With School Board Pay Veto, CCSD Gets What It Pays For

Want school board trustees moved by noblesse oblige? 

You got 'em.

Want trustees too busy making a decent living to spend time on school board matters? 

You got them, too. 

Evidently, the State of South Carolina has its own Catch-22. When trustees of the Charleston County School Board voted to raise their pay, they were informed that action was illegal.

Now the Governor says that the state legislature's voting to allow pay raises for school boards is also illegal and has vetoed the bill that would allow Charleston school board pay hike.

You can't make this stuff up.

"Charleston County School Board members currently make a $25 stipend per meeting plus gas mileage, making the board one of the lowest-paid among large school districts in South Carolina. The rate is set in the 1967 Act of School Consolidation, a state law that combined numerous small districts to create the Charleston County School District."

"State Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, said he intends to challenge the veto, which would take a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate to override. 'We have special authority constitutionally to legislate in this area because of the constitutional provision that the General Assembly must provide for and fund public education,' Campsen said."

"Proponents of the pay raise have argued that it would allow a broader range of people to serve on the board."

No joke.