Reposting: Charleston County Schools - A message from Cindy Bohn Coats re: Funding Formulas & Property Sales

Hi All-
I decided that firing up my ancient attempt at a blog was the easiest way to re-post a few things of interest. Please find below an email blast received this morning from CCSD Board Chair Cindy Bohn Coats. Your thoughts and comments are encouraged.
Tasha
(The Earnest Taxpayer)
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from Cindy Bohn Coats <cindybohncoats@gmail.com>
date: Thu, May 19, 2016 at 7:48 AM
subject: North Charleston Schools Updates

Good morning,

You are receiving this email due to your interest and support for North Charleston schools.  Please let me know if you wish to not be included in future emails.  Thanks!

A lot has happened in the last school year, and the district is beginning to finalize the plans and programs for the 16/17 school year.

Thank you to everyone who sent emails and/or came to speak at the recent board meeting to support your particular school or the overall budget funding for the 16/17 school year.  Most people are now realizing the impact of Act 388 on school funding-this is the law that removed school operating taxes from owner occupied single family homes.  However that is not the real issue that CCSD faces.  In South Carolina, the state legislature determines an amount of money they believe is necessary to properly educate a student in South Carolina and they have created a law mandating that amount.  It is called the base student cost, and it is currently $2300+ per student.  However, this year and for the last eight to ten years, the legislature then passes a proviso allowing them to not follow that particular state law.  This year, the legislature agreed that base student cost should be $2100. The legislature also believes that individual districts should use local funds to help pay that BSC; the formula for that is 70% from the state and 30% funded by each district through local taxes.  THEN, the state applies another formula known as the Index of Taxpaying Ability. Using that ITA, the state legislature then determines that some districts need all of the 70% state funds while others can afford to fund a higher portion of the BSC from local funds.  I could provide a more detailed explanation and even send you the mathematical formula if you are interested, but for brevity, here is the bottom line.  For the 16/17 school year, with the state believing that it should cost about $2300 per student, and all the taxes used to fund school operations collected locally (businesses, second homes, cars, etc.) and then sent to the state, CCSD will receive back from the state about $900 per student.  The state expects the district to make up that difference in local funding; i.e., property taxes on all properties other than owner occupied single family homes.

At the May 9th special called board meeting, the board agreed to fund $429 million for the General Operating Fund.  This required a millage increase of 9.6 mils.  The 2015/2016 GOF was $426 million.  So, the district is spending $3 million more in GOF for 16/17 than it planned for 15/16.  However, in the increase, the district is funding an extra $6.5 million in state mandated teacher salary increases (COLA and STEP increases), is placing $5 million directly into fund balance-necessary to keep our borrowing interest rates low, is expecting to have about 400 new students which means we must fund the difference between the amount the state provides and the amount we must match, and the typical 1%-2% increase in utilities, etc.  This means CCSD has about $13 million in new expenses but due to the cuts in staffing at 75 Calhoun, etc. the overall budget is only increasing by $3 million.  Over 80 jobs at 75 Calhoun have already been eliminated this school year, and that number is expected to be about 90 by the end of this year.  Those folks were not necessarily fired, they were offered positions at teachers, etc. in schools.

Assistant Principals- A lot of concern centered on the AP's.  After Monday's meeting, the board was provided a list with the number of AP's in each school for 15/16, the original projected number per the original allocation without the tax increase and the new adjustments based on the board's action to increase the GOF.  NCCAES has one AP this year,under the original allocation NCCAES would not have an AP for 16/17.  With the adjustments based on the the board funding, NCCAES now has one AP funded for 16/17.  I briefly reviewed the document and highlighted all NC schools.  NCHS had three AP's this year and after all adjustments, appears to have two AP's for next year.  All other NC schools now have the same number of AP's from this year to next.  Please email me if you want to see the list or have a particular school you'd like to discuss.

Selling unused properties-Todd Garrett and I have been STRONGLY urging the district to sell unused buildings.  We initially wanted to tie the $5 million used to rebuild fund balance to the sale of properties; however, by law the budget  has to be passed by June 30 with two public board meetings and at least one public community meeting to present the budget book with all line item expenditures.  Since we could not guarantee that a property sale would close prior to May 23rd (the first day the board will have a complete budget book) and the ratings agencies insisting that a fund balance measure be imbedded in the 16/17 budget it was not feasible.  However, Todd and I have placed this item on the June agenda for action.  We have several properties that charter schools are requesting, so it is possible that political pressure may intercede and while CCSD removes a property from it's rolls, the district will not see any actual revenue.  However, Charlestowne Academy on Rivers Avenue and the Frazier building downtown have been declared as unusable for schools by the SC Office of School Facilities so we know those properties are not an option for charter schools.  I will keep you posted.  This topic has been discussed by the board two or three times over the years, I have consistently said "sell, baby, sell" and have always voted to sell unnecessary properties.  CCSD should not be in the land holding business.



Cindy Bohn Coats
Chair, Charleston County Board of Trustees
cindybohncoats@gmail.com
4458 South Rhett Avenue
North Charleston, SC
843-819-8205