| Printed Page 3850, May 21 | Printed Page 3870, May 21 |

DISTRICT 5-7
Area. . . . .Population
Orangeburg County
BETHEL . . . . . 809
COROOVA
Tract 0116.00
Blocks: 343. . . . . 0
NORTH BOWMAN
Tract 0105.00
Blocks: 201, 202A, 202B, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207,
208, 209A, 209B, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215,
216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225,
226, 227, 228, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238,
239, 240A, 240B, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246,
247, 249, 250, 251A, 251B, 252A, 252B, 253A,
253B, 254A, 254B, 255, 256, 257, 258, 301, 302,
303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312,
313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322A,
322B, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331,
332A, 332B, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339,
350, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 412, 413, 414,
415, 416, 417, 418, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430,
431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440,
441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450,
455, 459. . . . . 2,353
NORTH BRANCHVILLE
Tract 0105.00
Blocks: 143, 144, 351. . . . . 32
ORANGEBURG WARD 4
Tract 0106.00
Blocks: 301A, 302, 303, 304A, 305A. . . . . 49
Tract 0107.00
Blocks: 312, 313, 314A, 316, 317, 318. . . . . 85
Tract 0113.00
Blocks: 228. . . . . 0

(B) The eight present school districts of the county shall be abolished on July 1, 1997, and the powers and duties of the respective

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend totals and title to conform.

Rep. STUART explained the amendment.

Rep. COBB-HUNTER demanded the yeas and nays on the adoption of the amendment, which were taken resulting as follows:

Those who voted in the affirmative are:

Felder               Sharpe               Stuart

Those who voted in the negative are:

Cobb-Hunter

So, the amendment was adopted.

Reps. GOVAN, FELDER, STUART and SHARPE, with unanimous consent, proposed the following Amendment No. 18 (Doc Name P:\amend\GJK\22900SD.96), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, in SECTION 1 by striking /Five/ on line 9, page 2, and inserting /Four/ and by striking /Four/ on line 11, page 2, and inserting /Five/;

Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 2(B)(2), by striking /and approval by the county board/ which begins on line 27, page 31;

Amend further, as and if amended, by striking SECTIONS 3 through 10 and inserting:

/SECTION 3. (A) There is also established an Orangeburg County Board of Education on July 1, 1997. The county board of education shall consist of seven members elected in nonpartisan elections beginning in 1997 from the same seven single-member election districts as are members of the governing body of the county. The 1997 nonpartisan election shall be held on the third Tuesday in January, 1997. After the 1997 election, members of the board shall thereafter be elected at nonpartisan elections

Each member of the board must be elected by the qualified electors of the single-member district from which he seeks election. All persons desiring to qualify as a candidate shall file written notice of candidacy with the county election commission on forms furnished by the commission. This notice of candidacy must be a sworn statement and must include the candidate's name, age, election district from which he resides and seeks election, voting precinct, period of residence in the county and election district, and other information as the county election commission requires. The filing period opens on the first day of November, 1996, at noon to run for two weeks for the 1997 election to expire at noon of the last day of the filing period and thereafter is as provided in Section 7-13-352 of the 1976 Code.

The county commissioners of election shall conduct and supervise the elections for members of the county board in the manner governed by the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis. The commissioners shall prepare the necessary ballots, appoint managers for the voting precincts, and do all things necessary to carry out the elections, including the counting of ballots and declaring the results. The commission shall publish notices of the elections in the same manner provided in Section 7-13-35 of the 1976 Code. The results of the elections must be determined by the nonpartisan plurality method as contained in Section 5-15-61 of the 1976 Code.

(B) The county board of education shall have only those powers, duties, and functions as provided in this act and not as provided by the general law, all of the other powers, duties, and functions being reserved to the boards of the particular consolidated school districts.

(C) The county board of education shall serve as a fiscal agent to distribute the countywide school millage levy for operating and debt service purposes to the three consolidated school districts of the county as provided in this act.

(D) The county board of education also shall:

(1) serve as arbitrator in disputes concerning school district lines;

(2) receive a copy of each district's annual audit of its financial affairs;

(3) adopt a budget for the operations of the county board which at no time may in dollar terms exceed the value of one-half mill; and

(4) prescribe a uniform salary schedule for all certified teachers.

(E) The county board of education, in conjunction with the boards of the three consolidated school district, shall develop a formula which will provide for the equalization of the per pupil funding for each of the three consolidated school districts and which must be presented to the county legislative delegation within three years of the effective date of this act.

SECTION 4. (A) The board of trustees of each consolidated school district, before July first of each year beginning in 1997, shall prepare a school district budget for the ensuing school year. Before September second of each year beginning in 1997, the board shall notify the county auditor and treasurer in writing of the millage required for the operation of the schools in the district for the ensuing school year. The notice by the board constitutes authority for the levying and collection of the millage upon all of the real and personal property within the school district. The levy must be placed to the credit of the district and expended for the district. Beginning in 1998, a school district may raise its millage by not more than three mills over that levied for the previous year, adjusted for the EFA inflation factor and sufficient to meet the requirements of Section 59-21-1030 of the 1976 Code. An increase over this amount may be levied only after a majority of the registered electors of the district voting in a referendum called by the board and conducted by the county election commission vote in favor of the millage increase.

(B) Each consolidated board shall hold a public hearing prior to its final approval of the budget for the district. Notice of these public

(C) For purposes of 1997 only, the millage levied for the previous year of a consolidated district must be derived by dividing the total revenue raised in 1996 from school tax millage by each of the former school districts of the county now a part of that consolidated district by the total 1996 assessed value of all taxable property of those former districts less thirty mills.

SECTION 5. (A) Beginning with the year 1997, a countywide school tax millage levy of twenty-five mills for operating purposes is hereby imposed and shall be distributed by the county board to the consolidated school districts of the county based on the following formula:

Step 1. Determine the countywide base student costs by dividing the total value of a countywide mill by the total weighted pupil units of the three consolidated districts. The total weighted pupil units will be determined by the prior year one hundred thirty-five day report for each district.

Step 2. Determine each district's base student costs by dividing the total value of their mill by their total weighted pupil units.

Step 3. The district with the lowest base student cost gets one mill.

Step 4. If any district's base student cost falls below the countywide base student cost, their base student cost will be equalized to the county base student cost.

Step 5. The remaining funds shall be divided equally between the three districts based on their weighted pupil units.

Step 6. Consolidated District Five will receive five mills for hold harmless purposes. These mills will be phased out by reducing the hold harmless mills by one each year over a five-year period beginning in 1998.

Step 7. The five hold harmless mills allocated to Consolidated District Five as these mills are phased out as provided in Step 6, and any additional funds needed from the twenty-five mill countywide levy provided for herein, shall be reallocated to and used to hold Consolidated District Four harmless from losses in the Education Finance Act funding as a result of new industrial additions to the property tax rolls therein up to such twenty-five mill countywide levy.

Step 8. If the wealth per student in a district after equalization falls below ninety-five percent of the highest wealth per student amount, an additional mill will be allocated to that district.

(B) Beginning with the year 1997, a countywide school tax millage levy of five mills for capital improvements or debt service purposes is

Step 1. Determine the countywide base student cost by dividing the total value of a countywide mill by the total weighted pupil units of the three consolidated districts. The total weighted pupil units will be determined by the prior year one hundred thirty-five day report for each district.

Step 2. Determine each district's base student cost by dividing the total value of their mill by their total weighted pupil units.

Step 3. The district with the lowest base student cost gets one mill.

Step 4. If any district's base student cost falls below the countywide base student cost, their base student cost will be equalized to the county base student cost.

Step 5. The remaining funds shall be divided equally between the three districts based on their weighted pupil units.

(C) The county board of education shall make the determinations and allocations required by this section.

SECTION 6. The board of trustees of each consolidated district shall have the powers, duties, and responsibilities as are provided by law including:

(1) employ a superintendent as the chief executive officer;

(2) establish other administrative departments upon the recommendation of the superintendent;

(3) adopt the proposed budget of the school district;

(4) have the power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, or agency of the school district;

(5) adopt and modify attendance zones of schools within the school district except that through school year 1998-99, existing attendance zones cannot be changed;

(6) provide for an independent annual audit of the books and business affairs of the school district and for a general survey of school district business;

(7) cooperate to establish and maintain a central purchasing system for the purchase of contractual services, equipment, and supplies;

(8) cooperate to establish and maintain educational consortia; and

(9) be responsible for policymaking action and the review of regulations established to put these policies into operation.

SECTION 7. (A) On July 1, 1997, the assets and liabilities of the eight present school districts shall be transferred to the respective consolidated district of which they are a part. The records and employees of the eight present school districts of the county must be transferred to

(B) The constitutional debt limitation on the issuance of general obligation bonds applicable to consolidated districts is to be computed based on the assessed value of all taxable property in the consolidated district minus that bonded indebtedness of each of the present school districts made a part of the consolidated district which was includable against the constitutional debt limit of those present school districts.

SECTION 8. In creating the consolidated districts, it is anticipated that there will be savings in the total administrative costs from the former individual districts, that consolidated district level costs will be no more than four percent of federal, state, and local revenues, and that total administrative costs of all districts will be no more than seven and one-half percent of all such revenues by July 1, 2000. Administrative costs shall be those defined in the State Department of Education financial analysis model.

SECTION 9. (A) The eight present school districts of Orangeburg County shall be abolished on July 1, 1997, at which time the consolidated school districts of the county as herein provided shall be established. The terms of all members of the boards of trustees of the eight present school districts of the county shall expire on this date. However, the members of the board of trustees of each consolidated school district elected at the 1997 nonpartisan election shall take office one week following certification of their election as provided in Section 59-19-315 of the 1976 Code. From this date and until July 1, 1997, the boards may organize, begin planning for the changeover to a consolidated district, enter into contracts to effectuate these purposes, and perform other related matters pertaining thereto, except that the responsibility and authority to manage the schools of the county rests solely with the individual boards for each of the eight present districts until July 1, 1997, and no consolidated board may do anything to interfere with this authority.

(B) Any member of one of the eight present school boards of the county may seek election to a consolidated school district board or to the county board of education in 1997. However, if they are elected to such office, prior to assuming the duties thereof, they must first resign as a member of their present board. In this event and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the vacancy on the present board they are vacating shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment of the county legislative delegation.

(C) The members of the county board of education elected at the 1997 election shall take office one week following certification of their election

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend totals and title to conform.

Rep. COBB-HUNTER demanded the yeas and nays on the adoption of the amendment, which were taken resulting as follows:

Those who voted in the affirmative are:

Felder               Govan                Sharpe
Stuart

Those who voted in the negative are:

Cobb-Hunter

So, the amendment was adopted.

The question then recurred to the passage of the Bill, as amended, on third reading.

Rep. COBB-HUNTER demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:

Those who voted in the affirmative are:

Felder               Govan                Sharpe
Stuart

Cobb-Hunter

So, the Bill, as amended, was read the third time and ordered sent to the Senate.

The following Bills and Joint Resolutions were taken up, read the third time, and ordered sent to the Senate.

H. 5028 -- Reps. Neilson, Baxley and J. Hines: A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR A REFERENDUM FOR THE CREATION OF THE J.C. DANIEL CENTER DISTRICT IN DARLINGTON COUNTY.

H. 5029 -- Reps. Boan and Hodges: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 7-7-350, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO VOTING PRECINCTS IN LANCASTER COUNTY, SO AS TO REDESIGNATE THE PRECINCTS AND ADD AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT DESIGNATION WHICH IS MAINTAINED AND KEPT ON FILE WITH THE DIVISION OF RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL SERVICES OF THE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE POLLING PLACES FOR THE PRECINCTS IN LANCASTER COUNTY BE ESTABLISHED BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND VOTER REGISTRATION SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL BY A MAJORITY OF THE LANCASTER COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION.

H. 5014 -- Education and Public Works Committee: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, RELATING TO SCHOOL DISTRICT ORGANIZATIONAL PLANS (REPEAL), DESIGNATED AS REGULATION DOCUMENT NUMBER 1932, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 23, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE.

H. 5016 -- Education and Public Works Committee: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, RELATING TO SCHOOL DAY (REPEAL), DESIGNATED AS REGULATION DOCUMENT NUMBER 1935,

| Printed Page 3850, May 21 | Printed Page 3870, May 21 |