ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Rock Hill School District is now suing the City of Rock Hill over what it calls "funding issues."
The district claims the city is charging them a fee for electricity that's not consistent with South Carolina law or any previous agreement. The district wants millions of dollars in tax revenue returned back to them after the alleged failed promises by the city.
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Rock Hill Schools issued the following statement:
“The school district can be a partner in economic development when it benefits our students, but our only mission is to educate our students; the District’s goal is not being the financial mechanism for the City’s development projects. We are disappointed in the lack of follow-through from the City of Rock Hill, and are forced to take this step in order to protect the educational future of our students,” said Helena Miller Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Rock Hill Schools has historically partnered with the City of Rock Hill and County Council in several Tax Incremental Financing Plans or TIFs, and the Downtown TIF in question was a consolidation of many of these past agreements. The school district forfeited $85 million dollars of tax income from the Knowledge Park area over a thirty-year time period in exchange for a series of agreed-upon terms such as educational space in Knowledge Park for student education and experiences, help with zoning on a property that the District hopes to sell, and renegotiation of utility rates among others.
As of today, the City of Rock Hill has failed to report their spending of the school district’s money in a requested independent audit, the zoning issue is still not resolved, there is no opportunity for students to learn in a dedicated space in Knowledge Park and the City of Rock Hill has fraudulently overcharged the district for utilities for the sum of $23 million dollars. “We entered this agreement in good faith, and it is heartbreaking to see our students being taken advantage of. We have tried to work with city officials to resolve this over the past two years, and this is our last option to make sure our students are given what the agreement states they should be afforded,” Miller said
The City of Rock Hill has issued the following statement:
"The City of Rock Hill and the Rock Hill School District # 3 have enjoyed a long history of cooperation and mutual assistance to benefit their common taxpayers and serve the children of Rock Hill. Our children are our primary mission and should be the focus of every decision we make. The leadership of the school district has clearly lost its focus with regards to this mission, This dispute stems from agreement related to critical textile xxxxx revitalization project which has been a resounding success for the people of Rock Hill. The city has met all obligations required under this agreement with the school district, an agreement that has already resulted in the city providing over $6-million in cost savings for the school district since 2020.
“We are disappointed with the current dispute and have made every reasonable effort to work with the school district, as we always have done in the past, Regrettably the school district has chosen to file a lawsuit and this aggressive confrontational tactic to bully the city and extract terms more favorable for the school district than the terms provided for in the party's written, understood and executed agreement. "The school district's complaint against the city is without merit and the city will address the legal merits in the legal forum. The city does not believe in addressing, through a public back and forth, its differences with another party and will hold to that going forward."
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