By FITSNews || As the longest, deepest economic recession in eight decades continues to drive unemployment up and income levels down in South Carolina, the state’s worst-in-the-nation public school system is still holding onto hundreds of millions of dollars in reserve funds.
This despite record funding increases.
According to data obtained by FITS, South Carolina’s eighty-five school districts currently have $713.7 million in their reserve accounts.
That’s $75 million less than they had a year ago – a 9.5% decline – but still $200 million more than districts had in reserve just five years ago.
Only two districts – Kershaw County and Florence County School District 4 – were running negative fund balances. The other eighty-three districts were in the black.
Obviously, these reserve accounts do not included the $8.4 billion budgeted for public education this year – a record amount.
Horry County, for example, has a $55 million reserve balance, while Greenville County ($48 million), Richland One ($37 million), Florence One ($33 million) and Beaufort County ($32 million) also boast sizable reserve accounts.
Check out the numbers for yourself by clicking on the link below …
WEB EXTRA
SC School District Reserve Fund Balances
By vicupstate February 11, 2010 at 3:24 pm
No well run government operates without a reserve in place. That is simply intelligent, CONSERVATIVE operating procedure. What is the PERCENTAGE of the operating budget represented by these figures? Money does not flow into government at a steady clip. Property taxes in particular are skewed toward the end of the year. Salaries and expenses ARE steady for the most part. Plus, emergencies arise such as Hurricanes, storms, broken water pipes, etc.
Not to mention that budget cuts are looming ahead, so obviously in preparation for that, belt tightening has already taken place.
Simply throwing out seemingly large number reveals very little.
By Weighing In February 11, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Yeah, I’m confused. Isn’t it smart to have reserves. Seems to be a conservative and prudent thing to do, especially with 2011-2012 projections that are murky.
By Daniel February 11, 2010 at 4:53 pm
A key piece of information would be what level of reserves the distrits are required to maintain pursuant to their bond covenants.
By BIN News Editorial Staff February 11, 2010 at 6:42 pm
sic(k) willie, “you ignorant slut.”
Our Funding Editor dearly loves that famous quote from SNL because it fits sic(k) willie perfectly.
sic(k) willie’s financial experience is limited to his bar tabs, and the red ink from his porn site.
He knows it’s good business to maintain a reserve for a “rainy day.”
And folks (pun intended), it’s raining on public eduction.
Teachers are losing jobs. Educational programs are being cut, and children are suffering because of funding shortfalls. The SC Legislature has handed education cut after cut after cut. And more cuts may follow.
School districts are depending on their reserve funds because they know they can’t depend on our Legislature. A fine mess they made.
At the same time sic(k) willie, Howie the Voucher Fairy and the other voucher clowns are still pushing a voucher scam to take even more funding away and leave those who need help the most even further behind.
The good news is that vouchers are dead in SC. They were dead before, but the recession along with sanfrand hike on the ‘trail have really killed them. No honest Legislator will support them again.
BIN News Editorial Staff
Flair and Balanced
By HMMM February 11, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I want to know too: is this a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe instead of throwing it out like there’s no excuse for it, Fits could let us know both sides of the argument so we could decide. Of course, that would be fair and balanced.
By Darth February 12, 2010 at 9:10 am
While reserves are prudent, keeping the firetrucks in the station while the town is burning down because you need a reserve to keep your ISO 9000 rating is either incompetent or malignant malfeasance. The corridor of blame seems to be a case of malfeasance, in that it is maintained in a wretched condition while funds (in that district’s coffers) that ought to have been used, were held in some ENRON/AIG kabbalistic accounting shell game under an obdurate it’s really tough love for the children, never mind bubba’s bank draws interest and service charges for holding those widow’s mites in escrow.
A good foren-sic audit is overdue.
By bob February 12, 2010 at 3:06 pm
It is too bad that this entire article is based on data back in 2008. One or two things have changed in the past two years. Kinda changes the point doesn’t it… knowing the data is old? (click on the WebExtra link provided at the bottom of the “article” and see for yourself)