BAMBERG – Dealing with the uncertainty of impending state funding cuts captured the attention of the Bamberg School District 1 Board of Trustees during its meeting Monday night, although Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting reported the district is not to the point of having to cut jobs yet.

A three percent cut for all school districts recently announced by the South Carolina Department of Education involves money from the Education Finance Act. Schwarting said the function of EFA funds is to add to the base per pupil cost depending on other factors, such as disability, thereby resulting in more money to the district.

“Right now, the state believes that the easiest and fairest way to make that three percent reduction is to cut those student costs,” Schwarting said. “With the three percent cut – and that could go up to as much as five or six percent – that means we are looking at a $117,000 loss. It could be more or it could be less, but we just don’t know the full extent right now.”

Two ways in which the district can look to save money in other areas involve curtailing the number of field trips taken by students unless they meet a significant academic need and encouraging teachers to report to work whenever possible, she said. Schwarting said the latter move could save the district on substitute teacher costs.

“Last year we spent approximately $178,000 paying substitute teachers to take over for the regular faculty when they missed days in the classroom,” the superintendent said.

Also during the meeting, Schwarting reported attorneys for the school district and the Town of Ehrhardt are currently in the negotiation phase of a move to deed Ehrhardt Elementary School’s property and facilities to the town, although she had no time-line for when that process would be completed.

“It’s in the hands of the lawyers right now, and they are trying to do some research because there is are issues with the property line and some others that must be resolved before this can go forward,” Schwarting said. “One of those issues is ensuring that the district can keep a small, secured parking lot at the back of the building so we can park two buses used for routes in that area.”

Schwarting also reported the scores on the ACT college entrance exam for high school students declined during the 2007-2008 school year from the previous year. In 2006-2007, the overall ACT score for the district was 18.8. That was reduced to 16.9 last year. Schwarting said more ACT and SAT preparation classes will be held at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School this year in an attempt to bring the scores up, although more students did take the ACT last year than in the previous school year.

Six days into the new school year, a new pilot program for an all-boys first grade class at Richard Carroll Primary School was said to be working well. Although Schwarting said the district is prepared to “take action” if the program does not work, she noted a similar program had been successful at Ehrhardt Elementary School during the past two school years. The pilot class is taught by a male teacher.

In other business:

* The board unanimously gave second and final reading approval to a discipline policy for special education students in order to keep the district in line with federal guidelines.

* Schwarting reported that adult education is again “up and running” in the district thanks to a collaboration between all the school districts in both Bamberg and Barnwell counties.

* Two Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School students have been chosen to participate in the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and the Governor’s School of South Carolina at the College of Charleston.

* Trustees Rita M. Sease and Tony Duncan were awarded certificates for completing different levels of the South Carolina School Boards Association’s training program. Duncan completed at least 40 hours for a Level 2 certificate, while Sease was awarded a Level 3 certificate for completing more than 100 hours.

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5540.

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