TWO DAYS @ THE CAPITOL march 13 | april 10 inside Steps to take before you arrive ...... 1 Meeting location, logistics ............. 1 Agenda ........................................... 1 Map ................................................. 2 Top legislative priorities, position Columbia Metropolitan statements and talking points Convention Center K12 state spending plan ................ 3 (See map on page 2) School start date ............................ 5 List of legislators .............................. 7 Notes pages ................................. 14 Special attachment: South Carolina Career Opportunity and Access for All Act #schoolboardstrong SCSBA looks forward to seeing you Wednesday As a school board member, administrator or a local public school advocate, your presence at the State House standing up for public schools makes a difference. Leaders of local school districts, school board members and administrators know best the impact state policy proposals can have on their schools. To help prepare for discussions with lawmakers on Tuesday, this handout provides information on the legislative issues you will be discussing with your legislators. Each issue includes an overview, position statement and talking points. Please note that legislation can change quickly as it moves through the process. SCSBA will be sure to pass along any changes or updates. #schoolboardstrong TWO DAYS @ THE CAPITOL Before you arrive • Additionally, metered parking is available along many of the streets around the facility. 1. Contact members of your legislative delegation to arrange a meeting between 10:30 a.m. State House visits and noon at the State House. New this year: After the morning’s legislative briefing, Invite your Senate and House members to the participants will head to the State House (see luncheon. map of State House complex) and have an hour 2. Study the legislative issues, position statements and a half to meet with legislators and attend and talking points to prepare for your meetings any scheduled committee meetings. If the House with legislators. or Senate is in session, requests to speak with 3. Review the education-related committee legislators can be made by completing a form meetings that may be scheduled for the day. on the desk near the entrance of both chambers. Be sure to keep notes of your conversations 4. Check the weather forecast for chances of rain with legislators to share on the debriefing form to determine if you should pack an umbrella, provided in your meeting packet. and don’t forget coins for parking meters if you are planning to park on the street. Agenda Meeting location 8:45 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center is located at 1101 Lincoln St., Columbia, SC 29201. 9:15 a.m. Welcome Parking Tony Folk, SCSBA President, Dorchester 4 There are multiple parking options at or near Scott Price, SCSBA Executive Director the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center: Briefing on legislative issues • The CMCC parking lot adjacent to the facility Debbie Elmore, SCSBA Director of Governmental may be available at no charge on a first-come, Relations and Communications first-served basis. Parking availability is subject to 10:15 a.m. change, based on event times and the number State House visits/meetings with legislators of events in the building. (see State House complex map) • Pay-for-parking garages are operated by the City of Columbia and are available 24/7. 12:30 p.m. Customers can pay by cash or credit card. A Lunch and program cashier is on site most days from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Charges are $2 for the first hour and $1 PLEASE NOTE: School bus transportation will be for every additional hour but are no more than available to and from the State House. $10 for the day. Customers with lost tickets will automatically be charged $10 regardless of hours parked in the garage. South Carolina School Boards Association 1 2019 Top Legislative Issues and Talking Points TWO DAYS @ THE CAPITOL State House complex and Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center Public entrance to the State House is on the Sumter Street (east) side of the building. Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center entrance is on Lincoln Street. The convention center’s street address is 1101 Lincoln Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Lady St. Park St. Main St. Sumter St. Lincoln St. Assembly St. Gervais St. Public entrance State House Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center Senate St. Dennis Gressette Hampton Calhoun (Senate) CMCC Blatt (House) Brown Pendleton St. Dennis Gressette Parking (Senate) College St. Blatt (House) Greene St. South Carolina School Boards Association 2 2019 Top Legislative Issues and Talking Points Top legislative priorities, position statements and talking points K12 state spending plan The S.C. Department of Education (SCDE) estimates that the failure to increase the BSC House bill 4000 actually decreases the state’s BSC cost by about With a projection of about $1 billion in additional $18 per student for the next fiscal year. The General Fund revenues and an estimated amount of the current year’s BSC of $2,485 per $16 million growth in Education Improvement student will become $2,467 (the implied per pupil Act (EIA) funds, the House Ways and Means amount) due to the increase in the number of Committee wrapped up its work in late February students in K12 public schools next year. to appropriate most of those dollars. Whitmire said the budget plan represents the Teacher pay raises beginning of education reform, which will be a multi-year process and include funding The $9 billion state spending plan, among other reform and policy reforms. He said the BSC only things, directs school districts to fund a 4 percent represents a “portion of what we’re sending to the teacher pay raise but adds no increase in classroom and is not an accurate figure of true funding for the Base Student Cost (BSC) to help state per pupil funding.” pay for the state-mandated teacher step pay increase and other expenses. The $159 million He said the 4 percent teacher pay raise was the increase in the state spending plan is also to pay first phase of salary increases and “will be fully for raising the starting teacher pay from $32,000 implemented in the years to come.” to $35,000. The pay raise, the increases in starting teacher pay and the state-mandated teacher step No more Base Student Cost increase will mean a 6 to 10 percent pay raise In presenting the K12 budget to the full for teachers with zero to four years of experience. committee, K12 Subcommittee Chairman Bill Teachers with five to 23 years of experience and Whitmire announced that next year’s budget above will get a 4 percent pay raise. renames and changes the calculation for determining what was known as the Base Rural infrastructure funding Student Cost (BSC) in the Education Finance The proposed spending plan also includes the Act (EFA). The new line entitled “State Aid to governor’s budget request for a Rural School Classrooms” was created by rolling up two District and Economic Development Closing budget lines: EFA Base Student Cost and EFA Fund that is comprised of excess debt service Fringe. These two lines were simply merged, funding. and no new money was added to either. The $135 million fund includes $50 million Also troubling is the new budget line item appropriated to the SCDE for capital that eliminates the annual inflation factor improvements in schools with 70 percent or more requirements in the EFA. student poverty. Eligible capital improvement “This budget creates a new per pupil calculation projects include health and safety upgrades, by rolling up lines to create a ‘State Aid to technology upgrades, upgrades associated with Classrooms’ line,” Whitmire said. “Last year, the career and technology education programs Base Student Cost was $2,485. The State Aid to and deferred maintenance needs. The SCDE is to Classrooms for next year will be $3,846 per pupil.” develop and maintain an application process for What else is unclear? Whether the $159 million school districts to request funding. includes an estimated $32 million increase that is The remaining $85 million is directed to the S.C. needed to maintain the current year’s BSC. Department of Commerce for projects that create a minimum of 50 jobs located within 28 South Carolina School Boards Association 3 2019 Top Legislative Issues and Talking Points school districts with the lowest Index of Taxpaying needs tax credit as eligible to participate in Ability (ITA) in the state. any sport offered at the public school the child is zoned to attend. Other budget highlights • The professional development funds proviso • $14.8 million for public charter schools was expanded to allow the use of those funds • $4.2 million in EIA funding for a 1 percent for computer science standards, early literacy employer retirement contribution and learning and school safety. • $10 million in EIA funding for School Resource • A new proviso was added to extend the Officers (SROs) pilot program in five school districts that are • $20 million for instructional materials developing alternative methods of instruction for make-up days. • $19.3 million in lottery funding for the lease, purchase of school buses • A new proviso was added to allow any new part-time school cafeteria worker to opt out • $49.7 million for health insurance costs for of participating in the state retirement system state employees within 30 days after starting work. • $750,000 in EIA funds to the University of South Carolina College of Education to conduct a Position statement pilot Rural Teacher Recruitment program in no • SCSBA believes that the General Assembly fewer than 10 school districts, four of which must meet its commitment to fully fund must be along the I-95 corridor and serve no state-mandated educational programs for fewer than 250 teacher candidates.