Election to decide Berkeley's direction
School district facing growth and funding issues
Candidates' responses
MONCKS CORNER — The Berkeley County School District is at a crossroads.
Its superintendent is retiring after 11 years, and voters soon will decide the future of a school board that is split 5-4 on most major issues.
Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier
Former Berkeley school Superintendent Chester Floyd
Eleven candidates — three incumbents, three educators, a homemaker, a lawyer, a Santee Cooper employee, a retired shipyard superintendent and an executive assistant — are vying for four seats. A newcomer, Kent Murray, is running unopposed in District 1, which means there will be at least two new board members in January, and possibly as many as five.
The election comes at an important time for the district. The new board will have to decide how to address growth without using installment financing, the legislatively-banned process that allowed school districts to raise taxes without a referendum.
The district borrowed $135 million using the method in 2003 and another $78 million in 2006. Upset voters elected more fiscally-conservative board members in recent years, which has resulted in a 5-4 split, with a minority constantly at odds with Superintendent Chester Floyd.
Floyd will step down in January. His replacement is scheduled to be hired before the end of the year.
Now it will be up to voters to determine which path the board should take.
E-mail this story 
Printer-friendly version
Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Post and Courier does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our Web site.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Comments
This article has 12 comment(s)
Posted by chucktonian on October 6, 2008 at 1:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
defeat all democrats as much as possible
Posted by sig on October 6, 2008 at 6:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Water and Sewer just went up, electric is going to go up over 30% by March 2009 and I am sure the school system will try to figure out a way to get more money without a referendum.
Get rid of all the incumbents and get rid of Mr. Davis. Clean house and try again.
Posted by timeismoney50 on October 6, 2008 at 7:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Sig, Great idea start from scratch and then watch everything we've accomplished go down the tubes. Why wouldn't you do the right thing and vote based on credentials and experience.. Nah that would make to much sense.
Posted by UrGatorbait on October 6, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Vote on accomplishments and looking forward not just a resume
Posted by eyecantspel on October 6, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am sure, when presented with 2 evils, BC will once again choose the greater of the evils and somehow take on more debt as they try to become the most in debt county in the US and not us the most in debt county in SC.
Welcome to your 2 year home you paid 200,000 for, it is now worth 125,000 (maybe) and your taxes will double in 3 years, and double again 3 years after that. It would have been a better investment and cheaper in the long run to have bought the 300,000 home in the city (West Ashley) or mt. p.
BC is somehow still better than North Charleston, though. Same problems, but with a higher risk of death by gang in NC.
Posted by WhoCares on October 6, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Berkeley County still has the lowest personal property taxes in the region...do the math. If I lived in Berkeley County my taxes would be approximately $1,159.34 less each year!!
Posted by ProudNative on October 6, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the BCSB will hire someone that believes in the fine arts like DDII does. Chester Floyd does not. Cane Bay High cost 75 million to build and the band program there is still without the instruments they need. They had to borrow them from other high schools.....How sad!
Posted by lou9 on October 6, 2008 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they didn't pay superintendents outrageous six figure salaries, have so much overpaid adiminstration, and build multi-million dollar Taj Mahal schools (Cane Bay) maybe there would be some money for the classrooms where it belongs. Evereyone realizes that taxes have to go up from time to time, keeping up with inflation. But the majority of this school board has shown that the only thing they know how to do is throw good money after bad. And it's our money.
Posted by UberSCwasp on October 6, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone said electricity is going up 30%?
Posted by faelady on October 6, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
True, true ProudNative! One of my fellow band parents at another Berkeley County High School said her son interviewed for the band director position at Cane Bay and they were only giving the director $90,000 to start the music program - for instruments, uniforms, music, etc. That is a pittance when some instruments can cost more than $2,000 each! And no, you can't expect parents to buy Sousaphones (marching tubas), etc. Uniforms are more than $30,000 to outfit an entire band of 100 members! Berkeley County is HORRIBLE about fine arts funding but all hail athletics! I had to laugh when I found out that our athletic boosters considers band a fall sport, but the band doesn't get ANY of the proceeds from the athletic department, except for the payment on buses to go to away games and only 3 of them!
Posted by timeismoney50 on October 6, 2008 at 8:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well you can forget any more funding if we elect these new hypocrites.. How do these people answer the questions and say "I will not increase taxes" Well where the heck you going to get the money the money tree. Come on people give me a break.
These people running are looking out for themselves. They own lots of land and do not want to pay taxes on it.
Posted by eyecantspel on October 7, 2008 at 1:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I gotta tell you, its hard to get worked up about band uniforms right now. Tough break. Check back in about 10 years or so when this s-storm calms down.
As for property taxes. If you live in the City of CHS, live in your house, you pay the lowest taxes per dollar of home value in the state. BC and Dorchester taxes are explosions waiting to happen. Or do you not read the articles here on chs.net?
Band? Should people even have to pay taxes for rec activities? Is The People's Republic of South Carolina going to buy me a new tennis racket? I could use a new baseball bat too. Am I going to get a bailout if I buy my new flute on 40-1 leverage?
Lets be real people... sure, band is learning something, I guess. So would be getting a job and buying your own horns, that way when you toot it (boring people during a boring high school football game) then you could say you were tooting your own horn.