Allendale? Even Jim Rex Gets It

Talk to anyone associated with the Allendale school system--teachers, parents, and former students--maybe even administrators, for all I know--and you will get the same opinion: the state takeover of its schools was a disaster from beginning to end, even last year when the state department of education declared victory and got out (see previous blogs on that topic). Clearly, at least in South Carolina as the state department of education is presently constituted, takeover of a school district (or a school, for that matter) will not cure what ails it.

Apparently even State Superintendent Jim Rex can read the tea leaves on this one, and, as a result, the school boards of Allendale and Lee Counties, responsible for two elementary schools that failed to address recommended  improvements last year, have been scolded by the state school board and can look forward to future reprimands from the state if they fail to act. 

Question is, who decides what the state school board thinks is worthy of meddling? What would motivate it to look into CCSD's multifarious problems? And, if the old lion has no teeth, no matter how loudly it growls, who's going to pay attention?