If proposal holds, schools may see additional $2M

If a S.C. legislative budget conference committee deal holds up, school districts would get an additional $56 million to boost their per-pupil allocations, including more than $2 million for the Aiken County School District.

The additional statewide funding is roughly half of the $105 million that the S.C. Senate had inserted into its budget initially after the Board of Economic Advisors projected another $210 million in new revenue.

The conference committee agreed to provide $146 million for paying back some of the debt incurred when the state had to borrow from the federal government to maintain unemployment checks. That move will save businesses from unemployment tax collections by that amount.

On Tuesday, the School Board will vote on a 3.8-mill tax hike for operations.

"We'll have to take (the new funds) into consideration when we talk about the budget, weighing all the options before we take a vote," said board member Keith Liner. "I'm anxious to hear how the others feel too about doing the millage increase or not, based on that information. It would be nice to know if it's a done deal before we make a decision on Tuesday."

That's not likely, however. Earlier this week, Gov. Nikki Haley said she would veto any additional funding for education.

As The Associated Press reported, the current per-pupil school allocation is $1,617 - more than $1,100 less than the state's own funding formula. Initial budget efforts improved the allocation to $1,788. The $105 million in extra appropriations would have move it to $1,959; the $56 million agreed upon by the committee will provide $1,880 per student.

S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said he's happy with the conference committee's decision.

"I'm pleased with where we are," he said. "We are paying down the debt and are funding education. It's a considerable step in the right direction for public education. It's difficult to predict what will happen, but there's a great deal of enthusiasm and support for the plan that has been produced."

S.C. Rep. Roland Smith, R-Warrenville, said the debt payback will prevent the state from being penalized by the federal government. The $1,880 pupil allocation "is a pretty good increase," he said. "I hope the School Board will take that into consideration and say, 'Hey, we don't have to raise the operations millage.'"

Sens. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, continue to oppose using any of the new funds for education.

"The national economy is teetering toward a return to a recession," Ryberg said. "Squirrels have the sense to keep nuts for the winter."

But the legislature would rather spend the additional funds instead of retiring debt or putting it aside as a contingency, he said. He doesn't know if a veto would be overridden.

"I'm fully supportive of education," said Ryberg. "But it's crazy to be in the same situation and face the same problems that we had four years ago when the downturn in the economy started."

If Haley can make a good argument on saving the money, Massey believes the House would sustain her veto.

"(Legislators) just have to spend all the money that comes in the door," he said. "It's very dangerous to spend it all, regardless of what the project is. I'd like to put it all into a reserve account, just in case the (economic) projections are wrong."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.