School board avoids 1 tax hike
Debt service budget to cause increase
By Diette Courrégé
The fiscally conservative members of the Charleston County School Board succeeded Monday night in passing a $318.3 million operating budget that doesn't have a tax increase.
However, the debt service budget, which pays for capital projects, will create a tax increase.
Board members Chris Collins and Ruth Jordan, who typically vote with the board majority, joined members Elizabeth Kandrac, Arthur Ravenel Jr. and Ray Toler in rejecting the district's proposed operating budget, which pays classroom expenses, such as teachers' salaries, that would have increased taxes about 3 percent for business owners and those who own rental properties, second homes and cars.
The debt service budget will increase $14.2 million, to $75 million, and cause taxes to increase about 15.5 percent. That will cause taxes on a $100,000 house to increase to slightly less than $55 a year.
Previous story
School budget could mean tax increase, published June 10, 2009
District officials had proposed restructuring its short-term debt so that it could reduce the tax increase on its debt service budget but still have some tax increase on its operating budget. That would have enabled the district to avoid furloughs and ensure quality in its classrooms. But board members Chris Fraser and Ann Oplinger, Chairwoman Toya Green and Vice Chairman Gregg Meyers failed to find enough support to pass that budget, which also included provisions for evaluating the district's least effective expenditures and required the board to propose policy changes focused on literacy. The board also had tacked on an extra tax increase dedicated to building its rainy-day fund.
The board stumbled through approving the budgets. Once the motion of the majority failed, Jordan proposed that the district return with a budget that didn't have a tax increase. Some members didn't understand which budget Jordan was referencing, and Ravenel suggested at least twice that the meeting be adjourned without a budget. This was the board's last scheduled meeting of this fiscal year.
Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley said the ramifications of the board passing next year's operating budget, which is about $5 million less than the district's budget this year, without a tax increase will be negative for schools. The district has been "cut to the bone" and absorbed about $16 million in mid-year cuts, and it's taken painful steps to cut costs by increasing class size and closing five schools.
McGinley said the board's decision begs the question of what kind of school system the community wants. "I'm sick about what happened," she said.
The district's operating budget includes reduced salaries for retirees salaries, and about 1,200 other employees will see smaller paychecks because the number of months they work each year will be cut.
Jordan said she wouldn't support the proposed six-day furloughs for administrators and three-day furlough for teachers that would produce about $3 million in savings, and the board will have to find that $3 million elsewhere in its budget.
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lowcountrydawg (anonymous) says...
Once again...the good hard-working, homeowners of Charleston County get screwed into paying more for something some of us don't even use!
Thanks a lot!!!
June 23, 2009 at 7:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Liberals_Are_Maroons (anonymous) says...
Oh my, how can this be happening??? All we heard was how Governor Sanford was going to cause this by refusing to accept our great-grandchildren's money.
But he was forced to accept it, and the school systems are bleating that they still don't have enough money???
How can this be???
June 23, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amembersid (anonymous) says...
Tales told by idiots. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
June 23, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JC (anonymous) says...
UNBELIEVABLE! We get millions for schools from the feds (grandchildren) and you still want more!??? Remember these idiots at election time. I don't have children and don't want to pay for something I don't need and can't afford.
June 23, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Numba10 (anonymous) says...
COLUMBIA - Within the next two weeks, South Carolina public schools will receive $184 million in federal stimulus money
That would be $184,000,000 divide by 700,000 students equals an increase of $262.86 per student----think we will see any different results with this additional money--------I think not thus proving money is not the answer
June 23, 2009 at noon ( permalink | suggest removal )
Numba10 (anonymous) says...
so the $187 million stimulus money that everyone pitched fits for will only cover 1/2 of one year of the CCSD operating budget---So all the squalling for a pittance from the Feds that now has increased the states indebtedness---Sanford was correct to refuse the money and request debt reduction
June 23, 2009 at 12:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
memen99 (anonymous) says...
They closed our schools, moved middle schoolers out of below capacity schools into overcrowded high schools where police have to walk the halls and they have to put in trailers to have space for the relocated students. Then the shortfall of money turned out to be 11 million not the 28 million they we using to justify closing our schools AND our Governor is forced to put our grandchildren into debt before they are even conceived. All this to fix this problem. Of course they still want more. DIDN'T YOU SEE THIS COMING LAST FALL???? This is not the end of their waste and greed. They have too much power and answer to no one. It will not stop until we get our state officials involved and Redesign 75 Calhoun. Or, you can keep voting in these idiots and continue to pay their greedy district employees to find another way to keep their hands in your wallets while condemning our children with a failing education. Now, they have to debate whether a student that cannot read be promoted? My GOD!!! Where is our common sense? We all fail when teachers are forced to promote these students. These people have a job to do-educate our children. They should have been fired long ago for inability to perform.
Contact your state legislators and tell them we have a problem that MUST be fixed and it will not wait for the next election.
June 23, 2009 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Takebackurcountry (anonymous) says...
Your legislators will NOT fix this problem. This budget problem originated in 2006 when the revenue source was shifted from property taxes to sales taxes. Everyone thought that was a great idea then. That doesn't work so well when sales drop and the economy is in the state it is. The republican majority in power has signed a pledge to not raise taxes under any circumstances (brilliant), so the chances of shifting the revenue source back to property taxes will not happen.
I get tired of whiners complaining about our tax base having to pay for schools that they don't use. I have never used a fire truck, but I understand it benefits the community. While our schools don't educate our kids like they should, it is better than all of them competing for the spot of village idiot.
Most of the stimulus money has strings attached. It can't be just thrown in the "hopper" and used however it is deemed appropriate.
June 23, 2009 at 12:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
memen99 (anonymous) says...
I like your firetruck analogy, TakeBack. I get sick of the whiners also but I feel education will not improve until the whole CCSD system is changed. Our legislators CAN help if enough of us scream. I cannot sit back and accept the way it is-so I scream regularly. I must disagree with your 2006 republican budget theory. This problem started LONG before 2006 - it has just gotten bigger and bigger.
Wasn't those stimulus strings part of the reasons Sanford didn't want it?
June 23, 2009 at 12:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tides (anonymous) says...
It's long overdue that independent criminal investigation be conducted into the Chas County School District. All this waste, misuse and abuse of tax dollars needs to come to an end. The only way to control and deter the same is to punish those engaged in it with incarceration.
Construction cost and waste are insane; and, Southern Management Group (used by the district for years) is an big joke on the tax payers of Charleston County. Oh, please do not try to say otherwise. SMG would get their rears reamed in court.
June 23, 2009 at 1:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GG (anonymous) says...
Tides - I have believed for a very long time that the directors of building construction and purchasing in CCSD are on the take. Kickbacks are the norm for these types of departments. I have too many educator friends in CCSD that have told me too many stories.
It is time for an independent audit. When they did one in Sumter 17 several years ago, the finance director Joe Klein was jailed for embezzeling over 10 million dollars by setting up fake companies and paying for purchase orders presented to these bogus companies. It is so easy to do these types of things in a district the size of CCSD because there are not enough folks or systems in place to check on problems.
June 23, 2009 at 3:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justafan (anonymous) says...
Well said Takeback. It is obvious that some of these people don't use the education system and probably never did.
June 23, 2009 at 8 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
"While our schools don't educate our kids like they should, it is better than all of them competing for the spot of village idiot."
Around 30% can't comprehend the text on their pop tarts box when they eat breakfast, they just look at the pictures. The majority couldn't read a tech manual and have any clue what it says, or pick up the newspaper and actually critically look at an article in it. We have the most expensive bad education you can pay too much for. Lets get these folks in charge of our health care too!
June 23, 2009 at 10:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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