WRAL Tech Wire

'Trust in South Carolina:' A campaign to realize human potential of everyone

John Warner

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Editor’s note: Filling in today for LTW Editor Rick Smith is John Warner, chief executive officer of Jute Networks, which manages the SwampFox.ws Web site and the InnoVenture conference.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The greatest opportunity we have in South Carolina is tapping into the innate human potential of everyone in the state.

In the past decade, we have laid important foundations of our future success, and it is time to consolidate our gains and accelerate the pace of progress. There is no better time to launch this movement than at the depths of an economic storm, because major institutions from industry to academia to government will be very different coming out of this crisis than they were going in. The storm has positioned some incredibly talented people, through their choice or not, to launch the greatest entrepreneurial explosion of our lives in the coming years.

It is also a good time to build this movement because in 2010 we will elect a new South Carolina Governor for the first time in eight years, whose vision and mandate will determine much of what we can accomplish as a state in the following four to eight years. The Trust in South Carolina movement is built on elements to influence the debate in the coming year and create a constituency to support reinventing education and economic development policy as the basis for realizing the full human potential of everyone in South Carolina.

Enormous Potential in South Carolina - Realize the untapped human potential of everyone. Everyone benefits from living in an educated, prosperous community with technically skilled people around us who deliver everything from healthcare to car care. Deep, focused clusters of educated, innovative people are our only sustainable, competitive advantage in a global marketplace. Our enlightened self interest and our mutual responsibility is ensuring that all children have access to high-quality K-12 education that develops their critical thinking skills and is as diverse as they are, and that all adults have access to a high-quality, affordable higher education.

Modern Economic Development - Build a strategy around talent as only sustainable competitive advantage. Economic development strategies must be based on growing clusters of globally preeminent talent supported by a workforce with word-class skills. The state must have a strong pipeline of talent from K-12 to technical colleges to four year institutions to graduate programs to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Accessible Higher Education - Enhance access to low cost higher education for all adults. Per capital income in South Carolina will not increase without raising the level of educational attainment in the state. Any adult, from recent high school graduates to working adults, should have low cost access to a technical college in South Carolina to improve their skills. A seamless transition must exist from the first two years at a technical college to the final two years at a four year institution, so more students start out low cost at home and finish at a university. The quality of our research universities must continue to improve so they serve as magnets to attract and retain preeminent talent in South Carolina, through programs like the endowed research chairs and Palmetto Scholarships.

Innovative K-12 Education - Empower parents and teachers to run excellent, innovative public schools. People should come to South Carolina to learn how we created one of most effective and innovative public education systems in the world. The key to rocketing to the top is giving teachers their profession back, by operating all schools as charter schools, with clear, transparent accountability that emphasizes critical thinking skills and creativity as essential to our children's success. While doing that, we must ensure access to high quality public schools for all students, especially children in poverty. We should consolidate the SC Department of Education and school districts into one statewide entity providing oversight and support, freeing parents and teachers in affluent areas to manage their schools, and providing the dollars saved to poor communities for salaries of excellent teachers.

Low, Broad Tax Base - Everyone pays a little bit of what is required. Our tax structure must be reformed to create low rates and a broad base that generates the resources needed to provide essential government services to the citizens of the state.

Modern State Government - Legislature creates policy, and Governor executes it. Our current constitution was adopted in 1895 and intentionally fragments state government because the authors were concerned that a black would be elected Governor. It is essential that we write a new South Carolina constitution as a foundation for an effective and efficient state government appropriate to the needs of the 21st century.

Consensus Based Leadership - Working together in our enlightened self-interest. Because of our fragmented state government, currently our strategy for moving the state forward is fragmented between departments like Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation, Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and Education, as well as agencies like SCRA, the Commission on Higher Education and the Ports Authority. Given that most of these entities do not report to the governor, but are essential to modern economic development, the next Governor must have a strong track record of leading by consensus.

Are there enough of us to spark a fire to reinvent South Carolina? Send me an e-mail (johnwarner@swampfox.ws) or join our group on Facebook.

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