Fort Mill School District negotiating for added security

The Fort Mill School District is considering a $106 million budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year while the school board continues to explore options for providing security guards for the four elementary schools not currently served by school resource officers.

The school board had asked the administration to look into providing security for Doby’s Bridge, Orchard Park, Pleasant Knoll and Riverview elementary schools, none of which have access to a school resource officer at a nearby high school or middle school.

“The board is still negotiating with different sources for additional security guards at the elementary level,” district spokeswoman Kelly McKinney said. “Nothing has been determined at this point.”

McKinney said the district is negotiating with local police and private security firms.

The budget – the largest in the growing district’s history – was discussed at a May 17 public hearing. There were no public comments and funding added security was not discussed.

Salary increases included

Included in the proposed budget are normal salary step increases for staff, a 2 percent cost of living increase, new teachers and an increase in bus driver pay, said Leanne Lordo, assistant superintendent of finance and operations.

The proposal, expected to be finalized next month, includes salaries for 40.5 new teachers and plans for an expected 800 new students next year for a total of 13,926 students.

“Eighty-eight percent of our budget is in salaries and benefits for our positions,” she said.

The budget has grown from $76 million in 2013. The budget for the 2015-16 school year is $97.5 million.

“It’s very logical we’ve had an increase in budget with an increase of growth over this five-year period,” she said.

The budget also includes a $130 increase in base student cost, Lordo said. The district had planned for 12,919 students last year, but reached 12,970 students last fall, she said.

“We hit our target very early, which is unusual,” Lordo said.

Per-student spending is $7,673 under the plan the board is considering.

The proposed budget, a 9.5 percent increase over this fiscal year, pulls $1 million from the contingency fund, a decrease of $837,731 compared to 2015-16, Lordo said. Most public school funding comes from the state, but local commercial and vehicle taxes also contribute to the district’s revenue stream. Lordo said that source was increased by 4 percent compared to a year ago.

“Our monthly vehicle collections have significantly increased,” she said.

Other expenses

Other items include in the budget address maintenance and operation costs, technology and support for schools.

▪  The district is also proposing $1.1 million of year-end transfer items, including funding guided reading book sets for elementary schools, novel sets for middle schools, middle school band instruments and funding for the STAR Progress Monitoring Program for K-grade five reading and math.

▪  The board approved $653,650 for artificial turf to be installed at Fort Mill Middle School.

▪  $1.6 million was approved for work on the Riverview Athletic Complex, a multi-purpose site that will be created with some York County Hospitality tax funding.

▪  The district is proposing a 15-cent lunch price increase for next year, said Roland Cabading, student nutrition supervisor. The Student Nutrition Department served 279,441 breakfast meals and 815,701 lunches from August to April, Cabading said. The district has the lowest free or reduced lunch percentage in the state, at 19 percent.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Fort Mill School District negotiating for added security."