Clover school district calls for tax increases, teacher pay raise in 2019-20
Teacher pay raises and a tax increase are included in Clover school district’s 2019-2020 proposed budget.
A public hearing for the $92 million budget is at 6 p.m. June 3 at Clover school district office, 604 Bethel St.
The tax increase will amount to $24 more a year on a $100,000 business, according to the district.
Tax increases only apply to businesses, non-owner occupied homes and rental properties.
Act 388, South Carolina’s property tax reform measure, replaced tax on primary homes with a one-time sales tax increase on retail purchases to support school operations.
South Carolina lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a $9.3 billion state budget that includes a 4% pay raise for teachers and sets the starting teacher salary at $35,000, reports The State newspaper. Gov. Henry McMaster still needs to sign the budget into law.
A Clover teacher with no experience and a bachelor’s degree makes $36,160 for 2018-’19, according to the district salary schedule.
Clover schools’ proposed budget highlights include:
- Clover received more than $2 million in requests related to school needs, new hires and maintenance.
- Along with a state-mandated 4% raise and step increase for teachers, Clover has proposed step increases and a 4% raise for all eligible employees.
- The state will provide Clover $1.8 million for the 4% raise for teachers, according to the school district.
- The total cost for employee salary increases is $3.8 million.
The Rock Hill school district and York Preparatory Academy, a public charter school in Rock Hill, have also raised starting teacher pay for 2019-’20.
Rock Hill is proposing a tax increase to help fund its 2019-’20 needs, which includes raising the first-year teacher salary to a minimum of $39,899.
York Prep approved raising new teacher pay to $40,000.
This story was originally published May 23, 2019 at 2:22 PM.
