Dr. Mick Zais, SC
Superintendent of Education, presented his budget request and priorities to the
Ways and Means Committee in the SC House yesterday (click here to read the AP coverage).
Citizens can review the
budget materials he submitted by clicking here.
The primary funding law for
schools in our state is known as the Education Finance Act. The SC Board of Economic Advisors states the amount
per student to fully fund this law is $2790 for 2012-13. The amount being requested by the Department
of Education will remain at the 2011-12 funding level ($1880 per student).
Because of the EFA and the
Index of Taxpaying Ability, the School District of Oconee County receives about
half of this amount to fund schools from the state level. The remainder of it must come from local funds.
I’ve plugged Financing Education in South Carolina: A
Citizen’s Guide before, and it is an excellent primer on school finance in
our state. You can access this can 26
page document from Clemson’s Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and
Public Affairs by clicking here.
