SC's top educator warns of pay cuts

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina teachers would not get pay raises on the state portions of their salaries in the next school year under a proposal backed by the state's education chief on Tuesday.

South Carolina Education Superintendent Jim Rex said state budget cuts have left districts with tough choices to make: cutting pay or cutting jobs.

"You don't really want to do either, but if you have to chose between those two, we're asking teachers to take it on the chin for one year from a salary freeze in the hopes that it will only be one year," Rex said after he testified before House lawmakers about funding problems facing schools.

Tuesday was the first day for lawmakers to begin putting together the next fiscal year's spending plan, and by all accounts they are facing a bleak budget year. The current budget has been cut by $1 billion as the state's economy falters and tax collections slow because consumers are spending less and jobless ranks are growing.

Rex's freeze would stall a raise that was expected to lift pay to an average of $48,561 from about $47,376. The state's share of that pay varies, covering all of a teacher's salary in some cases.

At Anderson District 5, the district pays teachers 12 percent more than the state's schedule. Superintendent Betty Bagley said freezing the salaries of teachers and other employees makes sense. Her district has lost about $5 million.

"We're in a heck of a mess," Bagley said. "I can't imagine a raise in times like this, and I don't think people would even expect a raise."

Rex said school districts need flexibility to handle the spending cuts so they can avoid pay problems for school bus drivers and teachers. His proposals for the use of state money need legislative approval. School districts also are funded by local tax dollars - and many local governments are hurting, too.

"I'm hoping that next year we're not going to see a major increase in student-teacher ratio. The year after next, if the cuts continue, I think all bets are off," Rex said.

Rex didn't have an average for that ratio but officials said that depends on grade level and course.

Since July, schools have lost $334 million in spending and legislators have asked the Education Department how it would cope with a 15 percent cut in fiscal year 2010 to what is now a $2.2 billion budget.

Those options include the salary freeze and lowering pay for school bus drivers. And Rex based a key part of school funding - how much the state pays per student - on the pay freeze. With the freeze, Rex said the state would maintain its current per pupil funding at $2,578 instead of letting it fall to $2,259.

Rex's expectations involve getting more flexibility for the agency and school systems to decide how to spend the remaining cash they have. Without that, Rex said, school bus drivers would lose $7 million in salary supplements.

Rex also wants school districts to get flexibility in scheduling, such as the option of using four-day school weeks or shortening the 180-day school requirement. That idea hasn't caught on with school districts, but Rex expects that might change.

If "we keep seeing cuts, if this is a persistent recession and they see their resources continue to dwindle, then I think those less desirable options are going to be entertained," Rex said. "And I think the four-day week, shorter school years, longer school days are among those options. It's a way to save money."

Rex knows a four-day schedule alone could be disruptive to parents' work schedules and child care spending. But he says other, mostly rural states have used that to deal with rising costs and he notes districts might consider opening schools on the fifth day with parents dropping children off for tutoring and physical education programs. "It could be seen as an innovation as well as a cost-saving approach if we reach that stage."