Jim Rex
| Jim Rex | |
|---|---|
| 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education | |
|
In office January 10, 2007 – January 12, 2011 |
|
| Governor | Mark Sanford |
| Preceded by | Inez Tenenbaum |
| Succeeded by | Mick Zais |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 21, 1941 Toledo, Ohio |
| Political party | AmericanParty |
| Other political affiliations |
Democratic (Before 2013) |
| Spouse(s) | Sue |
| Children | Adam, Jeff, Nathan, and Siri |
| Residence | Fairfield County, South Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of Toledo, (B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D.) |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Religion | United Methodist Church |
Jim Rex (born November 21, 1941 in Toledo, Ohio) was the 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He ran for the position in 2006 as a Democrat, against Karen Floyd, a Republican. Rex defeated Floyd by only 455 votes, the closest margin of victory in a statewide election in South Carolina's history. He was sworn-in as Superintendent on January 10, 2007, replacing fellow Democrat Inez Tenenbaum. In 2014, Rex co-founded a new political party - the American Party of South Carolina.
He is chair of the party, which nominated four candidates for election in November 2014. The three statewide candidates and a candidate for the SC House collectively received more than 153,000 votes in the party's inaugural election. The American Party is a centrist party that requires term limits of its candidates, transparency, and ethical behavior. It emphasizes the need for the US to acquire and maintain national global competitiveness as a means to strengthening the middle class, maintain a strong military, provide world class education and health care, and eliminate the national debt and deficit. It avoids "hot button" social issues (which it considers to be distractions) and nominates candidates who focus on problem solving, finding common ground, and reforms related to issues such as comprehensive tax reform, improved infrastructure, and transformational education and training.
Rex championed reforms in accountability and pushed for advances in public school choice and innovation. In addition to replacing the unpopular Palmetto Achievement Test (PACT) with the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS), he also worked with the General Assembly to reform the state’s system of annual school report cards, eliminate burdensome paperwork for teachers, change South Carolina’s student performance targets to bring them into alignment with other states, and create a mandate to review the state’s accountability system every five years.
Shortly after taking office, Rex created the Office of Public School Choice and Innovation within the South Carolina Department of Education, combining innovative approaches to education with technological advancement, both inside and outside the classroom, to help students learn. New and improved options include single-gender education, Montessori programs, charter schools and virtual learning. His bill for a comprehensive public school choice plan was passed by the General Assembly, but failed to become law after Governor Mark Sanford - under pressure from supporters of vouchers and tax credits - vetoed the legislation. Despite this setback, South Carolina has become a national leader in public school choice options during Rex's tenure.
...
Wikipedia