Fairfield County lawmakers today introduced legislation that strips the Fairfield County School Board of its financial responsibility, moving administration of school finances to a new board.
The action does not dissolve the elected school board but creates a board within a board.
State Sen. Creighton Coleman, D-Fairfield, told the Senate the troubled school system demands change.
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Coleman said only 50 percent of the school system's $49 million-a-year budget is making its way into classrooms. At the same time, Coleman said grades in the district are declining and there is a pattern of lagging improvement in school achievement.
Coleman said he and Rep. Boyd Brown, D-Fairfield, have told school officials that the legislation creating the new financial board would phase out when classroom spending improves to at least 70 percent of the district’s annual budget.
"I did not want to do this," Coleman said, noting the district has gone through nine superintendents since the late 1980s.
Coleman said the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges has found the school board habitually has diminished the authority of its superintendent and failed to be wise stewards of district money.
Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, questioned Coleman about the action, cautioning the lawmaker against usurping the authority of an elected school board.
"I don't want to get involved with this but wouldn't your board be replaced on Election Day anyway?" Ford asked. "That's not democracy. That's almost like a dictatorship."
Coleman told the Senate he was certain the majority of the people of Fairfield County supported his action.
Because the bill is considered local legislation, the Senate does not usually vote on the issue. However, it requires two more readings in the Senate before going to the House. There, as local legislation, it also normally would face easy passage.
State Sen. John Matthews, D-Orangeburg, said the action does not set a precedent. He said other S.C. school districts have removed financial authority from their school boards, vesting that authority with their county councils.
-- Roddie Burris, The State
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