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Lawmakers press Department of Education on 20% increase in classified line, staffing and spending priorities
Summary
Senators pressed Superintendent Weaver and department finance staff about an apparent 20.5% year-over-year increase in the department's classified positions line; the department said it had not requested new FTEs and noted a large portion of staff provide direct student services (transportation and virtual instruction).
Legislators on the K-12 finance subcommittee pressed South Carolina Department of Education leaders about a roughly 20.5% increase in the department’s classified-positions line between fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25 shown in budget control documents. Senator questions focused on whether the increase represented new full-time equivalents (FTEs) or salary and fringe changes.
Superintendent Ellen Weaver said the department had not requested new FTEs during her tenure and attributed much of the increase to state-granted salary changes and possibly reclassification or fringe costs; she asked for time to provide a detailed breakdown. CFO Kendra Hunt and department staff said they would research which items are included in that control line. Legislative staff member Mr. Gibson noted that the appropriation-act reallocation and prior realignments can make year-to-year comparisons look large in the budget printout.
Weaver also described the composition of the department workforce: more than half, she said, are in transportation operations (42 bus shops across the state) and roughly 300 staff support the VirtualSC platform, which the department described as delivering instruction to public, private and homeschool students and comparable by student count to a large district. Weaver argued many classified positions provide direct services to students and said the department would work with committee staff to clarify line-item details.
Ending: Senators asked for follow-up meetings to review budget-control documents and determine whether reallocation can free more money for classroom pay increases or other priorities; Weaver agreed to provide additional documentation.
