ANDERSON COUNTY — Anderson County School District 3’s Board of Trustees are waiting to see what the legislature does before finalizing its budget, setting the date for its April meeting and determining the end of the school year.
But one thing the board can’t wait on is whether or not to have a snow makeup day.
The district was scheduled to make up the March 2 snow day on March 16. On Monday, the district decided to not make it up.
Pending legislation could forgive that missed day of school, said Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson.
“It was a simple resolution that would have allowed the districts that weren’t in school to not have to make it up to help them save money,” Bryant said.
Even though the legislation hasn’t passed, District 3 decided to take that day off.
“We found some folks had planned on the kids being off for the four-day weekend,” said Anderson County School District 3 Superintendent Hugh Smith.
With students being out of school this Friday for a teacher in-service day, the district had to act fast in order to let parents know of the change. If the legislation doesn’t pass, the district will add an additional day on the end of the school year, Smith said.
“Everything I’ve heard so far is that it will pass,” Smith said. “If we wanted to take advantage of it, we had to act on this this week.”
The district also is at a standstill though until it knows how much money it will get from the state.
“These numbers are very tentative,” Anderson County School District 3 Treasurer Keith Martin said. “There may be another cut next year.”
In a presentation on the preliminary budget, Martin said the district may face a $1.11 million shortfall. In his proposal, the district would make that up through a series of cuts, including eliminating two jobs through attrition, continuing furlough days for teachers, non-teaching staff and administrators and cutting budgets for substitutes, travel and supplies, and using money from the fund balance.
And, he said, there still has been no word on how the district would be able to use federal stimulus money. Until the legislature passes some pending legislation, the board can’t even determine when to meet.
Included in some legislation is a change in contract dates for teachers. If the legislature doesn’t act before the end of March, the board will meet on April 2 to authorize teacher contracts that begin April 15. If the legislature does act, the board will meet on April 21 to discuss the budget with a better idea of funding sources and expenditures.
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Comments » 5
constituent writes:
I find it interesting that Kevin Bryant is supporting a day off from public school. He doesn’t even send his own children to public schools, couldn’t this reporter find a politician to quote that at the very least is working toward the success of our public school system?
Why wasn't Senator O'dell interviewed for this? I bet his answer would carry more support for our public school system.
constituent writes:
Sorry, Liz, I didn't realize you were the author of this story. I know how hard you work to get the story right. It just irritates me to see it appear that Bryant is for anything about public schools because he is not.
JJJWWW writes:
This is exactly what US (and particularly SC) children need -- legal approval for fewer school days. The US has one of the shortest educational calendars in the world, and we should get it up to at least 200 days of instruction, if not more.
townvillemom writes:
The school districts originally planned this four day weekend so students and staff can have a break after a rigorous week of standardized testing. The preparation for these test can be very demanding and sometimes kids learn more effectively by just playing a little! The Legislation will excuse this day for all districts if it is passed and will put thousands of dollars back in the budget.
scclemgirl writes:
I think the kids deserve this 4 day weekend. Most work hard in school and deserve a break.
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