COLOMBIA – South Carolina schools are getting a lot of money this year.
No, not from the state legislature, which is expected to debate in the coming weeks whether the state can give teachers a modest increase in salaries amid the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to rise in the state. How much, if not much, state lawmakers will send to state coffers’ schools will not be known for months.
What educators can bet on comes from the federal government. COVID-19’s massive $ 2.3 trillion federal aid and spending package that Congress approved on December 21 includes several pots of money for schools.
One of them is likely to provide about $ 900 million to South Carolina’s K-12 public schools. legislators.
The state Department of Education can keep 10% of that amount for programs that benefit schools across the state. The rest will be distributed to the state’s 81 school districts, based on their population and poverty rate.
The breakdown has not yet been determined. But whatever size of slice each district receives, it can be a big step towards reopening classrooms for more face-to-face learning and keeping them open, which was the objective of the Congress. It will be up to local school councils to decide how to spend it and – unlike other federal COVID-19 grants for specific expenses – the list of possibilities is long.
This includes protective equipment, teacher bonuses, technology and maintenance – expanding what districts could do with their much smaller share of $ 195 million provided through the CARES federal aid package approved by Congress in March. These values ranged in South Carolina from a minimum of $ 253,000 for tiny Clarendon 3 in Turbeville to $ 19.3 million for Greenville County.
Of that total of US $ 195 million, US $ 65.5 million, or one third, was spent until Wednesday, according to the state Department of Education.
Some district officials said they were saving money in case they needed it later to fill budget gaps and avoid layoffs. And that is allowed. Unlike other CARES money that came with the December 30 deadline, districts have two years to spend that money.
The additional help, about four times more than their spring quota, could motivate school councils to go ahead and spend what they have saved.
More could flow from other federal aid.
Governor Henry McMaster is earning a share of $ 61 million to allocate to schools alone. And Congress made it clear, this time, that governors cannot use their share for vouchers or tax credits for tuition from private schools.
McMaster tried to put $ 32 million, at his discretion, under the CARES Act into private elementary and secondary education grants of up to $ 6,500 per student. But the state Supreme Court blocked it, ruling that the state constitution prohibits public money from directly helping private schools.
The Republican governor has yet to announce how he will redirect that aid, as the state’s highest court gave a final “no” on December 9.
At a news conference later that day, McMaster said he was working on a contingency plan.
“We don’t have the details of that plan, but we want you to go to education and we are looking for ways to do that now,” he said.
South Carolina colleges will also benefit. They are estimated to share $ 300 million with the last round of aid.
One thing is certain in the midst of all the uncertainties of 2020: primary and secondary education, below average in South Carolina even before the pandemic hit, has fallen back. How far student learning has gone back may not be fully calculated for years.
Follow Seanna Adcox on Twitter at @seannaadcox_pc.