School board to propose tax hike

The County School Board will make a decision next week on the size of its next proposed capital campaign and the building projects it would include.

Board members plan to ask voters this fall to support a one-penny sales tax increase that would cover the construction work, but they haven't figured out yet how long the tax would last and there's disagreement on that issue.

The length of the sales tax affects the amount of money it would generate. A shorter, five-year sales tax wouldn't cover all of the projects the district wants to address, but a longer, eight-year tax might be shot down by voters.

If the sales tax doesn't pass, voters would see their property taxes increase to pay for the renovation or rebuilding of the five schools with seismic problems -- Buist Academy, Charleston Progressive Academy, James Simons Elementary, Memminger Elementary, and Sullivan's Island Elementary -- but none of the district's other building needs would be addressed.

Some members, such as Chris Fraser, prefer the five-year sales tax increase, which would generate an estimated $60 million a year. That would be enough to cover the schools with seismic problems as well as a handful of others, which could potentially include Jennie Moore Elementary, Harbor View Elementary, Chicora Elementary, St. Andrews Math & Science and Stono Park Elementary.

But it wouldn't be enough to take care of all of the other building needs stemming from enrollment growth or aging buildings, nor would it be enough to cover all of the district's athletic facilities. Virtually none of the money from previous building programs has gone toward schools' athletic facilities. The district had such serious problems with its academic buildings that the board agreed to wait to invest in its athletic spaces until the academic ones were addressed, said Bill Lewis, executive director of the district's building program.

Board members were shown photos and given an update on the state of its high schools' athletic facilities during a workshop Wednesday, and some were disturbed by what they saw. School Superintendent Nancy McGinley described the photos as "incredibly upsetting" while board Chairwoman Ruth Jordan called it "ridiculous."

Still, Fraser fears that asking voters to approve a sales tax lasting longer than five years would be met with resistance and would fail. He's been talking informally to different groups in the community, and many seem to be OK with or even support the idea of a sales tax for five years versus a property tax hike.

But he said he'd worry about vocal opposition should the district propose a longer-term tax that would incorporate more projects.

"While I wish we could go for it all, I'd rather not go for it all and go for something we can get," he said.

Other members, such as Arthur Ravenel Jr., prefer the idea of asking voters to approve an eight-year sales tax, which would increase the size of the proposed building program to roughly $500 million. Ravenel is one of the board's biggest fiscal conservatives, but he said he thought he board should ask the public for all of the money it needed because the five-year sales tax wouldn't generate enough.

He said if the board were to ask voters for the longer-term sales tax and include the needed repairs for athletic facilities, the public would pass it.

"If you're going to do something, you need to do it completely," he said. "I just can't see the logic of not getting enough money to do everything we need to do."

The board is slated to make a decision July 29 on the length of the proposed sales tax increase as well as the projects it would cover.