BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – With a focus on student opportunity and employee retention/recruitment, the Berkeley County School Board approved its 2022-2023 general fund budget without a millage increase Tuesday.
According to school officials, the goals of the budget were to allow the district to increase instructional assistant, bus driver, bus assistant and custodian salaries while also addressing inflation and providing a 4% salary increase for all employees, including teachers.
“Berkeley County School District remains committed to attracting the best employees for all positions to support student success,” BCSD Board Chairman David Barrow said in a news release. “This budget was passed after much consideration, discussion and input from community members.”
A portion of the increases supported by the board and included in the final version of the budget will be sustained by the district’s fund balance. Salary increases approved by the board in 2021 were also designated to be supported by the fund balance, though expenditures from the fund balance were never needed, school officials said.
According to the district, BCSD boasts a fund balance of $104 million as of June 2021 with an expected increase from the 2021-2022 school year. BCSD Chief Financial Officer Ashley Smith also said the district expects a local tax revenue growth of at least seven percent for the 2022-23 school year.
“We are well over double the requirement that the school board has placed on itself for the fund balance,” Mr. Barrow said. “Because of growth and our normal conservative estimates, when we did this last year, nothing was ever taken from the fund balance. Instead, we added to it.”
Budget Highlights
- Increase in custodian pay from $11.61 an hour to $14.75 an hour
- Increase in instructional assistant pay from $12.73 an hour to $15 an hour
- 5% increase in bus driver pay on the BCSD pay scale (starting salary of $16 an hour to $16.80 an hour; state minimum is currently $8.44)
- Increase in bus assistant pay from $10.90 an hour to $14 an hour
- An ESSER-funded additional $1,000 for classroom teachers
- 4% increase in salary for all employees (excludes custodians, bus drivers, bus assistants and instructional assistants already receiving an increase greater than 4%)
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