ICYMI: New Report Finds SC Public Schools Lose $3.2B to Special Tax Breaks

Columbia, SC –  In case you missed it, Good Jobs First released a staggering report that South Carolina’s public schools have lost nearly $3.2 billion due to tax abatements over the span of five years from 2017-2023. This alarming figure highlights significant funds that could have supported our public education system. For the same money, South Carolina schools could have hired more than 6,600 instructors each year.

“We understand why businesses come to South Carolina and appreciate their contributions to our economy. However, if they are genuinely invested in our communities, they must prioritize our educators and students by paying their school tax. Our schools and children should be held harmless in these deals. We are asking policymakers to make that happen,” stated The SCEA President Sherry East. “Our children’s future depends on the quality of their education. It is time for South Carolina to step up and truly support the schools that are foundational to their workforce and South Carolina’s future.”

The South Carolina Education Association (The SCEA) welcomes businesses that choose the Palmetto State to establish and grow their operations. However, in order for genuine investment in our communities, it requires prioritizing the needs of teachers, parents, and the more than 90% of South Carolina children who attend public schools. The SCEA calls on our policymakers and business leaders to reconsider the impact of current tax abatements on public school funding. 

For more information and to access the full report from Good Jobs First, go here and read below:

• Thanks to a public accounting rule that took effect in fiscal year 2017 for South Carolina schools, it can be reliably reported that…for 2023, 61 districts across the state (of the 71 in total) report losing $541 million to corporate tax breaks, compared to $326 million in losses in 2017. 
• In 2024, the 18 school districts that have so far released their annual audits report losses of $226 million. Seventeen school districts throughout the state have lost more than $1,000 per student per year, on average. In 2023, 29 districts lost more than $500 per student. Another 14 had average losses of more than $500 per student per year, between 2017 and 2023. 
• Dorchester County School District 4 had the highest such losses: $3,281 per student per year. Chester County School District and Berkeley County School District followed, losing $2,928 and $1,899 per student per year, respectively.
• The largest 2017-2023 net losses were suffered by: Berkeley County School District ($562 million), Greenville County School District ($314 million), Spartanburg County School District 5 ($260 million), Charleston County School District ($207 million), and Anderson County School District 5 ($170 million). 
• We recommend that every school district’s share of the property tax be 100% shielded from abatements. No state or local agency, board, municipal or county government, or any other political subdivision besides a school board, should be allowed to abate school tax revenues. Florida and Maryland both shield school revenues from abatements, and New York State has proposed legislation to shield schools as well.

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