WPBN: One of the most significant portions of the state budget is allocated to South Carolina public schools, which receive a number of billions of dollars in funding from taxpayers each year.
Almost immediately after the legislative body returns to session at the State House in January, they will begin deliberating on the budget requests that state agencies have for the next year.
At a time when a recent report revealed that South Carolina may have finally made a dent in turning around its rising teacher shortage, the president of the state’s public education system, which serves 800,000 students, is advocating for increased cash to be allocated toward teacher salaries.
Over the course of the past six years, the starting compensation for teachers across the state has increased from $32,000 to $47,000. By the beginning of the following school year, State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver aims to ensure that no teacher earns less than $50,000.
“We know that the most important factor in student learning in the classroom environment is an excellent teacher, and we have got to attract and retain the very best teachers in South Carolina classrooms,” she stated.
Governor Henry McMaster has stated on multiple occasions that he desires to raise the minimum wage for the entire state to $50,000 by the year 2026.
A representative for the governor responded to a question about whether or not McMaster intends to equal Weaver’s aim in order to achieve that target one year earlier by stating that McMaster would make his statement regarding teacher compensation when he releases his executive budget to the public in January.
Weaver’s request is a component of a comprehensive plan to raise the minimum salary for teachers by $3,000 across the board, at each and every level of consideration.
In addition to this, she is requesting five million dollars in order to maintain a new strategic pay pilot scheme for educators.
“I think that is the next stage of this teacher compensation conversation, is how we create differentiated pay to modernize the teacher pay scale so that we really attract our best teachers to our areas of greatest need,” Weaver stated.
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The United States Department of Education is planning to allocate a substantial amount of funds to rural schools and students in the upcoming academic year.
First, by providing thirteen million dollars for a program that will give students in these areas the opportunity to prepare for careers in fields such as computer science and cyber security, and by providing one hundred million dollars for the establishment of an infrastructure bank that will assist rural schools in paying for building improvements that they are unable to afford on their own with their existing tax base.
An effort that was initiated by Weaver’s predecessor, Molly Spearman, who was the former State Superintendent, would be made permanent as a result of this.
“To maintain what are, in many cases, schools that are decades old. I mean, we’re talking 50, 60, 70-plus years old,” Weaver stated.
Under the department’s proposed “Education Infrastructure Bank,” charter schools would also be eligible for funding.
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“We have a growing charter school sector here in South Carolina, and right now, charter schools do not have access to either facilities or transportation funds, so this could be a way to — in addition to addressing the needs of our traditional districts, especially in rural communities — begin to address the needs of our charter schools as well,” she stated.
In order to help younger pupils who are at risk of falling behind in their reading, Weaver also plans to invest $30 million in expanding summer camps.
“This truly is the most foundational thing that we can do to ensure that our students are successful, not just in school but in life,” she stated.
An additional $30 million is requested in Weaver’s budget proposal for the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program, commonly referred to as the school voucher program.
Since a state Supreme Court ruling a few months ago declared these public spending expenditures illegal, the money is currently prohibited from being used for tuition at private schools.
However, Republican lawmakers have stated that enacting legislation to permit that spending is one of their top goals for the upcoming State House session, and Weaver is in favor of it.
