Clover district cites state funding shift, eyes 17–18 mill operating increase to cover teacher raises and new-school costs

Clover School District officials said Thursday they expect a roughly $5.808 million funding gap for next year and are considering an operating millage increase of about 17 to 18 mills to cover teacher raises, growth positions and capital needs as the district prepares to open three new schools.

District presenters told the board the shortfall stems from both lower-than-expected state allocations for teacher salary increases and a change in the state formula that shifted dollars between traditional public schools and charter schools. The presenters said the Legislature allocated about $112,000,000 for statewide teacher salary increases; under the district—s account of the initial allocation, charters with roughly 57,000 students received about $51,000,000 while traditional districts with about 700,000 students received about $61,000,000. A later proposed change to the allocation would reduce charter school funding to about $32.7 million and increase…