School tax hike possible
Last Updated on 12/1/2008
Published on 5/11/2008
By Dedric Bonds
dbonds@gtowntimes.com
Times are changing in Georgetown County, and one of the first places to look for evidence of this change is the Georgetown County School District.
Local schools can no longer control their operating revenue under a change in state law.
As it stands now, the district is faced with a $3.4 million deficit; there is also a $1.5 million mandatory state increase for teacher salaries that the District will have to contend with.
"I can't speak for the (School) Board," says Georgetown County School Superintendent Dr. Randy Dozier "but I'm just as much opposed to a tax hike as anybody."
The District is looking to raise the operating millage rates up to the maximum. Under state law, the cap is 3.4 mills.
The district's operating millage rate will increase from 91.3 mill to 94.7 mills, primarily for businesses and second home owners.
On a $100,000 home, that would roughly equate to an $8 increase; for a $200,000 home, that would equate to $16.
"The raise proposed by the District will generate about $1.3 million," says Dozier. "But that still leaves us with a deficit."
The way the state calculates budgets for allocations to local school districts makes it more difficult for some districts than others.
For the Georgetown County School District, "Our district is ranked among one of the ten wealthiest in the state," says Dozier. "I don't agree with it, and that's what I've been telling them on the state level."
As the projected budget stands now, several programs will be cut from the local schools.
"Science and foreign language in the elementary and middle grades, math and language arts in the middle and high-school grades," Dozier says, are some of the programs at risk. "Then there is health services. It's pretty broad."
But for the District, resiliency rides strong.
"Everybody acknowledges the problem with the form and taxes," Dozier said. "Only way it helps is to do something about it."
