By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | When a corporation lands a county tax break in South Carolina, the school district has zero say and stands to lose thousands of dollars per child.
Corporate subsidy tracker Good Jobs First found public school districts in the Palmetto State lost $423 million in fiscal year 2019 from economic development deals that seek to trade property taxes — a key funder of education in the state — for jobs.
Brutal South newsletter, penned by former Charleston City Paper reporter Paul Bowers, first wrote about the Good Jobs First look at county tax breaks’ impact on South Carolina schools.
According to the report, at least 72 of the state’s 81 school districts suffered negative revenue impacts. Poor school districts in Dorchester, Greenwood, Chester, Orangeburg, Barnwell and Calhoun counties lost more than $2,000 per student. By dollar amount, the biggest losses were reported by Berkeley County School District and Greenville County School District—$54 million and $41 million, respectively. Greenville, Charleston, Anderson, Aiken, Lexington, Spartanburg, Chester, Florence, Richland, Lancaster and York counties lost more than $10 million each.
“Our members struggle to teach in crumbling schools with poor heating and cooling systems and a lack of reliable internet connections,” South Carolina Education Association President Sherry East said in a statement on the report. “It baffles me to continuously hear we don’t have enough money to fund our schools, yet this report shows we are diverting huge pots of money that could be available if we just consider tax reform in South Carolina.”
- Previous coverage (2017): How corporate subsidies shift focus away from small businesses in South Carolina.
In other news:
You’re going to need a witness. A federal judge ruled Sept. 18 that South Carolinians could forego a witness signature on their absentee ballots. By Thursday, however, an appellate judge ruled that the witness requirement would stand. Absentee voting begins Oct. 5, and a lot can happen between now and then (and, perhaps, before deadline today). S.C. State Election Commission recommended checking its site frequently for updates on how to vote.
What budget? The House declined to take up the state budget this week, which means the state will continue to operate at 2019-2020 funding levels — so no public employees, including teachers, will receive raises until the legislature reconvenes. That may not be before January. Read more.
S.C. could lose $5M in Medicaid funding. South Carolina is one of 37 states not on track to receive Census responses from 99 percent of recorded addresses by Sept. 30. As of Thursday, 7.5 percent of South Carolina recorded addresses have not responded to the Census. At stake is millions of dollars from the federal government. A New York Times opinion piece included South Carolina as one of 13 states on track to lose $5 million in Medicaid funding alone. Read more.
Lawmakers complete shakeup of utility overseers. The General Assembly elected four new commissioners to the Public Service Commission this week. The elections have unseated all former commissioners involved on the commission prior to 2017, when rates were OK’d to be increased as a private utility sunk more money into a failed nuclear investment. The new commissioners include: Carolee Williams of Charleston(District 1), Mike Caston of Clemson (District 3), Headen Thomas of Rock Hill (District 5), and Delton Powers of Bennettsville (District 7).
S.C. drops out of top-10 spot in women killed by men. For the first time since the data on the number of women killed by men began in 1996, South Carolina has dropped out of the top 10. The state still ranks 11th. Read more.
Second round of virus aid approved. Lawmakers approved a second round of virus aid Wednesday, allocating the remaining $693 million in federal money meant to help pay for COVID-19 expenses. Read more.
High-speed internet bill heads to McMaster’s desk. The House and Senate have sent Gov. Henry McMaster a bill aimed at bringing more internet availability to more parts of the state. The bill does not offer monetary incentives to companies entering rural markets, but it allows companies and cooperatives to use existing electricity rights-of-way and utility poles to run broadband service. McMaster’s office said he will look at the bill through the lens of his support for expanding rural broadband access. Read more.
Hospitality taxes OK’d for mitigating flooding. The House and Senate have sent McMaster a bill to allow local governments to use hospitality fees to pay for flooding and drainage projects. McMaster’s office has expressed intentions of signing this bill into law. Read more.
Goodbyes made this week. House and Senate members not seeking reelection or unseated in a primary bid adieu to their chambers. Longtime Democratic Orangeburg Sen. John Matthews warned against political polarization in his speech (read more here), while Democratic Columbia Rep. Jimmy Bales simply waved goodbye.
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Re: https://www.statehousereport.com/2020/09/25/news-briefs-tax-breaks-take-millions-from-s-c-schools-report-says/
Did you take into consideration the increased tax contribution made by the management and employees who work for these companies? Based upon what I have observed in Oconee Country, it is considerable.