School vouchers add sizzle to S.C. House race

By Matt Garfield - Matt Garfield

When state legislator Carl Gullick and challenger Kyle Boyd go before their fellow Republicans tonight at a GOP candidates forum, some familiar topics might come up: taxes, illegal immigration and health-care reform, to name a few.

But one issue looms above all the rest in the heated race for state House District 48.

School vouchers are dominating the dialogue between Gullick and Boyd as they square off for the right to represent 33,000 people in South Carolina's largest House district. The June 10 primary is a winner-take-all contest because no Democrat declared for the northern York County seat.

Vouchers help families pay tuition at private schools. The concept is a hot-button political issue around the state, but it resonates even more strongly in this race because of Boyd's background and Gullick's views.

Boyd is founder and principal of a private Christian school called Walnut Grove, which he started near his home in Fort Mill's Regent Park but has since moved to a building off Tryon Street in south Charlotte.

Gullick's political rivalries have fueled the debate. As an outspoken opponent of vouchers, Gullick has drawn the ire of pro-voucher interest groups in Columbia such as South Carolinians for Responsible Government, or SCRG. Last month, SCRG put out automated phone calls criticizing Gullick for not voting conservatively enough.

Gullick also is an occasional critic of Gov. Mark Sanford, a voucher supporter who believes the vouchers would create competition and ultimately push South Carolina's lowest-ranking school districts toward improvement.

Both candidates want voters to know exactly where they stand.

Boyd describes himself as a staunch opponent of vouchers. He says that he supports tuition tax credits, but not vouchers. "They're totally different things," he said, explaining that vouchers are used to pay private schools, whereas tax credits offer reimbursements to families, not schools.

"I'm not saying tax credits are the answer, but I definitely think we need to entertain options," Boyd said. "When you look down and see us 49th and 50th in every category, I believe there has to be some sort of educational reform. Something aggressive has to be done."

Gullick says there is ultimately no difference between vouchers and tuition tax credits; both divert money from public schools. Gullick said he opposes both approaches.

"Either the government gives it to the private schools, or the government gives it to the families and says, 'You have to give it,'" Gullick said. "It's like saying we're not in favor of mailing it, but we'll FedEx it. It's semantics."

Gullick went on to add that tax credits are "like a voucher for morons" and that the reason candidates avoid using the term "vouchers" is because it doesn't poll as well as saying "tax credits."

Boyd said his opinion is based on the way he feels, not any polls.

A recent poll found many South Carolinians are either skeptical of vouchers or don't understand what they are. About 45 percent oppose the idea, while 30 percent said they favor it, according to a Winthrop University/ETV survey released in February. However, 25 percent said they didn't know enough to say.