COASTAL OBSERVER

Eileen Johnson said she and her fellow Georgetown County School Board members are stewards of the tax dollars. She is leery of a 3-mill increase proposed in the district’s draft budget and the impact it will have  on people already living on the margins.

“I also want the board to understand that with every decision we make, there are consequences,” she said. “We have some families that are struggling. We have our own teachers struggling to pay their rent.”

Board Member Jarrod Ownbey said the district has limited tax increases over several years. Compared to other districts in the state, Ownbey said Georgetown County has one of the lowest millage rates. He thinks the district needs to put more money into salaries and programs.

The debate will play out as the board works through its $128 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

“I don’t think we’re in competition with other districts to see who can raise their rates the fastest or who has the lowest,” Board Member Scott DuBose said as the board took up the budget for the first time last week. “We haven’t even talked about how we could slash unnecessary spending.”

DuBose said the board should look at their own budget and financial management.

“That needs to be a part of the equation,” Johnson agreed.

DuBose cited travel as a large expense, using conferences in San Diego as an example. He said memberships to the S.C. School Boards Association was an unnecessary expense.

The district has been criticized over the last year for spending through its procurement cards.

“This is not a P-card issue right now. A lot of that is controlled by what comes into the schools by way of parents’ contributions, community donations, field trip money, grants, fundraising, all those things,” Ownbey said. “We’ve had that conversation multiple times, and I don’t think it’s been a very productive conversation.”

“I would not want a teacher to be after school, working from 4 o’clock ‘til 7 o’clock and we don’t think we can give them cookies and a sandwich. That’s the kind of thing that’s on those cards,” said Board Member Patti Hammel.

DuBose added that at a recent budget presentation with Ellen Weaver, the state superintendent of education, said districts should avoid raising the tax rate or drawing down from their reserves to pay for overruns “at all costs.”

“I know we’ve done that in the past,” he said.

Raising the tax rate from 121 to 124 mills would generate $1.5 million.

A 3-mill increase would add $18 to the tax bill for every $100,000 in value for commercial property and second homes. There is no property tax for school operations on owner-occupied homes.

Those taxes are passed along, DuBose said. 

“When you raise the tax on business owners, they don’t absorb that tax if they can help it. They pass it on to the customer,” he said.

Board Member Fallon Bordner said the tax increase is needed to help retain teachers.

“My responsibility is to these children and their teachers,” she said.

“And my responsibility is to the taxpayers,” Johnson said.

“We’re beating a horse here, a dead horse, about a few extra dollars to some,” said Board Member Randy Walker.

State law limits the amount of tax increases to a combination of the federal Consumer Price Index and population growth. The district’s cap this year is 3.2 mills.

That does not include “look back millage” when the district raised taxes by less than the state limit. There are approximately 13.4 mills available.

Chairman Keith Moore said he would like to see the millage increase more. He said the board has taxpayer concerns “at heart,” but understands that the teachers have needs too.

“We were elected to make tough decisions, not to make the one that is popular,” Moore said.

He said he’s not afraid to make those tough decisions, he added.

“I’m going to always make a decision on what I think is best for our kids. I know that we’re all going to do that. We’re going to sometimes see things different,” Moore said.

If there is a tax increase, Hammel said, she wants to see it tied to employee salaries. The district can’t find qualified teachers to hire, she added, so it’s important to keep current teachers and grow them through professional development.

“Any way you cut it, our budget is people,” Hammel said.

The proposed budget will increase salaries for teachers by $1,500. That will cost the district nearly $2.1 million. 

Raising teacher pay was the top priority for the board when setting last year’s budget, increasing teacher salaries by $2,500.

Bordner added that most resignation letters cite low pay as a reason.

“If we do not take care of our teachers, then what kind of a return are the taxpayers getting?” she asked. “No one should be in poverty working for us.”

“I am never going to apologize for increasing pay and appreciation for our teachers and our administrators,” Ownbey said.

He added that the administration has not received a raise in seven years. 

The current budget increased administrative pay by 2 percent. Another increase is included in the proposed budget.

“I don’t believe this is out of bounds. I don’t believe this is inappropriate,” Ownbey said.

He also wants to see Career and Technical Education programs increased and improved across the district.

“We’re maintaining with this,” he said. “We aren’t growing. We’re maintaining.”

“There’s a lot of things we’re not getting at just 3 mills,” Moore said. “It’s time for us to take that step and just rip the bandage off and give them what they’re asking for.”

Superintendent Bethany Giles and Lisa Johnson, the district’s chief financial officer, have met seven times with small groups of board members since February.

Without a quorum of the nine-member board, those meetings were not subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Moore said creating the budget is the toughest part of his job. He said the small group settings allowed him to gain a better understanding of what the board is trying to accomplish with the budget and what restraints surround it.

“It gives us the opportunity to form the opinions that you see tonight,” he said. “Once we get our understanding in small group settings, yeah, let’s come together collectively and make these tough decisions. That’s the only way we can make decisions is when we come together as a board.”