Board OKs $63.4 million budget for schools
By JIM FAILE
DARLINGTON - The Darlington County Board of Education gave unanimous final approval to a general fund budget of more than $63.4 million Monday.
The new budget does not raise property taxes, nor does it provide for pay raises for district employees. The plan eliminates 14 certified positions, including teaching positions, guidance counselors and media specialists, but all of those are being absorbed through attrition as district officials left vacant positions unfilled. Those eliminations will save about $845,000.
District officials were able to place all but four of about 10 support and clerical workers whose positions were subject to elimination, according to Superintendent of Education Dr. Rainey Knight. Knight said the district will continue looking for slots for those four.
No employee furloughs are called for under the new budget.
The budget does include $1.33 million for school report card incentives for employees of from $500 to $1,000, depending on the employee’s classification and pay level. Knight said those incentives are intended to thank employees for the good results the district achieved on this year’s state school report cards.
The district will use more than $1.9 million from its general fund balance to help balance the new budget. The plan also calls for using almost $2 million in “flex funds” to help balance the budget. That is money for which the state has given local districts permission to use in ways other than for which it was originally intended.
The board could have raised local property taxes for the new budget by no more than 2.77 mills under the state’s Act 388 property tax reform act, which caps local property taxes for school district operations. That would have produced another $392,605 in new revenue for the district.
But Knight said that given the state of the economy she would not recommend a tax increase.
Any property tax increase would have applied to business and rental property, not to owner-occupied homes under Act 388.
The new budget is based on a state student base cost of $1,788 per pupil set in the S.C. House version of the budget. The district plan does not reflect additional state funding of $105 million for public education designated in the $6 billion state budget by the S.C. Senate. That money was part of $210 in new recurring revenue generated by renewed economic activity in the state.
The House cut the $105 million by about half and redirected the rest to provide tax breaks to businesses.
A legislative conference committee will attempt to work out that issue and other differences between the two versions of the state budget. As of Monday, the matter remained unresolved, Knight said.
“We’re going to wait and see what the conference committee comes out with,” Knight said. District officials will make recommendations for the use of whatever additional money the district may get from the state.
Hartsville board member Dr. Allen McCutchen said he would like to see any additional money go to restoring the step increase in teacher pay. That is the increase based on years of experience that is being suspended again next year.
“If we get any additional money I’d like to see us revisit that. And I firmly believe that we will get additional money,” McCutchen said.
District officials said the additional $105 million in the Senate plan would provide the district with an additional $1.7 million. With the cut by the House, the figure is around $850,000, Knight said. She said that would be enough money to restore the step increase.
The new district budget does reflect a one-time infusion of $101 million extra by the House. That money will provide an additional $2.5 million to the district for next year only.
Those funds will cover the report card incentives. District officials also plan to use another $500,000 of it pay for new technology for district classrooms, including laptop computers, desktop labs, interactive white boards and other technology upgrades and equipment, Knight said.
Another $481,900 will go toward putting security cameras in elementary schools that don’t currently have them, Knight said. And $232,500 of the funding will be used to pay for landscaping and grounds maintenance to help improve the appearances around the main entrances of schools, she said.
The new budget year begins on July 1.
In other business Monday, the board unanimously agreed to extend Knight’s employment contract with the district by another year. Knight is currently in her 12th year as district superintendent. Board members said they were pleased with Knight’s performance and with the improvements the district has made under her leadership.
I see no administration positions being eliminated-why? These admins make big bucks compared to other employees-1 admin-would save 4 secretary jobs pay wise certainly not work wise.