In an emotional debate before a standing-room-only crowd Monday night, Horry County school board members approved a plan to cut the number of at-will employees in the district and also approved its second charter school this fall.
The district has about 120 at-will employees - administrators and teachers - who are drawing retirement in South Carolina and have gone back to work without the legal entitlement a contract gives for guaranteed employment. Their compensation is not capped by the state, and the district is looking to cut costs with a huge budget shortfall expected for 2011-12, estimated to be closer to $20 million than the previously stated $17 million.
The approved plan requires supervisors to give compelling justification for rehiring post-retirees by identifying critical needs and/or specific skill sets as requirements for consideration.
The district will continue to reduce the percentage of post-retirees each year with a goal of no more than 100 rehired in 2011-12. The plan calls for reducing at-will nonteaching staff to a nominal level within three years and reducing the contract length of any post-retiree with a contract of more than 190 days by five to 10 days. The district also will modify accrued and earned leave days.
The at-will plan was unanimously approved after a failed attempt to pass the proposal with several amendments, one of which would have protected teachers but not principals and other at-will employees.
Teachers have appeared before the board to make their case for those who have a long history with Horry County Schools. They stress teacher experience and say they should not be penalized because they took advantage of retirement options allowed by the legislature when teachers from other states are treated differently.
Employees who have retired from school districts in other states and come to work in South Carolina are not at issue. After successfully completing one year of employment, those employees are put on a continuing contract and given credit for their previous experience, as S.C. law allows.
The board also approved the Academy of Hope Charter School, which gained conditional authorization from the board at its Aug. 23 meeting.
The two concerns that still lingered were that the proposed school does not have a permanent facility and that there could be a violation of Title IX because the school proposes to offer single-gender math and science classes without offering co-educational classes for math and science. Officials with the school are still trying to secure a location.
The school's plan is to be year-round, serving kindergarten through eighth grade and featuring an international business program. Horry County Schools does not have a comparable co-educational program that could be offered to the academy's students should a state or federal agency require that it must be offered, HCS Superintendent Cindy Elsberry said.
The academy proposal passed on the condition that it obtains a permanent facility and receives the required certificate of occupancy from the state's Office of School Facilities by July 1.
Charter schools are schools of choice established by contract between an outside group, such as parents and teachers, and the school board. The group operates the school with a certain amount of autonomy from state regulation, but because it is publicly funded, it is open to all students and is accountable to the school board for transparency, programs and goals.
The school district currently has two charter schools in operation - Bridgewater Academy, which was established in 2003, and Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success, which opened its doors this fall.
A third charter school, the Palmetto Academy for Learning Motorsports, was approved by the board on Oct. 25.
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