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 388 complicate local revenue forecasting and tax decisions.

Most important facts - Budget priorities: Lourdo said priority No. 1 is salary increases to retain staff. New classroom hires and maintenance follow. - Revenue constraints: She described the state funding formula as based on a district’s proportionate share, noting charter schools have been incorporated into the formula and that the treatment of residential assessed value under Act 388 reduces some districts’ state aid. - Local tax and millage: Lourdo said one mill is worth about $355,000 for operations and about $750,000 for debt service in Fort Mill, reflecting a tax base that is roughly 60% residential. - Impact fees: Fort Mill has used impact fees to finance new schools. Lourdo said the district has collected about $73,000,000 in impact fees to date and is building an elementary school it described as “cash free,” paid entirely from impact fee revenue. She said a new impact fee study raised the proposed fee to about $29,640 per single‑family home and roughly $21,200 for multifamily units (figures as stated in the presentation). - One‑time vs. recurring funds: Lourdo cautioned trustees not to treat one‑time year‑end or impact fee revenue as recurring funds for salaries.

Supporting detail and process notes Lourdo walked trustees through Fort Mill’s calendar and practices: principals make prioritized requests at scheduled meetings; district administrators then produce an administrative recommendation for the board. She described budgeting new teacher hires at a mid‑scale (master’s degree, 12 years’ experience) as a conservative approach to provide budgetary flexibility if “bubbles” of enrollment require additional staff in August.

On state budget timing, she said House Ways and Means was scheduled to meet Feb. 20 and that meaningful allocation numbers typically appear in March after House action and then again after the Senate deliberations. She said Fort Mill generally adopts its local budget in early June and can amend it later if necessary.

Lourdo also discussed non‑salary budget tools and constraints: facility rentals (district uses Facilitron), targeted use of bond proceeds for major technology or capital projects, and an energy‑savings contract with Schneider Electric that the district expects to repay through guaranteed savings.

Impact fees and litigation Lourdo reviewed Fort Mill’s experience with impact fees under the South Carolina Developmental Impact Fee Act. Fort Mill imposed an earlier fee and later updated its plan under a 2016 statutory change that explicitly allows school districts to be included in impact fee ordinances enacted by counties. She said Fort Mill litigated a dispute with York County over allowable uses, won at the South Carolina Supreme Court in March 2021, and subsequently collected approximately $73 million; funds have been allocated to a new elementary school and toward a future middle school. Lourdo said the district had returned to the county with an updated study and that county council readings were scheduled beginning March 3.

Quotes “We are going to look at what can we do for teacher pay. That is going to be the driver,” Lourdo said. “You do not want to build a budget that you cannot sustain going forward.”

Votes at a glance - Motion to begin the workshop: carried (voice vote). Mover: Miss Shealy; second: Mr. Pizzuti. (Transcript: motion and voice vote, Feb. 13 workshop start.) - Motion to approve the agenda as presented: carried (voice vote). Mover: not specified in roll call; transcript shows a motion and a second with the motion carrying. - Motion to postpone the book study to a later time: carried (voice vote). Mover: Mr. Fazutti; second: Mr. Pizzuti. - Motion to adjourn: carried (voice vote). Mover: Mr. Anderson; second: not specified.

What Lourdo did not assert Lourdo described county and state processes, referenced pending state actions and local proposals, and described Fort Mill’s practices. She did not promise that Lexington 01 would or should adopt any particular tax rate or policy; she described Fort Mill’s choices as examples and offered to share materials and experience if Lexington 01 wishes to pursue impact fees.

Ending Lourdo concluded by offering to assist Lexington 01 trustees who wish to explore impact fees or other budget tools and encouraged trustees to monitor state budget actions and PowerSchool reporting accuracy — both of which she said materially affect state allocations.