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to address. But it’s probably the one that will continue to limit the potential of our state until we get it right. Rarely does a day go by when I’m not reminded of the importance of a quality education. And I’m not talking about necessarily from the boardroom. I’m talking about global issues that we see every day. I’m talking about the Ukraine, I’m talking about the Middle East and even in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City. We face many troubling issues in this country and around the world, but I personally feel that the best medicine for many of the ills facing us in the world today is a quality education for all of our people. This is not just a South Carolina issue, although we do have a lot of catching up to do.

 

After World War II, the United States had the world’s premiere public education system. We had the No. 1 high school graduation rate in the world. Today, we are 22nd among the 27 industrialized nations. We are 22nd among the 27 in math scores. Less than half of American students – 46 percent, to be exact – finished college, which is dead last among that same peer group. And the list goes on.

 

The real problem to me is these are the people we’re competing against in a global economy that we all have to play in today, particularly in the manufacturing segment.

 

So how does South Carolina compare? Recently, MDC, a nonprofit based in Durham, N.C., released its annual State of the South Report. Sadly, but not surprising, South Carolina ranked near the bottom of the scale. Frankly, I’m tired of South Carolina being in the bottom. And the leaders of our state, both political and business, are not making the tough decisions to change the outcome of these surveys. But, for something even more alarming than most I’ve seen in recent years, let me share with you some of the major statistics from this study. For every 100 ninth graders in South Carolina, 40 percent will not graduate from high school. We lead the nation in this category. Of those who graduate from high school, 19 percent of those won’t enroll in college. And 15 percent of those who do go to college won’t make it to the second year. So, you can do the math as easy as I can. Seventy-four of every 100 students entering the ninth grade will not graduate from college.

 

Look, I understand that we’re starting to see a lot of progress in our school system in South Carolina, but these results are unacceptable to us. And I know there are pockets of excellence in this state, but there are also pockets on the other side of the coin as well.

 

I frankly was pleased with a recent ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court that could provide for better funding for poor, rural or deficient school systems. The legislature and the school districts will have to work together to come up with a solution, and this will not be easy, I’m first to admit. What should the legislature do? They can’t just throw money at this issue. It’s not just an issue of money. Not anymore. It comes down to how we use that money. The current funding system, which dates back to 1977, is broken – and most of us know it. We must do things differently. We must reevaluate how we set school districts. The business community must get involved as citizens to make sure our state and local school districts work together to get it right.

 

The outcome of this is equally important when it comes to defending the future of manufacturing in our state because if we bring manufacturing jobs here but do not have an educated, well-trained workforce ready to take those jobs AND have an educated population for them to intermingle with, they will ultimately leave, in my opinion. A better education affects us at all levels – crime, drug use, teen pregnancy. It makes better citizens. It teaches restraint. It teaches us how to solve problems and resolve issues. And it’s absolutely critical to the continued re-emergence of manufacturing and the long-term success of our state.

 

From a manufacturing perspective, I believe we’re back in a position we’ve longed to be in – at the front, where our actions and decisions will make a tremendous difference in not only the future of manufacturing, but the lives of many of our citizens. We owe it to them to get this right.

Harris DeLoach

Executive chairman, Sonoco Products Co., Hartsville, S.C.

Remarks to the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, in accepting the Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award

December 11, 2014

 

I truly want to thank the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance for recognizing me with this award. It is a tremendous honor to be receiving an award named after Roger Milliken. He was clearly a legend in South Carolina manufacturing and I’m proud to have called him a friend. It also echoes my deep appreciation for Roger’s good work for almost 94 years. He was an outstanding man.

 

The award also reflects how passionately I believe the role manufacturing plays and will play in the success of this great state of ours. It wasn’t too long ago that manufacturing was leaving South Carolina. From 1995 to 2007, more than 26,000 textile and related manufacturing jobs were lost. But because of Roger’s defense of manufacturing during its darkest days, today we believe that South Carolina’s manufacturing resurgence will continue. In fact, the headline of the lead article in September in The State newspaper, read, “Textiles’ return to South Carolina by way of China.” And I bet you Roger is smiling and looking down and laughing about that.

 

I have always admired Roger for many reasons, one of which was his grit and determination when it came to undue regulation on the manufacturing industry. I happen to echo Roger’s sentiments and support the Alliance’s efforts to speak out against regulations that are negatively impacting the future of manufacturing. I’m convinced that manufacturing is vitally important to the long-term prosperity of our country.

 

But I want to take just a moment this evening to address what I think is the single most important issue facing South Carolina today. Certainly infrastructure and ethics are critically important to the success of this state. However, I believe that education remains the No. 1 issue and it’s probably the most difficult

SCMA's Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award

DeLoach: 'Manufacturers must lead way on education'

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