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Category: Schools

  • FCSD salary debate grows testy

    WINNSBORO – Once again questions over compensation arose during the Fairfield County School District board meeting.

    And once again, discussions got thorny at times.

    For nearly 40 minutes, board member Annie McDaniel sparred with Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green and board chairman William Frick over district salaries during the July meeting.

    At one point, McDaniel, who is running for the District 41 Representative in the State House, suggested board recordings of prior discussions had been removed from the district’s website.

    “Normally we have a tape that reflects the full conversation,” McDaniel said. “For some reason, I didn’t see that tape on there today.”

    “Are you insinuating I’m part of some conspiracy now, Ms. McDaniel?” Frick replied.

    At issue was a motion approved during the June 5 meeting that directed Green to develop options in which every employee makes at least $20,000 a year.

    As of Sunday, video of the meeting was viewable on the district’s website. And on that video, the motion the board approved instructed Green to present options that result in every employee making $20,000 a year.

    McDaniel pressed Green for other options at the July meeting. She grew frustrated over Green’s and Frick’s responses that Green was carrying out the board’s instructions to the letter of the law.

    McDaniel also said she hoped to vote to increase salaries that night. Board members said Green’s plan was presented for information only, and no votes were taken.

    “The concern was the sensitivity and the compassion for people making $13,000, $14,000 a year,” McDaniel said. “Whether I asked for a horse ride, a donkey or a monkey jumping upside down, for you guys not to take this seriously, I can’t even come up with the word for it.”

    “The board directed me to present an option, so I presented an option,” Green replied. “I told you from my professional expertise the only way I can do it is to increase the hourly rate.”

    Frick agreed.

    “That was the motion. It was voted upon,” Frick said. “I asked Ms. McDaniel to clarify. The motion was to bring back options to make sure no employees make less than $20,000 a year.”

    Green’s proposal increases starting hourly wages from $10.67 to $15.45 for Salary Class 1010 employees, which includes bus monitors, food service/cafeteria operators and safety officers.

    Class 1020 employees, including custodians, wouldn’t receive raises. They earn $11.67 an hour with zero years of experience.

    Green said the disparity is due to days worked. Class 1010 employees work 190 days while Class 1020 employees work 250 days, which is why Class 1010 employees earn less, he said.

    Because of the disparity, Green and other board members instead supported a comprehensive overhaul of the district’s salary schedule.

    “The only way you can ensure that there is no employee in the district that makes less than $20,000 is to increase the hourly rate,” Green said. “It is not feasible to say we’re going to have every employee work 245 or 260 days. The question would be what they would do for the 245 or 260 days.”

    Board members Sylvia Harrison and Henry Miller chimed in, both expressing support for a comprehensive salary overhaul.

    “I want to see Dr. Green bring an option back where everybody is considered to get a raise,” Harrison said. “I do like the fact that the support staff need a bigger raise, but I’d like to see an option for everybody because they all deserve a raise.”

    McDaniel opposed waiting for a comprehensive salary, saying it would be too time-intensive when employees are struggling to make ends meet.

    “Are we going to just leave this tonight, or are we going to wait two years down the road after we get a salary study, which is a waste of money?” she said. “We’re talking about people making $13,000, $14,000 a year. That is awful.”

  • R2 Board proposes $468.4M bond

    BLYTHEWOOD – Two football stadiums, a fine arts center and facility upgrades at several schools are among the taxpayer-funded initiatives Richland 2 voters will decide in a November referendum.

    Richland 2 school board members, though, aren’t prepared to dive into a proposed $20 million aquatic center just yet.

    On July 24, the board voted 6-1 to place $468.4 million worth projects on the November ballot. Board member Lindsay Agostini voted against the measure.

    If approved, school district millage would increase about 10 mils, with the typical homeowner paying an extra $65 a year in taxes, said Harry Miley, the district’s chief financial officer.

    Miley said the average Richland 2 home is valued at $167,000, the metric he used to define a typical homeowner.

    Board member Cheryl Caution-Parker said it’s been 10 years since Richland 2 last passed a bond referendum.

    “We always do what we say we’re going to do with the funds. There’s never been any question, there’s never been any doubt,” Caution-Parker said. “When we go for a bond referendum, it’s not spur of the moment. It takes a lot of time and effort.”

    Before the vote, Agostini said she supported everything in the bond referendum, but also pressed for the inclusion of a $20 million aquatic center. She said swimming is a needed skill for Richland 2 students, referencing two recent drownings.

    Agostini also said the Blythewood and Spring Valley high school swim teams lacked proper facilities to hold region swim meets.

    “We just don’t have the facilities,” she said. “I would like to see a pool included in a referendum.”

    Other board members were sympathetic, but also noted that upgrading existing facilities and making schools more safe were higher priorities. They also questioned whether voters would buy into an aquatic center with $468.4 million in projects already bundled into the referendum.

    “It would just be absolutely wonderful to have an aquatic center here in Richland 2,” Caution-Parker said. “However, I think we need to do a complete study. We need to pick a site. We need to have partnerships. We need to have the plan completely in place to present to the community.”

    Aquatic centers elsewhere in South Carolina, such as in Greenville, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, are largely functions of county or municipal governments, according to the aquatic centers’ websites.

    Other aquatic centers in which a school district is involved typically share costs with other government entities.

    For example, the York County Aquatic Center is a joint venture between Rock Hill area YMCAs and local schools, according to the Rock Hill & Fort Mill Visitor’s Bureau.

    The City of North Charleston and Dorchester 2 are joining forces to build a $20 million center, with Dorchester 2’s portion amounting to about $7.5 million, according to media reports.
    The ballot measure that Richland 2 board members approved actually contains two separate questions, according to the school district’s website.
    The first asks voters for permission to issue bonds totaling $381.95 million. Items covered under the bond issue include:

    • Safety improvements at all schools
    • Buying new buses and enhancing security in existing buses.
    • Replacement schools for Bethel-Hanberry Elementary, Forest Lake Elementary and Center for Knowledge North
    • Replacement school for E.L. Wright Middle, with renovations to the three-story existing building
    • Technology infrastructure improvements
    • Miscellaneous costs, including improvements to academic learning spaces, other unspecified improvements, and costs of land, engineering fees, and legal costs.
    • The second question is for a bond issue totaling $86.45 million. It includes:
    • Athletic facility upgrades at Richland Northeast and Ridge View high schools, including football stadium upgrades.
    • Miscellaneous unspecified athletic facility upgrades
    • Building a new School District Fine Arts Center
    • Miscellaneous costs, including improvements to academic learning spaces, other unspecified improvements, and costs of land, engineering fees, and legal costs.

  • Richland 2 conducts active shooter training

    COLUMBIA — Richland School District Two hosted a full-scale active shooter exercise at Jackson Creek Elementary on Tuesday, July 17, in partnership with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Richland County Emergency Services and the City of Columbia’s 911 Communications Center, Fire Department and Emergency Preparedness Department.

    More than 100 teachers, school and district administrators played the roles of students and teachers. The exercise was an opportunity to test the district’s emergency response plan as and allow law enforcement and emergency services agencies to collaborate. The drill was the next step from the active shooter drills conducted in Richland Two schools at least two times a year. Some administrators relayed vital information to a 911 operator as a “shooter” roamed their halls firing a weapon. Others experienced what it was like to hear gunfire just outside a classroom, practice lockdown steps, how to remain calm under stress and utilize safety precautions under intense circumstances.

    District Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis stressed that schools and districts must be proactive and prepared for any crisis. He noted that Richland Two is fortunate to have an emergency services manager with both law enforcement and emergency management experience to coordinate the event. He praised the collaboration between agencies and the district.

    “It’s not enough to do a lockout or lockdown drill,” Dr. Davis said. “We needed this exercise to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of our plans and to prepare our staff to respond in the case of actual emergency when their adrenaline is pumping and emotions are high.”

    The next day, the same “actors” convened to discuss the drill and work through the district’s family reunification plan.

    In addition, the recently approved 10-year facilities plan calls for the rebuilding of several schools to improve building safety.

  • All district schools to get SROs

    County will provide vehicles and uniforms

    WINNSBORO – Ridgeway Police Chief Christopher Culp has been the subject of at least 14 complaints from Ridgeway residents and businesses in the past 12 months, according to documents obtained by The Voice. Those complaints recently almost cost him his job.

    One of the complaints, though – that Culp doubles as the de facto school resource officer (SRO) at Geiger Elementary School although he is not certified to do so – will likely be mitigated through action by the Fairfield County School District.

    Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green and Board Chairman William Frick both told The Voice this week that the District’s recently approved budget includes funding for additional SROs.

    “We did budget for additional SROs to go into the elementary schools for the upcoming school year,” Frick said. “That was already in the budget that was approved at the last meeting, so we are looking forward to that.”

    While the the District already provides SROs for the high school and middle schools. Green said the district started feeling the need to add SROs to the five elementary school after the Florida shooting incident.

    “We decided it would be prudent to expand our SRO program to include the elementary schools as well,” Green said. “Obviously, we are committed to providing the safest environment we can as a district. This is just one added step to improving on the environment that we provide students.”

    Frick went on to say that the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is hiring for those positions.

    The budget that passed includes $325,000 for five new school resource officers, which works out to about $65,000 per officer. There was no mention during budget deliberations, though, exactly where those officers would be assigned.

    Green has previously said the funding covers the officers’ salaries and benefits, while Fairfield County would cover vehicle, equipment and training costs.

    “Our plan is to have resource officers in place by the fall of this year,” Green said Tuesday. “We’re providing resource officers to our elementary schools. That’s our plan provided we have officers available.”

  • Chief survives move to fire him

    NAACP, School officials called to defend Culp

    RIDGEWAY – Christopher Culp still has his job.

    Ridgeway’s police chief was not present when town council members killed an effort to fire him immediately.

    Councilman Rufus Jones made a motion to immediately fire Culp, but the motion died when nobody seconded it.

    Culp’s brush with potential termination comes amid a number of complaints, including doubling as a school resource officer at the expense of policing the town and openly disrespecting the town judge, according to public records obtained by The Voice. (See ‘Judge, others issue complaints against chief’.)

    Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said Monday that Culp isn’t certified to serve as an SRO, nor has the town appointed him to that role.

    “His primary job/responsibility is to perform the duties of a police officer,” the mayor said.

    In a letter obtained by The Voice, Municipal Judge Adrian Wilkes said Culp frequently challenges his authority in and out of the courtroom.

    “Chief Culp has shown a lack of manners, professionalism, and respect for the Court,” the letter states. “He has consistently attempted to speak over and interrupt myself and others within the courtroom.”

    In spite of these complaints and others, council members adjourned Thursday’s three-hour meeting without further discussion.

    Jones declined to comment after the meeting.

    In making his motion, Jones alluded to complaints about the chief doubling as a de facto school resource officer at Geiger Elementary School. But he said other complaints drove his desire to fire Culp.

    “I want to make a motion – this has nothing to do with the school – this motion is for the complaints we’ve had about Mr. Culp,” Jones said. “I would like to terminate him at once.”

    Cookendorfer told The Voice that Culp’s time spent at Geiger Elementary wasn’t an underlying issue, but acknowledged there have been discussions about the chief’s school visits.

    Additional complaints drove the discussion, but Cookendorfer declined to specify the nature of those complaints.

    “We had some complaints, and we addressed those complaints tonight,” the mayor said Thursday. “We talked about the times that he has been going there (the school), but we have to find a happy medium there. He’s not a school resource officer. He’s the chief of police.”

    State Law and SROs

    In his monthly report, Culp said he performed 22 security checks in May at Geiger Elementary. He also responded to five accidents there, council documents state.

    Culp further stated that 20 citations and 11 warnings were issued in the town. There were no arrests.

    State law defines school resource officers, or SROs, as sworn law enforcement officers who have “completed the basic course of instruction for School Resource Officers.”

    The course must be provided or recognized by the National Association of School Resource Officers or the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, the law states.

    State law further states SROs “have as a primary duty the responsibility to act as a law enforcement officer, advisor, and teacher for that school district.”

    Maj. Florence McCants, spokeswoman for the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, said Culp meets the primary qualification of being a Class 1 officer, which basically means he has full arrest powers and has completed the academy’s 12-week Basic Law Enforcement Training Program.

    But the chief has not completed any SRO certification courses recognized by the Justice Academy.

    McCants couldn’t say whether Culp met the second requirement, which says an SRO’s primary duty is to work as a law enforcement officer for the school district.

    William Frick, chairman of the Fairfield County School Board, said all SROs are currently contracted through the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office. The arrangement applies to schools both within and outside municipal limits, he said.

    Asked if there have been any communications between the Town of Ridgeway and school district about SROs at Geiger Elementary, Frick said he didn’t think so and deferred further comment to Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green.

    “Any contract negotiations would initiate with the district office,” Frick said.

    Green couldn’t be reached as of press time.

    In the meantime, Cookendorfer said the town plans to address performance issues with Culp.

    “It’s a heated situation, none of us run [for public office] to be popular. We have hard decisions to make,” he said. “We do have some underlying issues with the police department, and we’re going to correct those issues.”

    Supporters back Culp

    During both public input sessions, residents overwhelmingly spoke in favor of Culp. Among them were representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

    Brenda Murphy, president of the state NAACP and Ridgeway native, called Culp a role model.

    “You have a policeman who’s on the cutting edge,” Murphy said. “He’s there with our young people. He’s teaching them to not be afraid of the police. You are on the cutting edge because of this policeman.”

    Tiffany Allison said that as a relatively new resident and expecting mom that she believes in Culp’s ability to protect the town. She raised concerns about the town prohibiting Culp from performing well checks at Geiger Elementary School.

    “I was advised that you had banned Officer Culp from visiting the school for any reason other than to issue a citation,” Allison said.

    “You have removed the only protection our children have at this time during their school day for reasons that have yet to be justified,” she continued.

    Myra Bramlett, principal at Geiger Elementary, pleaded with council members to allow Culp to continue visiting the school.

    “If you are indeed thinking of taking away the local officer, I want you to think about how the kids have built a relationship [with Culp]. They know him and they support him,” Bramlett said. “The officers in law enforcement are our friends.”

    Related: Judge, others issue complaints against chief

  • Board votes 2-1 for minimum salaries

    WINNSBORO – It’s rare when a major school budget measure passes by a 2-1 vote, but that’s exactly what happened at a recent board meeting.

    On June 5, the Fairfield County Board of Trustees voted 2-1 on a motion directing Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green to develop options in which no district employee makes less than $20,000 per year.

    Trustees Annie McDaniel and Paula Hartman voted for the motion that McDaniel introduced. Board Chairman William Frick voted against, and the remaining trustees abstained.

    Trustee Carl Jackson said the vote happened so quickly, he didn’t realized what had happened until it was too late.

    Jackson said he wasn’t opposed to McDaniel’s motion, but also expressed concern about micromanaging the superintendent.

    “I’m a little disillusioned here. We as a board can say to the superintendent what we want him to do with that salary range,” Jackson said. “I don’t have a problem with that. Let him bring what he’s going to bring and we’ll deal with it. Let the superintendent do his job.”

    Following the vote and further discussion, the board also adopted third and final reading of the 2018-2019 budget by a 6-1 vote, with Hartman opposing.

    Included in the $41.27 million budget are step increases and a 2 percent, across the board salary bump for all employees.

    At second reading, board members also voted to increase the annual band supplement by $10,000, as well as $1,500 increases for the boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches. Those supplements remained in the final version.

    The band stipend will be disbursed among all individuals who work in the band program, Green said.

    There is no tax increase in the budget, with millage remaining constant at 203.1 mills.

    Green, though, hinted that a millage increase might be required if the board enacted a measure to increase every employees’ salaries to at least $20,000.

    “I will bring back what you want me to bring back, even if it means a millage increase,” he said.

    The salary debate was a continuation of a heated discussion that first arose during the May board meeting.

    McDaniel, who is running for the House District 41 seat, pressed fellow school board members for details concerning unclassified worker salaries.

    Specifically, she wanted to know what an annual salary would be for various hourly employees, cafeteria workers in particular.

    Green said it was too difficult to provide an exact number, saying it depends on how many hours worked. McDaniel kept pressing.

    “I’m not understanding why it’s heartburn to have the conversation,” McDaniel said.

    Kevin Robinson, the district’s finance director, said school cafeteria worker salaries and can’t be easily annualized because they work varying numbers of hours.

    “Food service workers do not all work the same number of hours per day because it’s based on that school,” Robinson said. “All of the annual salaries are going to be different for the food service workers based on the fact they do work a different number of hours.”

    Green added some cafeteria workers work during the summer while others don’t.

    “There’s a variation there as well,” he said.

    As was the case at second reading, frustration eventually entered into the budget discussions.

    “You can’t pick one salary and say that’s not a fair salary,” Frick said. “That’s the issue I had last time. I’m seeing you trying to make a point.”

    “We need to look at this and if this is what we want it to be,” McDaniel snapped back. “Come on, $13,000 to $14,000 a year? That is not a livable salary.”

    Hartman, who supported McDaniel in voting against the budget at second reading, voiced some of the same concerns.

    “The richer get richer and the poorer gets poorer,” she said.

    $5.4 million deficit expected

    In related budget matters, the board also approved a tax anticipation note (TAN) not to exceed $5.4 million.

    A TAN is a short-term loan to help the district cover temporary budget shortfalls until sufficient tax revenues become available in January 2019.

    According to board documents, a shortfall is expected to begin on or about Sept. 22 and continue through late January 2019. The total projected shortfall amount is $5,346,850.

    The loan’s interest rate was not stated.

    Board Chairman William Frick, a longtime critic of the board’s habit of issuing millions of dollars of TANS each year, voiced frustration over needing to vote for the note.

    “Is there going to be a year where I’m not going to have to vote on one of these things?” Frick asked. “I understand the reasoning behind this, but I would like to see a day when I don’t have to vote on this.”

    The board signed a $5 million TAN in 2017, district documents state.

    Tax bills are due Jan. 15, 2019, which is when the district anticipates receiving the needed tax revenues sufficient to cover expenses.

    Related: School budget talks heat up,

  • School budget talks heat up

    WINNSBORO – An apparently routine budget vote turned into a heated debate about how to address salaries in the Fairfield County School District.

    During discussion of the proposed $41.3 million budget, trustee Annie McDaniel said she wanted a deeper discussion about increasing salaries for support staff, some of whom she said make less than $20,000 a year.

    That led to confusion, followed by frustration, over determining exactly what the scope of that discussion should entail.

    Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green said his long-term goal is to assemble a comprehensive salary review for all employees.

    Green said he wants to present something sometime next year, but estimated the plan would potentially cost several million dollars.

    “Obviously I would love to see us make an adjustment to our salary schedule that positively impacts all of our employees,” Green said. “I would love to see teachers make more, I would love to see custodial staff make more, clerical staff and bus drivers.”

    McDaniel didn’t discount that, but also said support staff deserves particular attention.

    “I thought we were just going to talk about it and give you the opportunity to review it,” McDaniel said, responding to Green.

    Board chairman William Frick said he was having difficulty discerning exactly what salary information McDaniel was seeking.

    “I just want to be clear about what we want to do,” Frick said. “We say we want to have a meeting about salaries. What do we want to look at? I don’t know what you’re asking.”

    “Because you’re trying to make it complicated,” McDaniel replied.

    “No. Ms. McDaniel. I’ve been on this board for five years, and every time someone gives you information, you tell them that’s not what you wanted,” Frick fired back. “So I want to make sure we’ve got the information that you want.”

    “No, no you need to take that back,” McDaniel answered. “Since you’ve been on this board, you have not been giving us information.

    “I don’t understand why we make a federal issue out of just looking at information, which may not warrant any recommendation for an increase,” McDaniel continued.

    In the end, the board voted 5-2 to approve second reading of the budget.

    As it stands, the proposed budget does not include a tax increase.

    Included in the budget are step increases and a 2 percent, across the board salary increase for all employees. It also includes funding for additional school resource officers.

    The proposed budget also increases the annual band stipend by $10,000. It also includes $1,500 stipend increases for boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches.

    Lastly, estimated health insurance costs dropped $13,000.

    Third and final reading is expected during the June board meeting. McDaniel also insisted that a deeper discussion of support staff salaries be added to the agenda.

  • Trustees question Mitford payments

    WINNSBORO—As the Fairfield County Board of Trustees finalizes its upcoming budget, some members are questioning why Fairfield County money is still being spent in neighboring Chester County.

    At issue are state-mandated payments to the Chester County School District covering costs of Fairfield County students, specifically from the Mitford community, who attend school in Chester County.

    Fairfield trustee Annie McDaniel took issue with the payments during a discussion at the April board meeting, citing rising costs.

    Payments – calculated at 103 percent of Chester’s prior year per-pupil cost of Mitford transfer students – are mandated in state law and have been upheld by the S.C. Supreme Court.

    “I don’t think they intended for it to go on and on forever,” McDaniel said. “We need to look at that, we’re sending a lot of money over there.”

    In 2018-2019, student transfers are expected to cost Fairfield County schools an additional $74,150, rising from about $552,000 this year to $626,000, according to budget figures.

    McDaniel called for the district’s legal counsel to review the Chester County payments. She also suggested that Chester is more prosperous than Fairfield County.

    “They’ve got some pretty good industry coming in on their side,” she said.

    Since January 2017, the S.C. Department of Commerce published on its website two announcements about new or expanding industry in Chester County, accounting for 174 new jobs.

    There have been no announcements for Fairfield County, according to the Department of Commerce website. Besides the money the Fairfield School District receives from the state and from County taxes, it also receives more than $18M in property taxes annually from V.C. Summer’s unit one.

    Board member Henry Miller thinks there should be greater accountability of the money Fairfield sends to Chester.

    “Where are the checks and balances? I don’t want anyone fudging the math, so to speak, making us pay more,” Miller said. “I’d just love to see all of them [Mitford students] come back home.”

    When contacted by The Voice, the Chester County school district released a prepared statement attributable to Dr. Angela Bain, the district’s superintendent.

    “We are not privy to any discussions that the Fairfield County School Board is having regarding this matter,” the statement said. “We are aware of the Supreme Court’s decision, and we are complying with that decision.”

    A state law known as Act 294 that passed in 2010 requires the Fairfield County school district to foot the bill for Mitford community students attending Chester County schools, mainly in Great Falls.

    The school district filed suit, challenging the law, but the effort failed when a sharply divided state Supreme Court upheld Act 294 in a 3-2 decision, according to judicial records.

    The voting majority said in its opinion that Fairfield County Schools never showed that the General Assembly “failed to have a logical basis or sound reason” in enacting Act. 294.

    Court documents state an informal agreement facilitating the transfer of Mitford students to Chester County existed since 1972.

    It wasn’t until 2007 that the deal broke down, prompting special legislation to address the issue.

    Following the 2010 legislation, the Fairfield County school district was invoiced more than $1.8 million for the past three years, court documents state, and has been paying the Chester County district ever since.

    In a minority opinion, Justice Donald Beatty said Act 294 is unconstitutional because it conflicts with pre-existing general laws addressing student transfers. Justice Kaye Hearn concurred.

    “In reaching this conclusion, the majority myopically focuses on the procedural posture of the instant case and, in turn, effectively discounts the fundamental question regarding the constitutionality of Act No. 294,” Beatty wrote.

    Beatty further asserted Act 294 provides different processes for calculating the cost of student transfers.

    “Fairfield County has the resources and facilities to provide free public education for all of its resident children,” Beatty said. “I discern no reason why FCSD should now be statutorily required to reimburse CCSD for continued voluntary transfers.”

  • FCSD Board moves parent conferences

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County school board members will take a second look at the 2018-2019 academic calendar next month, with changes in parent conference days potentially impacting how next year’s calendar unfolds.

    For the 2017-2018 school year, the school district decided to schedule spring parent conferences on Thursday instead of Friday, prompting questions from some board members.

    “This week we’re out on Thursday [for conferences], but come back on Friday. Next year we are doing the same thing,” said board we are doing the same thing,” said board member Henry Miller. “Why did we do that rather than do [conferences] on a Friday?”

    “We felt if we put it in the middle of the week, we’d have better participation,” answered Dr. Claudia Avery, the district’s deputy superintendent of academics. “It wouldn’t conflict with school performances or anything of that nature.”

    Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green concurred.

    “When you plan parent conferences on a Friday afternoon, many parents are busy planning their weekends,” Green said. “Many teachers are not excited about staying until 7 p.m. for parent conferences.”

    Thursday was the first time conferences were scheduled in the middle of the week.

    Board chairman William Frick said the board could use feedback from schools to determine whether to keep or abandon holding conferences on a Thursday.

    “At least that way we’ll have more information to go on,” Frick said. “Surely Dr. Avery can tell us if there was a better participation rate this go-around than in the past. We don’t have that information to make that decision right now.”

    Green cautioned about making too many changes to the calendar, noting it was developed with significant community input.

    “There are lots of people who feel this is preferable. Sometimes we tend to forget that,” he said.

    Board members approved first reading of the calendar by unanimous vote. Second reading will take place in May.

    As it stands, the proposed calendar includes three makeup days for inclement weather in 2017-2018. Makeup days have been scheduled for Nov. 19, Feb. 18 and May 27.

    Other calendar dates of note include:

    • First day for teachers: Aug. 13.
    • First day for students: Aug. 20.
    • Christmas break: Dec. 21 to Jan. 4.
    • Fall break: Nov. 19-23.
    • Spring break: April 15-19.
    • Last day for students: June 7.
    • Graduation: June 8.

    State assessment dates have not yet been released.

  • FCSD Board spars over employee salaries

    WINNSBORO – Next year’s proposed budget includes pay raises for all school district employees, but some Fairfield County Board of Education members want to spend more.

    The board held a lively discussion Tuesday evening before unanimously passing first reading on the $41.2 million budget.

    Among the most vocal was board member Annie McDaniel, who took issue with comparatively high supplements she says some coaches are paid versus salaries of classified employees, such as cafeteria workers and bus drivers.

    “Before we give another supplement, we need to look at it on the table what we’re paying classified people,” McDaniel said. “It was sad looking at the supplements compared to what we were paying employees who work 180 or 190 days a year.”

    The proposed $41.2 million budget is about $2.5 million higher than the one approved last year. Millage would remain at 203.1 mills. Fairfield County Schools hasn’t raised millage since 2010, said Kevin Robinson, the district’s finance director.

    Robinson said the district is anticipating an increase in non-residential property tax revenue. Because of that, the draft budget recommends step increases as well as a 2 percent across the board raise for all employees.

    District Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green said there’s been talk at the state level about budgeting higher pay for educators, but nothing definite.

    “We recognize the state probably won’t mandate 2 percent and they probably won’t mandate the classified employees,” Green said. “We’re doing 2 percent across the board to make salary increases effective for all employees.”

    While board members were happy to increase pay, some took issue with implementing a percentage increase, saying it disproportionately favors higher paying employees.

    “When you’re looking at 2 percent on $20,000 versus 2 percent on $110,000, that’s a big difference,” McDaniel said.

    Board member Paula Hartman agreed.

    “We should do straight amounts. That’s more fair to me,” Hartman said. “The people working in the cafeterias and cleaning up don’t make as much so they don’t get as much.”

    Green said he favored raises by percentages.

    “To suggest we use a specific number instead of a percentage doesn’t seem to be very realistic, in my opinion,” he said.

    Robinson said the budget also includes $325,000 for five new school resource officers, which works to about $65,000 per officer. Green said the funding covers the officers’ salaries and benefits, while Fairfield County would cover vehicle, equipment and training costs.

    “We wanted to have enough money to cover the additional cost of five officers,” Green said.

    Gov. Henry McMaster has said he wants to invest millions of dollars statewide on SROs, a request that comes in the wake of recent school shootings elsewhere in the country, but no bills have been passed.

    “As much as people have talked about that at the state level, the funding of resource officers have filtered down to the local level,” Green said. “It doesn’t look like the state will be providing any money.”

    Board members also reopened debate on an old topic – a 2010 law that allows students in the Mitford community of northeast Fairfield County to attend Chester County schools at Fairfield County school district’s expense. The proposed budget for 2018-2019 estimates student transfer costs at $626,436, a nearly $75,000 increase over this year, according to Fairfield County School District budget figures.

    Some board members said they want more accountability of the money it sends to Chester County. Others want an attorney to take a second look at the Chester ruling.

    “I don’t think they intended for it to go on and on forever,” McDaniel said. “We need to look at that, we’re sending a lot of money over there.”