Teachers, other state workers may see a raise

By: SEANNA ADCOX | Associated Press
Published: February 22, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Teachers and other South Carolina public employees may get their first raise in four years.

A House budget-writing panel on Wednesday approved increasing by $153 million a key education funding source that goes toward salaries for teachers and assistants. Teachers' raises will differ by district, since some districts have managed to fund step increases through local taxes. All would receive at least a 2 percent raise under a budget clause expected to be introduced later.

The panel's budget brings the so-called base student cost to $2,012 for 2012-13. That's $132 more per student than this year.

The panel chairman, House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham, said legislators wanted to make a statement that education is a priority, and designating $2,012 in 2012 was a way to do that.

"That's all we could afford to do. A lot of agencies are hurting" after years of cuts during the recession, he said. "We wanted to call attention to the fact that education is important ... and is a priority for our state."

Gov. Nikki Haley's budget proposal called for a reduction in that per-student allocation, to $1,766. That's because her request eliminated the $56 million funded in the current year from surpluses in previous fiscal years, and provided no additional money. Like her predecessor, she said long-term expenses shouldn't be paid with one-time money.

But the House panel funded their proposed education increases with recurring money.

"We're glad to see that. It's certainly better than where we are now, though it's nowhere near where we should be," said Scott Price of the state School Boards Association.

Under a state formula recalculated yearly, the base student cost, considered a building block for education support, should be $2,790.

A separate panel approved a 2 percent raise for other state workers, costing $28 million. Haley's budget included no money for raises.

The subcommittees worked separately before the full Ways and Means Committee meets later Wednesday to debate the various sections of the state budget.

The K-12 panel's plan would also put an additional $5 million for schools organized in the statewide charter school district.

And it would add $2 million for Teach for America, which puts top college graduates who didn't major in education into low-income schools, and $1.75 million to launch STEM centers, which stands for Science Technology Engineering Math, aimed at preparing students for careers in technology.

Those two initiatives were advocated by the Education Oversight Committee and recommended in Haley's budget proposals.