Excess revenue could go to Clarendon 1

By ROBERT BAKER
Item staff writer
bbaker@theitem.com

MANNING — A legislative override of one of Gov. Mark Sanford’s vetoes means two Clarendon County school districts can possibly use excess money from the county’s 1-cent capital expenditures sales tax for more than buildings, equipment and other capital expenses.

The tax was initially passed in 2005 and helps Districts 2 and 3 pay down debt. District 2, for example, pays about $1.3 million a year, Superintendent John Tindal said. The districts can use any excess funds on “capital expenditures.”

“In the past, any money that the tax has raised beyond that, we could use, but we had to use it for capital expenditures, which meant things like computers,” Tindal said.

Last year, District 2 spent more than $225,000 for capital items beyond debt payments covered by the tax.

Tindal said he didn’t expect much when he asked county’s legislative delegation this spring to allow more flexibility in spending any excess money, but the bill passed. The governor vetoed it, but on Tuesday the General Assembly overturned Sanford’s veto.

That means Clarendon 2 and 3 — the tax applies only to them — will now be able to ask county council to use any extra money for general fund expenditures during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

“This year, my request was to have flexibility to use the money wherever we needed it,” Tindal said. “We wanted to use it to help pay salaries or to save jobs. This has been a tough year, and we wanted to take every opportunity we could to maintain services and positions.”

Tindal said he is unsure whether the state Supreme Court’s recent decision forcing Sanford to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money, much of it for education, would affect whether he advises his board to seek changes in how excess tax revenue is used.

“If there’s any overage, we will take it back to the (school) board and see how they want to move,” he said.

Any change would need county council approval. Council members could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and County Administrator Bill Houser declined to comment.