The South Carolina Supreme Court late last week ordered Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, to request $700 million in federal stimulus money aimed primarily at struggling schools, ending months of wrangling with legislators.
The nation’s most vocal anti-bailout governor had refused to take the money designated for the state over the next two years. But he said June 4 that he will not appeal the supreme court ruling and plans to sign paperwork to request the money this week.
The supreme court’s ruling came a day after arguments in two lawsuits filed by students and school administrators. Mr. Sanford had tried to get those cases merged in federal court with his lawsuit against the state, which he filed moments after legislators overrode his budget veto. But he lost that battle last week when a federal judge refused to take those cases.
Mr. Sanford had refused to request the $700 million—the portion of the $2.8 billion bound for the state that he says he controls—unless legislators agreed to offset state debt by an equal amount. The White House twice rejected that idea.
