Three School Board Members Defend CCSD's Postlewait

Was there ever a Charleston County School Superintendent who wasn't under attack? Most of them deserved it.

CCSD School Board members Todd Garrett (downtown), Eric Mack (Wadmalaw} and Kate Darby (Mt. Pleasant) signed an op-ed recently that took up the defense of Superintendent Postlewait. What happened to the other six members--Coats, Collins, Staubes, Hollinshed, Miller, and Jeffrey? Did they authorize the article?

The op-ed succinctly summarizes the district's worst problems:

"Last year, 84 percent of our black students and 41 percent of our white students were not reading on grade level by 3rd grade. At graduation, only 3.7 percent of our black students and 38.6 percent of our white students met the Gold Work Keys level, the equivalence of which Boeing requires to apply for a position. Half of the kids in nearly every grade fail to improve by a grade level each year. Consider year after year of this scenario and what do you have? Students who are several years behind in skills by the time they graduate. We know this because 90 percent of Charleston County School District graduates at Trident Tech had to take remedial classes last year before being able to start a course for credit."

Basically, the three point out that for change to come, the status quo must be crushed, and when that happens, "pushback" appears. Postlewait has focused on the district's financial order, student growth rates, and rewarding teachers and principals. Reading the article, you must wonder why anyone would argue.

Clearly, the response does not address concerns that have appeared over the Superintendent's performance. 

So, what's the problem?