House budget would add about $1.5M to Kershaw schools but charters and CTE changes raise questions
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Summary
At the March 17 school board meeting, CFO Brad Willard told trustees the House/Ways and Means budget would yield roughly $1.5 million more for the district but left open key details: charter funding is being taken 'off the top,' the CTE weighting was restructured, and PEBA health‑insurance costs remain uncertain.
Brad Willard, the district’s chief financial officer, told the Kershaw County School Board on March 17 that the House/Ways and Means version of the state budget would translate into roughly a $1.5 million increase in funding for the district.
"So this is basically a 1 and a half million dollar increase in funding for the year," Willard said, while cautioning that about $1 million of that figure reflects a reallocated career and technical education (CTE) appropriation rather than unrestricted general‑fund revenue.
Why it matters: the House version raises the formula starting teacher pay and minimum steps by $2,000 and increases the state average per‑pupil amount by roughly $140, changes that could require local adjustments to meet new state minimums. Willard said the formula sets the master's step 12 (about $80,000) as the benchmark for funding a teacher FTE (salary plus fringe), and that the district’s current beginning teacher pay of $49,500 would fall short of the House formula minimum unless the district adjusts pay locally.
Willard highlighted several implementation details with direct budget implications: instruction and digital‑materials funding remain a focus; the Education Scholarship Trust Fund stays split between the general fund and lottery; and the House version takes charter funding "off the top," meaning charter authorizers are funded separately from the main formula. "They're taken off the top," Willard said, and he added that the increase on paper for the two charter authorizers was about $87,000,000 in the House version.
Board members pressed for per‑pupil comparisons between charters and traditional district schools. Trustee Mister Reeves asked whether the charter add‑ons equate to an approximately $12,000 per‑student figure for some virtual charters; Willard said the district had not yet been given the granular per‑pupil breakdown.
Willard also described the CTE funding change: CTE weightings were moved from 1.2 back to 1.0, and the equivalent funding for the 0.2 was allocated as a separate CTE appropriation (Willard said the amount was in the neighborhood of $80,000,000 at the state level). "The fund they are using currently does not allow for salaries and fringe to be paid. It is only for CTE equipment," Willard said, signaling a practical limitation if the district hoped to move current staff salary costs into the new CTE fund.
Several revenue uncertainties remain. Willard said the employer portion of the state health plan (PEBA) has not yet delivered its proposal to the legislature, so the district lacks final figures for insurance costs that could materially affect net gains from the House budget. Willard also noted a decline in the district’s 45‑day count that reduced current‑year funding and said the anticipated $1.5 million should be seen in the context of that adjustment.
Board takeaway and next steps: trustees asked staff to continue monitoring the legislation as it moves through the Senate and to provide more detailed per‑pupil and fund‑code analyses when the legislative papers become available. Willard said staff will return with more detailed recommendations as the legislature finalizes its proposals.
The board concluded the item after a question‑and‑answer period and moved on to executive session later in the meeting.
