Home School Mom Elected Head of South Carolina's Public Schools

Teresa Neumann : Dec 16, 2007
Seanna Adcox - AP

You go, girl!

(Columbia, S.C.)—Home schooling mother, and Clemson University engineering graduate, Kristin Maquire, was elected head of the State Board of Education overseseing South Carolina's public schools. It is a first in our nation's history.

According to an AP report, Maquire—who is also the co-founder of South Carolina Parents Involved in Education, a group that pushes for abstinence education, taxpayer dollars spent on private schools and the teaching of intelligent design—maintained that her decision to homeschool her own children should have nothing to do with her qualifications to lead the state's school board.

In response to critics, Joel Sawyer, the spokesman for the governor of the state, is quoted as saying Maguire has done an excellent job.

"We challenge the detractors out there to actually attend the meetings and have a conversation and see not only what she's done on the board, but the perspectives she brings to the table," Sawyer said.