funding.
understand state, local & federal funds that support our schools
OPERATIONS
Funding for school operations pays for the expenses to operate individual schools and the district office. It includes the salaries of teachers, principals, and other school staff; classroom materials; technology; library books; building maintenance; and district administration services and salaries.
Greenville County Schools Operating Revenues
Sources: “Education Finance Act Inflation Factor and Base Student Cost,” SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. (online: http://rfa.sc.gov/econ/educ); “General Fund Revenue Forecast, FINAL”, various years. SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. (online: http://rfa.sc.gov/econ/reports/forecast); “Educational Lottery Appropriations,” “Historical Analyses,” SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. (online: http://rfa.sc.gov/budget); Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Greenville County Schools. (online: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us); “South Carolina Property Tax Rates by County.” South Carolina Association of Counties. (online: http://www.sccounties.org/property-tax-rates); “Greenville County Schools, 2017-18 Special Projects Budgets,” Greenville County Schools.
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CONSTRUCTION
School districts sell bonds to fund construction and renovation projects. The cost of these projects are spread over many years. Local property taxes pay for most of the principal and interest to bondholders – the debt payments on school construction.
Property Taxes
School districts tax property for two purposes – to fund operations and for construction debt payments. Funds cannot be transferred between the two. The Greenville County Schools (GCS) Board of Trustees sets the millage rate for each. One mill is the tax amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of a property.
Organization
GCS created a separate corporation in 2002 to build school facilities due to rapid enrollment growth and a lack of additions and improvements in preceding years. The district acquires these facilities from the corporation as it pays off the corporation’s debt. The state no longer allows this type of arrangement.
Future Growth
To keep up with student growth, the GCS facilities plan for 2021 to 2025 calls for the construction of a new high school, a new elementary school, an environmental science center and additions to two elementary schools. A planned career technology innovation/incubation center has been delayed.
Debt Limit
A district’s total debt cannot exceed 8% of assessed valuation of property within its jurisdiction. As of September 2018, GCS was using 24% of its debt limit.
- Property Tax
- Funding Source
Greenville County Schools Property Tax Millage Rates
Note: State rank represents comparisons as of Tax Year 2018. State average represents simple average across all school districts. Sources: Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Greenville County Schools. (online: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us); "South Carolina Property Tax Rates by County." South Carolina Association of Counties. (online: http://www.sccounties.org/property-tax-rates); Assessed Valuation and Millage Rates,” South Carolina Department of Education (online: https://ed.sc.gov/finance/financial-data/historical-data/assessed-valuation-and-millage-rates/)
Revenues for School Construction Debt Payments By Source (School Year 2018-19)
SCHOOL BUSES
In South Carolina the state provides all funding to purchase or lease new school buses. The buses are then distributed to school districts where they are maintained by state maintenance shops. South Carolina is the only state with this arrangement.
State Law
In 2007 the state legislature passed a law requiring a 15-year bus replacement cycle. Despite the law, in most years the state has not provided sufficient funding to meet this requirement.
Needs
The state needs to appropriate about $34 million per year to meet the 15-year replacement cycle law.
Sources
State funding for new school buses comes from multiple sources. Recently, the primary source has been proceeds from the Education Lottery. Other sources have included the state's General Fund budget, Capital Reserve Fund and one-year supplemental funds.
- Bus Appropriations
- Funding Source
State Appropriations for Buses (Millions of US$)
Source: "School Bus Purchase Appropriations" Table, "Historical Analyses," South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. (online: http://rfa.sc.gov/econ/reports)
School Bus Revenues
By Source (School Year 2018-19)
Age of Greenville County Schools Bus Fleet
0 to 5 Years
6 to 10 Years
11 to 15 Years
16 to 20 Years
Over 20 Years
Source: South Carolina Department of Education
With recent increases in state funding, the age of the school district bus fleet has greatly improved, and as reported in The Post & Courier, buses prone to catching on fire were off the road by January 2019. While still not meeting the 15-year bus replacement cycle, the 5% of the district bus fleet that is over 15 years old is a big improvement from the 50% at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year.
During the 2019-20 school year, district buses averaged 4.5 breakdowns or failures to start per day–a major decrease from the 7.6 averaged per day two years earlier.