Parents encouraged by Florence District Four's budget plans

TIMMONSVILLE- Parents of students attending school in Florence District Four say they are cautiously optimistic about gains made by officials regarding the financially-plagued district's budget.

In 2011, the district faced problem after problem, in instances where teachers did not receive their paychecks on time and problems in paying debts and outstanding bills when the amount of money going out exceeded what the district had on hand.

Now though, after slashing portions of the district's budget, the elimination and consolidation of some teaching and administrative positions and some financial assistance from Florence County and the state, district leaders say they are finally back on track.

The district recently announced plans for it's $4.7 million budget for the 2012/2013 school year, one in which district officials and financial analysts said expected expenditures would fall below their expected revenue, meaning the district would finally be in the black.

For parents and grandparents whose children attend school in Timmonsville, the news had them breathing a collective sigh of relief.

"I'm glad that things are improving, that things are looking up, I'm pretty positive that it will continue as long as we are vigilant and we stick together and we work together," said Gail Brown, who has grandchildren in Florence School District Four.

"Things are tough now these days and these kids need all the education they can get in order to be able to provide for themselves," she continued.

Many parents said with all of last year's talk involving possible closure or consolidation, they were very concerned about the future of Timmonsville's schools.

"I was hoping the school didn't close down," said Deloris Kirkland, who has two children in Florence School District Four.

"I'm glad because Timmonsville has a lot of good teachers in it and they're concerned about the kids, and so the kids just need some support, as far as the school and their parents and community, just to back them up," Kirkland said.

In August, the district took out a $1.3 million tax anticipation note offered by the Florence County Treasurer's Office, which is to be repaid as property tax collections come in, which started in January.

In addition, legislators approved an increase in the base student cost, which they give to each district, from $1,880 to $2,012, which provided additional funds for the district, though district officials said they would act as if the increase didn't exist in an effort to save funds for emergencies.

That helped the district to meet several financial obligations that would enable it to stay afloat, but it still faced an $860,000 debt to the state for employee insurance and pensions.

Former Interim Superintendent, Dr. Steve Quick, helped to arrange a plan where the district would pay $8,263 a month, but recently state officials told the district that in order to prevent the possibility of losing state education funds, that the money would have to be paid back sooner.

Now the district will have to pay about $25,000 a month, though district officials said the increased payments wouldn't strain the new budget.

While parents and district officials say they are much better prepared to handle budget issues moving forward, they also say that they will approach every instance carefully and will try to have as much of a financial buffer as possible in place, to prevent future problems.

"No one person can do it all, but as long as we're on the same page and we work together and it's for the betterment of the children, with the children first and foremost in mind, then everything else will fall into place," Brown said.

District officials plan to meet again for a work session on financial matters before their next meeting in March.

- The Morning News' Gavin Jackson and Dwight Dana contributed to this report