Governor Nikki Haley spoke to USC students 20 days before the state gubernatorial election — and yes, she’s counting.
In terms of higher education, Haley discussed meetings with all South Carolina university and technical school presidents.
From talking with them and from her experience in the state legislature, Haley said she noticed many small colleges weren't getting the funding she thought they deserved, while bigger universities seemed to be penalized for their large size.
“What I had always seen was that schools were funded on football tickets and the lobbyists,” Haley said. “Schools shouldn’t have a lobbyist. It’s wrong that they have to have that. They’re fighting for money that they should have.”
Haley said she hopes to establish an accountability-based formula that will allow universities to “compete against themselves,” based on seven or eight criteria.
Those efforts have so far passed in the House, but died in the Senate. However, Haley wants to keep pushing because she has the support of all university presidents in the state.
“There’s not one university president scared of doing this,” Haley said. “They know they’re able to prove themselves if given the opportunity.”
Haley reviewed her accomplishments since taking office in 2011, then looked back further to where she came from.
Haley's parents immigrated to the U.S. from India, which motivated her to work to give South Carolina as many job opportunities as possible. When she took office, Haley immediately wanted to bring jobs to citizens around the state.
“If we were really going to lift up South Carolina, we were going to have to lift up all of South Carolina, even the rural parts,” Haley said.
She cited the state’s recognition as the third best state in the country to do business, and the fact that South Carolina now has the largest BMW plant and is the number-one tire producing state in the country.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” she said, “unless our South Carolina children are the ones who are getting those jobs.”
In addition to the workforce, Haley emphasized the importance of education on all levels and emphasized putting a focus on the idea that all students deserve a good education. She said she has prioritized reading in schools, instituted reading coaches in every elementary school and brought technology and summer camps to all areas of South Carolina, which she said she did without raising taxes.
If re-elected, Haley hopes to continue this education reform.
“We have to focus on education every year," she said. "We have to keep the ball rolling on education."