District discusses lack of funding

By: Shireese Bell/Morning News | SCNow
Published: December 07, 2007

The lack of funding after the passage of Act 388, a property-tax relief law, and a $1 million funding shortage were among the hot topics discussed Friday during Darlington County School District’s Annual Education Forum at the Hartsville Country Club.

Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight said the district will have a revenue shortage of more than $1 million. The district will face some reduction in services or programs and an increase in classroom size as a result of the funding shortage.

Act 388 is affecting the school district’s ability to raise taxes when necessary and implement new programs.

“It’s a very complex issue,” state Rep. Jay Lucas of Hartsville said. “(We’re) going to suffer under this bill. If we do not get a handle on it for those several counties of our state (that lose funding because of the new law), it is going to have a substantial impact on our budget.”

Some school districts, such as Darlington, become “donor counties,” meaning the district is losing some of its revenue to other counties in the state.

Lucas also said he is trying to push two new legislations that will help districts that lose funding under the current law regain their funding in order to continue to provide a quality education.

Among the educational issues discussed were school funding; classroom preparation; teacher shortage, recruitment and retention; and early childhood education.

Other panel members who gathered to discuss key educational issues included board of education chairman Dr. Allen McCutchen; Sen. Gerald Malloy of Darlington; Sandy Smith, deputy state superintendent of education for policy and legislation with the state Department of Education; Dr. Gale Sawyer, director of the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA); and Dr. Paul Horne, director of curriculum and program review with the S.C. Education Oversight Committee.

Also during this year’s forum, board member Warren Jeffords presented the “Jimmy Howard Newsom Signature Award” to Ronnie Holley, chairman of The Byerly Foundation. The foundation was recognized for its continued support of Darlington County’s schools.

The forum was sponsored by the Darlington County Teacher Forum. The teacher forum’s mission is to provide a voice for teachers and develop teacher leadership. The district’s teacher forum sponsors several events throughout the year for the district’s teachers.

District discusses lack of funding

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