makeover.

It doesn't look like everyone is ready, but change is coming, ready or not.

Those who shape the new look must remember this: The need for job training is too big to fail. The route for students not bound for college or the military needs to be clear. Our community must come out of this transition with a sharper focus and better training.

Since 1975, the task has been borne by the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence in Okatie. Beaufort County supplies two-thirds of the students and foots two-thirds of the budget while having only half the board members. To say the least, governance and mission have been dicey over the years.

Beaufort County is pulling out, and a committee assigned to plan how ACE moves forward may finalize its report this week. A key consideration must be the newest twist: an offer by the Technical College of the Lowcountry to perform that duty for the school districts.

TCL's offer should be taken seriously. As outlined to the Beaufort and Jasper county councils, the offer has a number of pluses:

  • It puts career training in the hands of the regional expert, which has a stellar record of job placement, student certification and program completion.
  • It refocuses the mission of ACE to what it was supposed to be: Preparing students for jobs. Through the years, ACE has taken on other functions and tried to serve a broader purpose for academic and disciplinary reasons.
  • It gives high school students a leg up on the future by offering college-level credits. But because TCL is a college, the high schools would have to send students who are not still struggling with the 3R's there. We see that as a good thing and a way for technical education to remain on-task in this area.

    • Many challenges would have to be overcome, and quickly, for this idea to have a chance. It would require money from both counties and the state -- perhaps as much as $7.5 million for repairs and upgrades to a worn building and $1.7 million a year for maintenance.

    Both county school boards would have to buy in, and then state legislation that created the school would need to be changed. Beaufort County would need to show why it would need ACE after spending money to bring career education in-house at county schools.

    Challenges can be overcome if ACE is seen for what it should be -- an economic driver, not an after-thought or dumping ground.

    This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Editorial:Take a careful look at new school options."

    Get unlimited digital access
    #ReadLocal

    Try 1 month for $1

    CLAIM OFFER