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School districts across the state would lose a whopping $73 million, an amount that will impact virtually everything in secondary education.
The economic oversight board says the South Carolina's economy doesn't look any worse than it did a month ago.
Board Chairman John Rainey says last month's $140 million cut from the $7 billion budget should be sufficient. The board is not recommending further cuts. That announcement comes one day after the State Budget and Control Board emptied a reserve fund and ordered 3 percent cuts across the board from state agencies to fill the gap.
According to the Associated Press, here's what 3 percent across the board looks like for some state agencies:
- $10 million from the Department of Corrections.
- More than $4 million from the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
- $28.5 million from Health and Human Services
- $17 million from higher education.
Public schools will be hit hardest. Districts across the state would lose a whopping $73 million, an amount State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex says will impact virtually everything in secondary education.
With prices going up for just about everything, people are trying to save money and shop less. That's become a problem for South Carolina's 85 school districts, which all depend on sales taxes for revenue. A funding formula some think is a recipe for disaster.
Richland District 2's Chief Financial Officer Robert Davis says, "We have a real structural problem in the way we fund education."
Now, schools will have to cut 3 percent. A loss that's tough to swallow for all. Although, districts with reserve funds will be better off. Lexington District 3 Superintendent William Gummerson says his district has to cut roughly $800,000.
"We'll have to be more frugal. Watch supply counts and tighten up on what you buy and don't buy," says Gummerson.
Gummerson is planning to take money from areas that have the least impact on students and teachers. He says jobs are safe for now, but he's not filling seven positions currently open after retirements. That could mean more students in each classroom.
"I feel like we're doing fine. In two to three years, if something in funding doesn't change, we'll have to make huge cuts in personnel," says Gummerson.
State Education Department Spokesman Jim Foster says there will be more. In an e-mail he writes, "This is the seventh mid-year budget cut for schools in the last eight years, and additional cuts are expected in coming months."
Gummerson says, "We really need to have a total examination of the tax code in South Carolina and our public schools."
Rex plans a statewide "back-to-school" tour focusing on school funding.
In the fall he's planning to make recommendations to the General Assembly, asking lawmakers to replace the 35-year-old current system with something more contemporary to help South Carolina better prepare its children for today's world.
