Fort Mill schools aim to pay new teachers $50K, potentially highest in all of SC

A new teacher in the Fort Mill School District could earn $50,000 a year starting this fall, if the school board passes a budget proposed Tuesday night. That salary would be more than any South Carolina district pays starting teachers now.

New teachers in the Fort Mill district now begin at $47,000 per year, with new teachers in the fall potentially in line for a 6.4% pay increase. The proposed budget would increase pay for all positions and experience levels based on scale system used statewide.

”It is not a flat increase but it absolutely is an increase for every teacher in our district,” said district associate superintendent over finance Leanne Lordo.

That $50,000 rate would top current starting rates for nearby districts in the region, including the roughly $46,000 rate for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Fort Mill would start at $50,000 with the goal of adjustments across multiple years to increase earning potential for educators as they stay longer with the district, Lordo said. In South Carolina, teacher pay increases with each year of experience and with educational degrees earned.

Those changes mean, for example, a first-year teacher in with a bachelor’s degree in South Carolina today earns a minimum of $42,500 but a first-year teacher with a masters degree earns $47,576. With five years experience, that bachelor’s degree increases to $43,306 and the masters degree bumps to $48,462.

The South Carolina Department of Education lists those state amounts, and pay scales for each district. And districts can set their scales above those state amounts, but can’t go below them.

Districts across the area are working through their 2024-25 budgets now so it’s unclear how the $50,000 in Fort Mill would compare statewide.

The York School District, for instance, increased teacher salaries this year by $3,000 to $45,180. But staff and the school board are still budgeting and don’t have details yet on pay increases, said district spokeswoman Latoya Dixon.

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In the ongoing school year, minimum starting salaries across South Carolina range from $42,500 to $48,655.

Nine districts pay the state minimum. The Beaufort County School District pays starting teachers the most. Four other districts in Anderson, Charleston and Greenville counties pay more than Fort Mill, which is highest in the Rock Hill region.

Rock Hill region starting teacher pay

The Clover School District has a minimum salary at $46,511. Next are the Lancaster County School District ($45,940) and Rock Hill School District ($45,918). York and the Chester County School District each start at $45,180.

The school year starting in 2019 ended abruptly as the COVID pandemic shut down school buildings and sent students to virtual learning. The following year, with education still largely virtual, area districts mostly held starting teacher pay amounts steady. They’ve grown considerably since.

Starting teacher pay increased 17% over the past three school years in Fort Mill. Clover, York and Chester County schools increased 16%. Pay rose 15% in Rock Hill and Lancaster County. As the only area district to increase its base amount the year prior, Lancaster County is up 16% in four years.

Increases have at times been almost lockstep with one another across area districts. The school board in Clover still has work sessions, board meetings and a public hearing before it’s budget is finalized, likely in June.

The district will offer initial budget comments when the school board meets Monday night.

One issue common to districts across the area is state funding, something districts have incomplete estimates for now.

Chester County won’t approve its budget until the summer, said district spokesman Chris Christoff Jr.

But a budget workshop last week included a state draft of a $47,000 required minimum that could impact districts like Chester.

Other efforts to raise teacher pay

In announcing his proposed 2024-’25 budget in January, Gov. Henry McMaster noted the $42,500 minimum salary is up from $30,113 seven years ago. That executive budget called for a starting salary increase to $45,000 and a goal of hitting $50,000 by 2026.

This year there’s a starting teacher pay threshold in North Carolina at $39,000 which is projected to increase this fall to $41,000.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will vote next week on a budget that could include a starting teacher supplement of more than $7,600. Starting teacher pay, at about $46,000 now, would increase to more than $48,600 next year with the supplement, according to The Charlotte Observer.

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Fort Mill costs to teacher salary increase

Lordo outlined priorities needed in what’s expected to be a $234 million budget for the coming school year. The district spends 89.4% of its budget on salary and benefits.

The highest-priority new spending items, at about $14 million, also include dozens of new teachers, assistants and other staff positions.

The district has more than 18,000 students as the communities it serves grow, and the past few years funding has shifted. What was close to 60% state and 40% local revenue is now flipped, Lordo said. A three-year-old educational funding model is unfavorable to higher-growth and wealthier districts, she and board members say.

“The bare minimum of what the state would require us to do, would cost more than the money that we’re getting,” said board chairwoman Kristy Spears.

The new budget could come with a millage increase of up to 21.9 mills.

Homeowners in South Carolina don’t pay for operating millage on their primary residence. Owners of rental properties or vehicles would feel the increase, as would commercial properties.

Each mill increase in Fort Mill would would add $10.50 per year for every $100,000 in commercial property, $6 a year for every $100,000 of rental property and 60 cents for every $10,000 of value in a vehicle.

The board will resume budget talks May 7 ahead of a public hearing June 4.