District 1 board discusses proposed budget

By: Shireese Bell/Morning News | SCNow
Published: May 01, 2008

FLORENCE — The Florence School District 1 Board of Trustees discussed the district’s proposed 2008-09 budget during a budget work session Thursday.

Luther Rabon, the district’s chief financial officer, briefly addressed questions the board had from its previous work session.

Rabon discussed several items from the budget, including food service, fringe benefits and the district’s early childhood program.

Rabon said the budget was pretty much the same as last year’s budget except for increases in salaries.

The district’s proposed budget for 2008-09 is $109,014,609.

The state requires school districts to give teachers a salary increase each year, which is determined by the state.

All teachers will receive a 3.85 percent raise. The district also has applied that increase to classified employees, such as custodians.

“We try to be consistent with our classified employees, as well as our certified employees,” Rabon said.

Teachers also receive a step increase, which is based on the number of years worked.

Rabon said the district will need to have a millage increase of 3.9 percent to meet Maintenance of Effort.

“When you have growth, you have to increase your revenue to Maintenance of Effort,” Rabon said. “You almost have to do that just to keep up with inflation.”

Maintenance of Effort increased 4.2 percent, and millage only increased 3.9 percent, he said.

Maintenance of Effort, which is part of the Education Improvement Act legislation, requires education funds from the state to be matched by local school districts.

The school district is responsible for maintaining a level of per pupil funding that matches the level of support provided by the state.

By law, the county auditor sets a millage rate that supports the local level of per pupil funding.

“People don’t understand that all these figures are basically given to us,” Rabon said. “A lot of the revenue items come from the state Department of Education.”

The millage increase is expected to generate about $52 million, which includes money from the 1-cent sales tax.

The district should receive $11,494,573 from the 1-cent sales tax.

The 1-cent sales tax replaced property taxes

on owner-occupied homes, which was used for school funding, after legislators approved the property tax relief law in 2006.

The board is expected to have first reading of the proposed budget during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the district office’s John T. Sullivan Board Room. For more information, call Pam Little-McDaniel, the district’s public information officer, at (843) 669-4141.

District 1 board discusses proposed budget

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