Education
As district prepares to cut teachers, tax increase stays in budget
Board Member Jarrod Ownbey said the price is right as the Georgetown County School Board discussed the second draft of a proposed operating budget for the district’s next fiscal year that begins July 1.
“We should be doing more, so this is not too much of a price to ask for what we need to give to our students so they can provide back to the community when they get older,” Ownbey said. “If you invest in your kids, you invest in schools, you invest in the community. You’re going to see your return on that.”
Board Member Scott DuBose said he’s not optimistic about the proposed budget. He supports raising the pay for teachers and other staff, but said he’s struggling with the idea of raising taxes “to find” $1.5 million to do it rather than cutting it from expenditures.
“It has been said on this board that we’re willing to make difficult decisions. In my opinion, raising taxes is not difficult. It’s really easy,” he said. “What’s actually difficult is finding ways to cut expenses in order to balance the budget.”
The board is considering a 3.1-mill tax increase even as it is planning to cut 19 teaching and five administrative positions.
The first draft showed a 3-mill increase, raising the tax rate from 121 to 124 mills. That would generate an additional $1.5 million.
The second draft proposed this week showed the tax rate changing from 120 to 123.1 mills. The tax rate approved by the board last year was 120 mills. The additional tenth of a mill is worth $50,000.
“I can live with this,” said Chairman Keith Moore, who favors increasing the tax rate.
The state’s cap on the disrtict’s tax rate is 3.2 mills this year. The district also has “look back millage” available from years when it raised taxes by less than the state limit. There are 13.4 mills available.
“What we’re seeing right now is a direct result of the failure in the past to keep up with what needed to happen. This body failed to increase, in an incremental way, to keep up with the cost and the increase in cost,” Ownbey said. “At some point the bill comes due.”
“We had to live within our means of that, but it didn’t move us forward,” said Board Member Patti Hammel.
A 3.1-mill increase would add $18.60 to the tax bill for every $100,000 in value of commercial property and second homes. There is no property tax on owner-occupied homes for school operations.
State funding for the district increased since the budget was first presented last month.
Aid to classrooms increased by $361,464 but is still down $561,694 for the current fiscal year because of declining enrollment.
The district also saw improved figures in funds from the Education Improvement Act, an increase of $176,488, but an overall reduction of $263,173.
Overall, district spending increased by $507,802 from the first draft. The budget increased by 3.2 percent to $128 million from the current fiscal year.
The proposed budget will increase salaries for teachers by $2,000, up from $1,500 in the first draft. That raises the starting teacher salary to $52,103.
The proposed budget increases pay by 3 percent for bus drivers, classified staff and administrators.
“It really does make my heart feel good to see us be able to reward our people for the hard work that they do every day,” Hammel said.
Salaries and benefits account for approximately 80 percent of the budget, DuBose said, while other expenses make up the remaining 20 percent, which is around $25.5 million. He suggested a 6 percent reduction in that spending to save the $1.5 million needed to balance the budget.
“What frustrates me and some others is I don’t think we really considered cutting any of them. We have all sorts of rationales as to why we can’t but no specifics. Instead, we speak in vague generalities and assurances that all of it is absolutely justified to support our teachers and improve academic performance,” DuBose said. “I’m not sure that our academic results actually show that improvement.”
Board Member Fallon Bordner said the district’s academic performance is influenced by other factors other than funding, including school and home environments.
Board Member Eileen Johnson said she could not support a budget until it’s “concrete.”
“We have not made it an effort to create a long term plan to reduce expenditures,” Johnson said.
The proposed budget also includes a 3 percent raise for Kelly Services, which the district uses to contract temporary staff including substitute teachers, amounting to $90,000. The hourly rate would start at $15.22. An additional pay increase for substitute teachers will cost $50,000.
A reduction of 19 teaching positions, due to lower enrollment, decreased expenditures by $1.8 million. Five administrative positions were cut, saving a $319,037.
Superintendent Bethany Giles added that the district is looking to cut more positions that are not reflected in the proposed budget.
“That will pay off,” DuBose said.
