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Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities seeks operating relief, gallery move and full-time mental-health hire
Summary
The school's president requested increases for operating costs and staff step raises, relocation of the public gallery to provide secure film instructional space, upgrades to campus access controls, and an FTE mental-health counselor, citing rising utilities, recent emergency repair costs and outreach successes.
The president of the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities asked the legislative panel for targeted increases to cover rising operating costs, to relocate the public art gallery and create flexible instructional space for a film program, and to fund a full-time mental-health counselor.
The president told legislators that utility rates have climbed about 42%, software costs about 35% and equipment parts roughly 35%, and that the school had to file an emergency purchase order that morning to replace a compressor costing "$21,000." He said the increased request also includes annual step increases to retain staff.
The gallery and flexible instructional space request is presented as both a program need and a safety measure: by moving public-facing events and classes to the front of campus near parking, administrators said they can close off student residence areas and limit public access to living spaces. The president said the change would give the new film program "a home" and reduce safety risks created by increased Downtown Greenville foot traffic.
On student supports, the school asked the committee to convert temporary outreach and instructional positions to full-time roles and to grant an FTE for a mental-health counselor. The president said the campus currently operates with a single counselor and that, despite telehealth contracts and outside providers, "the workload is just beyond their capacity." He estimated the counselor salary at "roughly about $90,000." He also requested a final faculty hire for the film program to reach parity with other arts areas.
The presentation highlighted the school’s statewide outreach, including the SPARK program; the school reported outreach across all 46 counties and said SPARK showed statistically significant literacy gains in partner classrooms. The president requested making temporary outreach staff permanent to sustain the program.
Committee members asked about capacity and selection: the school said it has 235 students in residence (capacity 238) and about 140 faculty and staff. Legislators praised alumni outcomes and asked operational questions; the president reiterated limited physical space on campus and prior unsuccessful attempts to acquire adjacent land.
The school presented its budget requests as modest and focused on preserving existing programs, improving campus safety and sustaining outreach and student supports. The committee moved on to hear the next agency.
