The Impact of South Carolina Act 388 on District-Level Revenue: A Rural Comparative Analysis

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Rural School-Community Partnerships

Abstract

South Carolina’s Act 388 authorized property tax levy exemptions for school operating purposes despite the function of property tax levies as the most significant source of South Carolinas general revenue. This has created a dually inequitable system, lowering not only local revenue generation, but also state revenue collection. With few options to recover the lost funding, districts have had to contend with greater fiscal uncertainty across the state, during a catastrophic teacher shortage. This rural, non-rural, comparative analysis measures the degree to which Act 388 impacts fiscal capacity through tiered reimbursement. The results of this analysis indicate Act 388 decreases fiscal revenue availability, and that rural districts are at greater risk for decreased revenue.

Authors

• David G. Martinez, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Sharda Jackson Smith, University of South Carolina - Upstate

• Henry Tran, University of South Carolina, Columbia