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Marlboro County schools warned of multimillion-dollar shortfall as state oversees finances
Summary
District presenters told the board the South Carolina Department of Education holds financial oversight while the local board retains authority over millage. Staff projected state and local revenue declines, special-education contract overages, and a possible $2.5 million gap without additional changes.
District staff told the Marlboro County School Board that the district faces significant budget pressure and that the South Carolina Department of Education has exercised financial oversight since last July.
The presenter said the department “currently controls financial operations,” but emphasized that the local school board retains authority over setting millage and approving locally significant budget items. Staff cited a projected state revenue decline of roughly $800,000 and a projected local revenue shortfall of about $900,000 tied in part to a county ‘‘fee in lieu’’ payment that was not received this year.
The presentation said the fee-in-lieu mechanism — an arrangement the county can offer to companies investing locally — contributed to an expected $1.5 million reduction over the last two years. The presenters identified contract costs for hard-to-fill special-education positions as an unbudgeted overage of about $1 million and said federal special-education funding had been exhausted; those additional costs would come from the general fund.
Board materials cited last year’s approved expenditures of $42,781,662 and an updated staff projection of roughly $43,571,173 for the current fiscal year. Presenters said that without additional reductions or revenue, the district faces a shortfall larger than the $1.4 million the board previously planned to use from fund balance — staff estimated a possible $2.5 million gap if no further policy changes were enacted.
Officials outlined the tentative budget calendar: staff plan to present the budget to state staff on May 15, present the district’s first reading locally on May 19, hold a public hearing on June 1, and seek final reading by June 15, with a possible reserve meeting June 29. Board members asked staff to document which cuts already made this fiscal year produced savings and to provide options for the coming year.
The presenters said some personnel consolidations and other actions will take effect July 1 and therefore will affect next year’s savings rather than this fiscal year’s totals. The board did not take a binding vote on the budget at the meeting; staff were to return with more detailed backup at the first reading.
