Want to live downtown on the peninsula of Charleston but don't like the public schools?
No problem--if you're rich.
That's the upshot of a recent Circuit Court ruling on a lawsuit brought by well-heeled parents of a Charleston County elementary student. "Parents residing in downtown Charleston sued the school district to admit their daughter to kindergarten at Mount Pleasant Academy. They argued that their daughter was eligible to attend there because she was a 1-percent owner of property in the attendance zone." Taxes on that ownership meet the criterion set by a "1962 state law that says a child 'shall be entitled to attend the public schools of any school district' as long as the child owns property in that district with a tax assessed value of at least $300."
The parents rejected sending their child to Memminger Elementary. "The ruling appears to open a new avenue for parents to send their children to any public school they choose — if they have the money to buy land."
Well, there you have it. The sole purpose of existing attendance zone remains to keep the poor (read "black") corralled in pockets of high-poverty schools.
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