10-06-2025
Marlboro County School District gives early approval to massive overhaul as $6.8M budget shortfall looms
MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Staring down a nearly $7 million budget shortfall, the Marlboro County School District on Monday gave early approval to a plan that would consolidate schools, freeze salaries and reallocate positions.
With the new fiscal year set to begin July 1, getting a spending plan in place is critical for a number of reasons including grant submissions and contract renewals.
'The longer we go without a budget, the more we're going to have to continue to lose teachers, because that's what's happening,' Superintendent Helena Tillar said during a nearly two-hour board meeting. 'We don't have a budget, and they don't feel secure.'
Officials last week spent hours reviewing and eventually rejecting three options, so district leaders came back with a fourth on Tuesday that would trim the deficit to $691,000.
Here's what it includes:
Reducing service days from 240 to between 220 and 210 for assistant principals, bookkeepers, elementary and middle school guidance counselors and receptionists
Consolidating schools to include Bennettsville Elementary, Blenheim Elementary, Wallace Elementary Middle and McColl Middle
Reallocation of 14 positions from general fund money to federal funds
Closure of Bennettsville Intermediate and Clio Elementary
Relocation of pre-kindergarten to second graders from Clio Elementary to Bennettsville Primary School by sending Clio third graders to Blenheim Elementary
Relocation of Bennettsville Intermediate fourth and fifth graders to Blenheim
Fill vacancies in-house
Option to move district's alternative program into Bennettsville Intermediate
Closure of AMI center with option for rentals
Salary freezes for all personnel expect teachers
Tillar said deeper reductions such as removing Chromebooks from classrooms would affect curriculum and hinder academic performance in the roughly 4,500-student district.
'To eliminate Chromebooks, we'd be going backwards in our instructional programs,' she said. 'Every district has one-to-one technology that they use with their students, and so for us to take those, we'd be crippling our students.'
Board members were split on the so-called 'Option D,' but approved its first reading to give district leaders a blueprint. The board is set to meet again on June 16 for a public hearing and second vote before final approval sometime later this month.
'I think it would give us stability in the district, because a lot of staff are uneasy,' board member Bryan Sweatt said. 'This is contract time, and I know a lot of them are looking.'
Board members said a tax hike could be possible in the future not only to avoid another budget crisis, but to boost reserve funds and avoid possible layoffs. The district hasn't approved a mill rate increase in more than a decade.
'Since 2014, we've been trying to save taxpayers money, and that's really what got us here,' board member Michael Toms said.
Board member Danny Driggers agreed.
'We either get rid of the people that we want to lead our education forward, or we tax the people that's paying them. That's a tough decision,' he said.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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