Fort Mill finance official briefs Lexington 01 trustees on budget priorities, impact fees and staffing pressures

FORT MILL — Leanne Lourdo, associate superintendent for finance and operations for the Fort Mill School District, told the Lexington 01 Board of Trustees on Feb. 13 that teacher pay and staffing will drive the district’s budget and outlined how state funding, local tax rules and impact fees shape local choices.

Lourdo told trustees at a Lexington 01 workshop that Fort Mill’s general fund runs about $234,000,000 and that roughly 90% of the budget is personnel costs. “We are going to look at what can we do for teacher pay. That is going to be the driver,” Lourdo said, noting the district’s starting teacher pay and how proposed state changes affect local calculations.

She said the state has proposed a $50,000 starting teacher pay scale; Fort Mill’s current starting pay is $50,000. Lourdo described how a state increase of $3,000 for a beginning teacher would amount to a roughly 6% rise at the entry level and that Fort Mill plans to seek a smaller across‑the‑board increase for other salary scales (she described trying to budget a 5% increase on other scales but said the final number would depend on available revenue). Lourdo emphasized that Fort Mill intends to address pay “across the board” for all staff, not only teachers.

Why it matters: Lexington 01 trustees were presented with Fort Mill’s finances and practices as part of their own budget planning. Lourdo stressed how uncertain state allocations under the new funding formula and local assessment changes driven by Act…