April Board Meeting Review

On April 9th, 2019 at the Fairfield County School District Office Board of Trustees met for their monthly meeting. During the board meeting Beta Club members were recognized, Science Fair awards were presented, and teacher bonuses were discussed. A special presentation was also made by FCSD board member, Sylvia Harrison, who donated a check for $1000 that she won while on a trip in Philadelphia. The funds will be used to support students from the District Honor Chorus travelling to Italy, and STEM Cohort 3 students traveling to London and Paris.

Beta Clubs from Geiger Elementary, Kelly Miller Elementary, McCrorey-Liston School of Technology, Fairfield Middle School, and Fairfield Central High School were recognized for their numerous accolades at their state conventions. Two students from Geiger Elementary who competed in the 2019 USC Region II Science Engineering Fair were also recognized. In the Junior awards; Jacques Williams received second place in the Neel Schaffer Inc. Engineering category. Kensley Green also received an honorable mention and a Director’s Award for being innovative and creative.

During the board meeting, the first reading of the 2019-2020 budget was passed, totaling $45, 265,101. This budget represents an increase of $3,997,944. The increase is primarily a function of a 4% raise for all teachers, and a $5000 bonus for certified staff, and a $3000 bonus for classified staff. The total compensation for a first-year teacher will be approximately $44,000. This will likely represent the highest teacher compensation in the state of South Carolina. Part of the budget will also support the purchase of supplies and materials, an increase in retirement costs and a salary step increase for all employees. Despite bonuses and salary increases, there is no millage increase in the approved budget for taxpayers.