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Charleston County School District, the second-largest district in South Carolina with about 50,000 students, has become a testing ground for the school privatization movement — and 2022 is bringing a new battle.

South Carolina’s schools have long been among the worst-performing in the country, “saddled with a legacy of apathy and low expectations” that leave students “unprepared for the world that awaits them,” according to a 2018 Post and Courier investigation.

School choice — including charter schools, private academics, specialized magnet schools and other options — has siphoned the best-performing students from struggling schools “while children with the fewest resources get marooned in failing institutions,” the newspaper said.

“North Charleston High loses more than half the students in its attendance zone to a host of magnet, charter and private schools, leaving behind a core of poor Black students,” said the investigation by a team of reporters including the award-winning Paul Bowers, who wrote the piece below.

Since desegregation efforts decades ago, the Charleston district has returned to de facto segregation at many of its schools, accelerated by a boom of magnet schools in the 1990s and early 2000s. It currently sponsors nine public charter schools and two public-private partnership schools, in addition to multiple schools within the county sponsored by statewide authorizers.

On Monday, the school board is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow the takeover of 23 lower-performing schools in low-income and majority-Black neighborhoods by an “innovation management organization,” which would be allowed under law to hire some of its teachers without a state teaching license.

In this post, Bowers looks at what Charleston’s public schools are up against. A parent of three public school children in North Charleston, he was the Post and Courier’s education reporter from 2016 to 2019 and was part of a team that won the 2018 Eddie Prize from the Education Writers Association. Find him on Twitter at @Paul_Bowers and read his work at brutalsouth.substack.com.

Every few years, South Carolina becomes a battleground for school privatization. It looks like 2022 is going to be one of those years.

Back in the 2000s, the New York real estate investor Howard Rich backed a series of South Carolina candidates pushing school vouchers, which would funnel public education funds into private schools. More recently, we have seen efforts by Gov. Henry McMaster and the state legislature to create a Tennessee-style “turnaround district,” to deregulate for-profit online charter schools via authorizer shopping, and to divert federal covid-19 relief funds from public schools to private schools. Teachers and parents have had to fight these advances tooth and nail and have so far kept most of the damage at bay.

Lately it seems like the tip of the spear for privatization efforts in South Carolina is the Charleston County School District, a starkly segregated and unequal district anchored by a world-renowned tourist destination. The Charleston County School Board is scheduled to vote Jan. 10 on a proposal called “Reimagine Schools” that would allow a private third party to make decisions at 23 predominantly Black schools. I thought now would be a good moment to revisit the history of school board power struggles and dark-money campaigns in Charleston County.

Efforts to privatize the governance of public schools have been supported by, among others, two South Carolina billionaires — Anita Zucker, head of a chemical manufacturer, and Ben Navarro, chief of a debt collection agency. Sometimes working in tandem, sometimes independently, Zucker and Navarro tend to promote charter schools and private takeovers of public schools.

Zucker and her advocacy organization, the Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative, were involved in a 2015-2016 effort to create a “turnaround district” at the state level, modeled after failed efforts in Tennessee, Louisiana and Michigan. The proposal involved lumping the state’s lowest-performing schools into a new district and bringing in third-party operators to manage them. Similar bills were introduced in Georgia and North Carolina around the same time, but the idea never received serious discussion in the South Carolina Statehouse.

Navarro is known nationally for his failed 2018 bid to buy the Carolina Panthers team in the National Football League. In the financial world, he is known for his Sherman Financial Group, a privately owned firm that filed more lawsuits against defaulted credit-card debtors than others in the industry during covid-19 lockdowns, according to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation.

In the arena of education, Navarro is known for his private Meeting Street Schools, which are sometimes lauded as a model for improving the standardized test scores of low-income students from at-risk communities. Since 2014, Meeting Street Schools has entered unique public-private partnerships with South Carolina public school districts, starting with the takeover of two elementary schools in North Charleston.

With a boost of private funding, the schools invest in wraparound services for students and their families, offer additional psychological support, place two teachers in each classroom, and operate on an extended school day and academic calendar. Those practices have a proven track record of success, but most schools in South Carolina lack the funding to carry them out.

Meeting Street Schools also heavily recruit staff from Teach for America and the KIPP charter network, and they preach the trendy mid-2010s gospel of “grit” — in fact, the disciplinary model is so gritty that one Meeting Street-run elementary school suspended one-quarter of its students in a single school year. Before opening the schools under new management, Navarro sought and received a special exemption from the state’s employment protections for teachers. As a result, Meeting Street principals can hire and fire teachers at will.

Navarro is also closely associated with the Charleston Coalition for Kids, a dark-money group that emerged in 2018 and immediately outspent all other donors combined on advertising for a slate of school board candidates.

Much of the coalition’s funding and spending is hidden from public view thanks to state election law and the group’s nonprofit status, but FCC records reveal it spent at least $235,000 on TV commercials alone in the run-up to the 2018 school board election — four-and-a-half times what all of the candidates combined raised for their own campaigns. (Local activists estimated the coalition’s spending on Facebook ads, billboards, and other media might have cost additional hundreds of thousands of dollars.)

The coalition spent big on the school board election again in 2020, investing $306,000 on TV commercials, including attack ads against two Black incumbents, the records show. Today six of the nine sitting Charleston County School Board members have received backing from the coalition.

A number of national organizations have taken an interest in Charleston school politics as well, including 50CAN (formerly StudentsFirst) and the Broad Foundation. After failing to create a statewide turnaround district in 2016, the 50CAN affiliate SouthCarolinaCAN shifted its focus to the local level — specifically to Charleston County. When I interviewed then-executive director Bradford Swann in December 2016, he said his organization would be focused on “grass-roots organizing” via a five-month fellowship program for parents.

The result was Charleston RISE, a parent advocacy group that also operates a parent help hotline. Billboards advertising its services have appeared all over the county, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. Charleston RISE trainees were among the founding members of the Charleston Coalition for Kids when it launched in 2018. Some RISE members said they helped vet school board candidates for the coalition.

Currently the Charleston County School Board is deciding how to spend its share of the covid-19 recovery funds provided under the American Recovery Act’s ESSER III program. Multiple local nonprofits submitted proposals on how to spend the money, but only one has gotten a public hearing.

On Monday, Jan. 10, the school board will vote on a proposal called Reimagine Schools that would target 23 low-performing schools in low-income and majority-Black parts of the county. Leaning on a “Schools of Innovation” law recently expanded by the state legislature, the proposal would authorize a takeover of individual schools by an unidentified “innovation management organization.” The Schools of Innovation law also allows a school to hire up to 25 percent of its teachers in certain subject areas without a state teaching license.

The organization that proposed the Reimagine Schools plan is the Coastal Community Fund, a relative newcomer to school board lobbying. The fund and its CEO, Darrin Goss Sr., have promoted the Meeting Street Schools public-private partnership model, which exempts them from “bureaucratic” regulations. (Complicating matters further, the Coastal Community Fund also administers an investigative fund and Education Lab for the local daily newspaper, the Post and Courier.)

The nine-member school board gave the Reimagine Schools proposal initial approval by a 6-3 vote in December without holding any community input sessions. All six members who voted to approve for the proposal had been endorsed by the Charleston Coalition for Kids.

Whatever the Charleston County School Board decides, the privatization push will continue in parallel at the state level. The state superintendent of education post is up for grabs this fall, and the first candidate to announce her run was Ellen Weaver, a charter school advocate with the conservative Palmetto Promise Institute. A central proposal in her platform is the creation of education scholarship accounts, a modified private school voucher program.

Charleston Restaurant Week is (almost) upon us, friends. This celebration, held Jan. 13-23, sheds light on local restaurants and provides the opportunity to try something new from Lowcountry favorites like 39 Rue de Jean, Halls Chophouse + MESU.

If you’ve never experienced the holy grail of the Charleston food + bev industry that is Restaurant Week, you’ll need a bit of guidance, as the choices can get overwhelming — though too many options is never a bad thing, right?

Different eateries offer special deals to encourage people to get out + dine in at local restaurants. With 40+ Charleston area restaurants participating, the hardest part will be choosing where to dine. We’re here to highlight a few of the participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week deals.

39 Rue de Jean, 39 John St. | 3 dinner courses for $45 | Stop by this brick-walled bistro + enjoy French classics and cocktails from the bar.

82 Queen, 82 Queen St. | 2 lunch courses for $20, 3 dinner courses for $40 | Not sold on the award-winning She Crab soup? Take a look at the jambalaya and get back to us.

Bourbon N’ Bubbles, 570 King St. | 3 dinner courses for $45 | We have to say, it’ll be hard to decide between the bruschetta + crispy tempura shrimp.

CO, 340 King St. | 3 dinner courses for $25 or 4 for $30 | Spicy crab rangoon with the option of a sake pairing? Sign us up.

Coast Bar & Grill, 39D John St. | 3 dinner courses for $45 | You can’t go wrong with any dish from this seafood eatery, but the surf & turf is definitely grabbing our attention.

Coastal Provisions, 200 Grand Pavilion Blvd., Isle of Palms | 3 dinner courses for $40 | Calling all gnocchi lovers: the sweet potato gnocchi dish looks ah-mazing.

FortyEight – Wine Bar & Kitchen, 547 Freshfields Dr., Kiawah Island | 3 dinner courses for $35 | There’s just something special about the ambiance of a wine bar. Pair it with the FortyEight Pimento Burger? We’re in.

Florence’s Lowcountry Kitchen, 90 Folly Rd Blvd., Ste B-4 | 2 lunch courses for $20, 3 dinner courses for $30 | This Lowcountry eatery has blessed us with two opportunities to enjoy its delicious Southern dishes. I’ll have an order of the shrimp & grits, please.

Frothy Beard Brewing Co.,1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.| 2 people for $30 | Pro tip: This brewery includes two pints of beer in its Restaurant Week deal.

Jalisco Taqueria & Tequila, 1217 Folly Rd. | Saturdays only: 3 lunch courses for $25, 3 dinner courses for $25 | Enchiladas, and salsa, and churros — oh my.

MESU, 570 King St. | 3 dinner courses for $25 | Can’t decide between Mexican + sushi? Grab an app of chips and guac before enjoying one sushi roll as your main course. Best of both worlds.

New Realm Brewery, 880 Island Park Dr. | 3 dinner courses for $30 | We can confirm that the Ultimate Wagyu Burger is worth the hype.

Swamp Fox Restaurant & Bar at Francis Marion Hotel, 387 King St. | 2 lunch courses for $20, 3 dinner courses for $40 | Enjoy all your Lowcountry favorites at this restaurant. We’re looking at you, hush puppy + deviled egg lovers.

The Salty Dog Cafe – Seabrook, 1882 Andell Bluff Blvd., Johns Island | 3 courses for 2 people for $50 | Looking for your fish ‘n’ chips fix? Look no further.

Virginia’s on King, 412 King St. | 2 for $15 brunch, 3 dinner courses for $30 | Mix it up and enjoy brunch at this popular spot, including a mimosa + your choice of a breakfast burrito or strawberry waffles.

Pro tip: Make sure you’re staying up to date on the restaurants’ latest COVID-19 updates and potential closures.

The best part? This isn’t all. Click here to see all 47 participating Charleston area restaurants + the deals they’re offering.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – The News 2 family is mourning the loss of a leader, colleague, and a friend.

For many years, those who have worked at WCBD News 2 were greeted with laughter and stories told by P.J. Ryal. He was a great man who wore many hats in our building; not only as general sales manager, but also a mentor, chief story teller, or perhaps being the “unofficial mayor of Charleston.”

The stories he could tell — they ranged in topic from working in the television industry throughout the decades to those of past experiences that would leave you roaring with laughter by the end.

His impact on our staff was great. He was loved by all. Not one day would go by where P.J. did not make his rounds saying hello to employees in each department.

Even after retirement P.J. would stop by the station just to say his hellos and offer a laugh.

“It is not common when you have trudged the career path for three decades to still have someone who can still shape your intellect, interest, and passion. But P.J. Ryal kept me fired-up about being a broadcast journalist, said WCBD Anchor Carolyn Murray.

Murray worked alongside Ryal at another television station in the 80s, and again a short time later after both joined the WCBD team.

“He tapped me on the shoulder to co-anchor the (10 p.m.) broadcast. I was only a couple of years into my broadcast career but that single move bolstered my confidence on the anchor desk,” she said.

“PJ Ryal was a good man, a faithful husband, a loving and caring father, and an amazing grandfather,” said WCBD Chief Meteorologist Rob Fowler. “He loved and lived life to its fullest, and will be missed terribly by all of us who had the honor and pleasure of working side by side with him every day.”

“He was my co-worker and golfing buddy but most importantly, my friend,” said WCBD Anchor, Brendan Clark. “I have many stories about PJ Ryal. One that involved a garbage disposal on Hilton Head or his leap over the hedges in Murrells Inlet. But it was the stories he told that were best and filled with the most laughter.”

Clark went on to say, “I learned a lot from PJ over the years and won’t forget those lessons or him…ever.”

To echo the words spoken by Carolyn Murray, P.J. Ryal was the life of the party. He kept us as a station moving. Handed out nicknames to those he loved. Offered support when you needed it, or didn’t know you needed it.

Most of all, he was our friend. And we will miss him.

For the end of nearly every conversation came a single phrase uttered by P.J., one we end this story with that: “…as you were.”

Downtown Charleston, S.C., looks like a scene from a postcard. Its skyline is filled with bridges and steeples. Its horse-drawn carriages roll by rows of colorful homes and shops. Its waterfront is lined with mansions and parks.

Founded in 1670 by the English, the city is the oldest in South Carolina and was originally named Charles Town after King Charles II. The coastal city grew into a bustling seaport known as “Little London” and played a significant role in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.

Although there is no denying Charleston’s beauty and intriguing 351-year-old history, the city can be crowded in peak summer months and especially during the annual Spoleto Festival, a 17-day world-renowned performing arts showcase that begins the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. In 2019, the city had more than 7 million visitors. Popularity comes at a price — including overcrowded attractions and traffic woes.

Although Charleston is definitely worth visiting, there’s a less crowded alternative just about 90 minutes southwest: Beaufort, South Carolina’s second-oldest city. Think of it as a mini-Charleston with its own distinctive charm. Located on Port Royal Island, Beaufort has narrow streets lined with giant oak trees draped with moss and historic homes built in the Federal, Early Classical Revival and Greek Revival styles. The entire downtown has been designated a historic district by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Beaufort’s background is as fascinating as Charleston’s. After both the Spanish and French failed to establish a colony in the area, the English succeeded in 1711. During the Civil War, the city was captured by Union troops who made their headquarters at the John Mark Verdier House, the only historic home in the area open to the public. The building is located on Bay Street, the main shopping district, across from Waterfront Park. The park offers a view of Woods Memorial Bridge, which film buffs might recognize from “Forrest Gump,” one of many movies filmed nearby.

For a detailed history lesson, start at the Beaufort Arsenal, a 200-plus-year-old yellow building that resembles a fortress and houses the Beaufort History Museum and visitor center. Head across the street to the Old Beaufort Firehouse, which is now the headquarters and visitor center for the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, which details the experience and challenges faced by newly freed African Americans from 1861 to 1900. The park offers guided tours and includes three additional locations in Beaufort County: Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church within the Penn Center National Historical Landmark District on nearby St. Helena Island and Camp Saxton.

The best views of downtown Beaufort are from a kayak or paddleboard. Several local companies, including Higher Ground, offer tours or rentals. Keep an eye out for the common bottlenose dolphins that frequent the Beaufort River and the salt marsh between the Port Royal and Lady’s islands. South Carolina’s most popular park — Hunting Island State Park — is located about 18 miles away. Its 5,000 acres offer five miles of pristine beaches and approximately nine miles of hiking trails through marshlands and maritime forest. Be sure to climb the 167 stairs to the top of the historic 1875 lighthouse.

And, of course, no visit to Beaufort is complete without indulging in some Low Country fare, such as the shrimp gumbo from Gullah Grub Restaurant, which appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations.” Located on St. Helena Island, the restaurant, like Beaufort, is worth the drive.

Location: Beaufort is on the southeastern coast of South Carolina. The closest airports are in Charleston, S.C. (about 70 miles away), and Savannah, Ga. (about 50 miles).

Potential travelers should take local and national public health directives regarding the pandemic into consideration before planning any trips. Travel health notice information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's interactive map showing travel recommendations by destination and the CDC's travel health notice webpage.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — On Monday, a controversial proposal is being put to a vote.

The Charleston County School District board will be deciding if $32 million will be invested in the Coastal Community Foundation's proposal "Reimagine Schools."

If the Reimagine Schools proposal is passed, it will affect 23 targeted schools in CCSD.

Three commissions will then be tasked with identifying a management structure to be implemented in the schools.

The schools would either remain managed by CCSD, would transition to a nonprofit management organization, or a combination of the two.

Sarah Johnson with Charleston Area Community Voice for Education said the proposal has not been given enough time or community input. She suspects the Coastal Community Foundation has an agenda behind Reimagine Schools.

“They have a position paper on what they think the best way is to improve schools, to reform schools, and that’s through the schools of innovation law, and converting schools to public-private partnerships, schools that are managed by third parties," Johnson said.

Fran Clasby, a CCSD Constituent Board Member, said the proposal might just be the change they need to move forward.

“So my reading of the proposal is that it is a gift from philanthropists to help desegregate and close the gap in our schools which I have been trying to do for 25 years. And the status quo isn’t working so I am willing to try the proposal," Clasby said.

Still, many parents and teachers are left asking for more clarification on the plan.

“I have not seen any evidence that coastal community foundation has any particular knowledge or expertise beyond what folks in the school district or who the school district could higher with district oversight might have. So I am not sure why we should hand the reins of I think it is 23 schools over to folks who can’t demonstrate they are in a better position than the people who are already there," said Henry Snyder, a CCSD Educator for one of the affected schools.

Both Angel Oak Elementary and Burke High School have issued community statements against the proposal, asking CCSD board members to vote no.

ABC News 4 reached out to CCSD for a response. Officials said they were not able to provide any further comment than what was said by interim superintendent Don Kennedy which we reported on Friday.