ROCK HILL, S.C. — South Carolina’s proposed budget, which was amended and approved by the state finance committee this week, doesn’t include pay raises for all teachers. Instead, it proposes a $2,000 increase for teachers making the state’s minimum of $36,000 a year.
Education advocates say only seven districts in the state start paying at the minimum set by the state, and others are already paying more than that.
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"We are in an area of our state, along with 26 other districts, that do not pay on the minimum pay scale," Sherry East, who’s a teacher in Rock Hill and the president of the South Carolina Education Association, said. “So, in reality, a lot of our educators will see zero [pay increase] unless they come back next week and do something.”
East said South Carolina is facing a teacher shortage and the state’s proposed budget doesn’t offer enough incentives for teachers to stay.
Earlier in the year, teachers thought they’d get a $4,000 raise next school year, but now that the offer is off the table, East said a lot of teachers are considering leaving classrooms.
"What the $4,000 did to some people is, 'Oh, I could retire this year but I’m going to stick it out a couple of years to boost my retirement,'" East said. "Well now that they’ve found out there may be zero on the table for them, they’re done."
According to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), South Carolina had 1,121 teacher vacancies in February 2022.
According to CERRA data, in the 2020-21 school year, 5,996 South Carolina teachers left the positions they held the previous year, while only 2,226 students graduated with either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a teaching program in South Carolina.
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South Carolina State Senator Mike Fanning is a strong supporter of increasing teacher pay. He said if the proposed budget passes, it’ll be a huge hit to education.
"This is the first time the Senate has ever said we're not going to treat all teachers equally," Fanning said. "I think this is very scary because, right now, contracts are going out to teachers in every school district in the state. The state is issuing contracts to their teachers asking them, 'Will you come back next year?' The time could not be worse for the actions taken this week."
The proposed budget heads to the Senate floor next, so there is a chance it could still change, but Fanning said judging by the way things have gone so far, he doubts it.
If the proposed budget passes as it’s written now, state funding for high school students enrolled in college credit courses would be eliminated and funding for vocational training in high schools like welding and cosmetology would decrease.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.