In an attempt to “level the playing field for the state’s school children,” state lawmakers are working on a new bill for the school system.
If the bill is enacted, the uniform tax rate would ensure that funding is equally distributed among South Carolina’s public school students. The current funding for the 85 school districts varies depending on where a student lives.
The main priority of the bill is to give a uniform amount of money towards specific groups of students such as those who are gifted, disabled or impoverished. According to research, these groups of students are more expensive to educate.
Rep. Mia Butler Garrick claims that the bill is all about making sure a student in Marlboro County can “have the same educational opportunities as a student in Richland County.”
Critics complain that the bill is “unfair” because it uses local dollars from the local taxpayers in one area of the state to pay for the education of students in another area of the state.
While the critics are right because taxpayers money would go to other areas of the state, it would not necessarily be a terrible thing. This gives all students the opportunity to get a great education. Since we have to pay taxes anyway, it shouldn’t matter which child it helps as long as it is improving a child’s education.
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