Here’s how the state squandered $20M of your taxpayer dollars

South Carolina officials squandered more than $20 million of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars — and no one appears to be fully accountable.

Two prominent episodes — one involving homeschool subsidies and the other a massive accounting error — show how easily taxpayer money can be wasted when oversight fails.

• State Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver spent more than $8.8 million subsidizing homeschooled students, an expenditure state senators say was not authorized by law.
• Meanwhile, state lawmakers spent up to $12.5 million on audits and legal costs tied to a $1.8 billion accounting error that went unaddressed for years.

Together, those episodes cost roughly $20 million taxpayers will never see again — money that could have supported public education, public safety, health care, or roads and bridges.

Tax dollars for homeschoolers

State senators sharply criticized Weaver’s decision to provide $7,500 stipends to 1,182 students for at-home education, according to reporting by the SC Daily Gazette’s Skylar Laird.

Weaver said her department believed the law allowed the spending.

But laws passed in 2023 and 2025 explicitly prohibit taxpayer money being used for homeschooling, Laird reported.

Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, the sponsor of last year’s law, emphasized during Senate debate that vouchers could not be used for homeschooling.

Some students who received stipends later switched to private schools, which is allowed. But Weaver was unable to provide senators with data on how many students are currently being homeschooled with taxpayer money.

The issue isn’t whether homeschooling deserves public support. The issue is that current law does not allow it, according to senators.

As state Rep. Neal Collins notes, public education is a common good, like public roads, police and water systems.

We don’t use gas taxes to build private driveways. We don’t subsidize private security guards. And residents who opt out of city water systems don’t receive taxpayer-funded cases of Dasani bottled water.

The same principle applies to schools: public dollars should support public schools, not individual families.

South Carolina’s voucher program is controversial and deserves close scrutiny. But subsidizing homeschooling is more troubling because, as senators point out, it was not authorized by law.

The $1.8 billion error

The second episode involved the state’s $1.8 billion accounting error.

The bulk of that never actually existed. But South Carolina spent as much as $12.5 million on a forensic audit and legal fees connected to the mistake, according to reporting by the Daily Gazette’s Jessica Holdman.

Lawmakers ordered the forensic audit after the accounting discrepancy raised concerns that South Carolina’s financial statements may have misrepresented available cash.

Had state financial leaders addressed the discrepancy earlier, the state might never have had to spend millions on investigations or defending itself before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC investigation arose from concerns that the accounting problem may have misled Wall Street credit-rating agencies about the state’s financial condition.

The state’s top financial leaders, including Treasurer Curtis Loftis, knew about the issue as early as 2016 but did not alert lawmakers or conduct their own investigation, forensic accountant David Bligh told lawmakers.

These failures are not just individual mistakes. They reveal deeper structural weaknesses in how South Carolina chooses and oversees some of its most powerful officials.

Key statewide officials wield enormous authority but face limited professional requirements and little oversight.

When oversight is weak, mistakes become expensive.

A case for appointing officers

I’ve argued in the past that serious blunders by the state treasurer and comptroller general — the officials responsible for safeguarding the state’s finances — are a strong argument for those positions being appointed rather than elected.

Perhaps we should add the state education superintendent to that list.

Many argue that an appointed official, rather than an elected one, can be more easily held accountable and removed from office.

In 38 states, the top education officer is appointed by the governor or a state board of education. Only 12 states, including South Carolina, elect the position.

South Carolina also needs stronger qualifications for these offices, which are all up for election this year.

To run for most statewide offices, including state treasurer and comptroller general, the constitution requires only that a candidate be 18, live in South Carolina, and not be a convicted criminal.

A 2018 state law added qualifications for the state superintendent. The job requires at least a master’s degree and “broad-based experience” in public education.

Still, those are remarkably low standards for overseeing billions in taxpayer dollars.

Public money deserves professional stewardship.

South Carolina should raise the professional expectations for these top state offices — and consider gubernatorial appointments.

When billions of taxpayer dollars are at stake, voters should demand more than minimal qualifications and political ambition. Without stronger standards and oversight, taxpayers should expect more $20 million mistakes.

Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette