COLUMBIA, S.C. — Many South Carolina teachers could see a pay raise in this year’s state budget, but who gets the raise and how much it could be varies.
The South Carolina House has passed its version of the state budget, including a proviso that gives a $4,000 raise to many teachers.
"Every district is getting an increase in state funding under the Ways and Means budget because there's a $230 million increase to the 'state aid to classroom', and every district comes out ahead this year of where they were last year,” explained Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
Despite all districts getting an increase in state funding, they aren't all required to give teachers raises under the proposed budget proviso. The required raise would only apply to districts that are paying below the newly proposed rate. The districts that already pay above the rate wouldn't be required to give raises.
The proposed rate in the proviso raises the minimum state salary schedule by $4,000 at each level. That means a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree could make $40,000 instead of $36,000. A teacher with 10 years of experience and a bachelor's degree could make about $45,000 instead of $41,000.
However, Kelly told News19 only seven districts currently pay at the minimum schedule. About 50 other districts pay somewhere between the current minimum rate and the proposed one. The budget would cover raises for teachers in those districts to come up to the new minimum, whether it costs $100 or $3,000 per teacher.
Then there are a remaining 20 or so districts, according to Kelly, that already pay above the proposed new minimum. For the teachers in those bigger, wealthier districts, it’d be up to the district if they get a raise and how much it would be. Some of those districts are located in Richland and Lexington Counties.
Creator of the budget proviso, Representative Bill Whitmire, said if those bigger districts choose to, "they can give a $500 raise, they could make it $1,000, they could go up to $4,000, they don’t have to give a raise at all. It's up to them.”
If higher-paying districts decide to give raises, they'd have to figure out how to fund them, whether it be with state funding meant for other things, or local funding -- Whitmire said they have the discretion to do so.
Whitmire added that the goal of the proviso is to help fight the teacher shortage, especially in smaller districts. "We’re over 1,100 teachers short and I’d imagine the majority of them are in the smaller districts that can’t pay as much," asserted Whitmire. "For years and years, we’ve heard about inequities between the wealthier districts and the poorer districts, so I think this is a way to try to equal that playing field a little bit.”
While the budget proviso doesn’t provide enough state funding to cover raises for every South Carolina teacher, Kelly is hopeful bigger districts will still offer raises with a mix of local and state funding.
If the proviso becomes law, districts will be required to post their spending plans publicly online.
Now that the House has passed the state budget, the Senate will take up the spending plan next.