McMaster calls for $2,500 pay raise for SC teachers, plus a bonus
Gov. Henry McMaster wants to increase starting pay for South Carolina teachers by $2,500 to bring the base salary to $42,500.
McMaster’s teacher pay proposal would cost the state about $254 million. The proposal is included in the governor’s new executive budget, which state lawmakers soon will consider as they craft the upcoming year’s state spending plan.
This past year, the minimum teacher salary was set at $40,000.
As part of the proposal, each cell in the state’s minimum teacher salary schedule, which sets pay for teachers based on education level and experience, would also increased by $2,500. Districts do have the option of paying above the minimum salary schedule.
The proposed raises are part of a goal of increasing teachers’ starting pay to $50,000 by 2026, the last year of McMaster’s term in office.
McMaster and other state leaders have hoped that raising teacher pay will help address the ongoing teacher shortage and teachers leaving the profession.
McMaster also wants to give teachers a one-time $2,500 retention bonus next school year. Half of the money would be paid in December and the other half paid in May as way to reduce mid-year attrition among teachers.
The General Assembly returns to Columbia on Tuesday to start its next legislative session. The House Ways and Means Committee will begin its budget discussions this month.
According to the state Board of Economic Advisors, South Carolina budget writers will have about $3.5 billion in additional money to appropriate for upcoming budget year, which begins July 1. The state’s spending plan for the current budget year is about $13.8 billion.
The executive budget outlines McMaster’s priorities as the General Assembly crafts a spending plan.
As part of the education-related initiatives, McMaster wants to spend an additional $20.3 million on full-day 4-year-old kindergarten and $25 million for education scholarship accounts to allow parents to send their children to schools of their choice.
McMaster wants to give colleges and universities $43 million to freeze tuition for in-state students and provide about $100 million more in financial aid.
The governor also proposed $209 million be used on deferred maintenance and capital projects at the state’s technical colleges and four-year colleges and universities. Each school would receive money based on the number of in-state students enrolled.
He wants to spend $78 million on workforce development scholarships to train people in high-demand jobs. So far, about 30,000 people have enrolled in the workforce development program started with COVID relief money, and 10,000 people have receive certificates
“Everything we do depends on education,” McMaster said Friday. “The world’s changing fast. There’s more and more sophisticated technologies. We must keep up with that.”
McMaster’s infrastructure proposals
The governor recommended the state spend $850 million for road and bridge projects, which would include further speeding up the Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan. It also includes $300 million for the proposed Interstate 73 to connect the Myrtle Beach area to Interstate 95.
Building the long-sought-after I-73 is estimated to create 29,000 jobs and help improve evacuation routes in the event of hurricanes, the governor’s office said.
McMaster put his support behind the I-73 proposal last year, but it did not receive enough legislative support.
McMaster also proposed spending $3.6 million to create a Center for School Safety and Targeted Violence through the State Law Enforcement Division. The proposed location is the former Gilbert Elementary School in the Lexington 1 school district.
The center would provide training for law enforcement and school personnel on school safety.
“They’ll be able to have drills, (train in) CPR and all the things they need to know how to operate and respond in those kinds of cases,” McMaster said.
McMaster also proposed $78 million for state employee pay raises, which would be targeted at filling open positions and keeping critical employees. The governor’s office said not every state agency requested money for retention pay increases.
“We had a study to show that some of the agency salaries were competitive, others were not, and this will address it,” McMaster said.
The raises include $21.5 million in pay raises for state law enforcement.
McMaster recommended setting aside $38.4 million to provide a $2,000 income tax credit for first responders.
The governor also proposed a $2,500 sign-on bonus for new state employees to help recruit employees, as the state government also has to compete with the private market. The bonuses would cost about $2 million.
McMaster also wants to spend $2 million to market state government job vacancies.
When it comes to those on the state health insurance plan, McMaster also wants to spend $4.5 million to ensure every woman on the health plan has access to an annual OBGYN in addition to an annual wellness visit every year. The governor also proposed spending an additional $121.5 million on the state health plan to prevent any increases in employee premiums.
McMaster also wants $200 million to spend on increased Medicaid costs, including increased provider reimbursement rates.
McMaster also recommended setting aside $500 million more than is required into a rainy-day fund in case of an economic downturn. The amount is more than constitutionally required amount for reserves.
“We will be prepared for any future economic uncertainty,” McMaster said.
Other notable items in McMaster’s budget
▪ $380 million of federal COVID relief to be spent on rural water and sewer infrastructure needs.
▪ $500 million to fulfill commitments made by the Department of Commerce for economic development deals, instead of borrowing the money.
▪ $200 million to acquire and develop possible megasites for economic development. The money would be used to build roads, water and sewer infrastructure in order to make sites ready for businesses to come in.
▪ $10 million to sell and replace the state’s two aging airplanes.
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 12:35 PM.
