South Carolina school board pay varies wildly, and some members earn nothing. Here’s what to know
School board members across South Carolina have no standard pay structure, with compensation ranging from $25 per meeting to more than 30 times that amount. Nearly 40% of the state’s traditional public school districts don’t pay their board members at all, according to an analysis by The State.
FULL STORY: What SC school boards get paid the most? Check out our database
Here are key takeaways:
• As of 2023, South Carolina was one of 37 states that allowed school board members to be paid and one of 15 states with no cap on board member compensation, according to an Education Week report.
• Larger districts tend to pay more than smaller ones on average, but exceptions abound. Lexington County School District 1 ranks sixth in the state by enrollment yet pays its board members nothing.
• Fairfield County School District serves barely 2,000 students but has some of the highest-compensated board members in the state.
• The inconsistency traces back to a patchwork of laws. Some boards can set their own pay under a permissive state law, while others follow more restrictive local laws and need legislative approval to change compensation.
• The State compiled a searchable database of board pay using local board policies and annual compensation data collected by the South Carolina School Boards Association.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.