Our district confronts a profound fiscal crisis. As parents of students in public schools, you have a right to alert community leaders to the harm further cuts could have in educating every child in our District and State. Further cuts could undermine the District/State’s efforts to raise student academic achievement.

Members of SHS PTSA have been discussing alternative courses of action to avoid or at least mitigate the worst outcomes. We respectfully ask every parent to sign this petition by March 9, 2010 which focuses on immediate steps the General Assembly can take. We further ask that you send a copy of the resolution to each member of your legislative delegation. Specifically, we ask that you take the following actions:

1.       Sign this petition to state that you are in agreement with the resolution

2.       Notify parents and community members of the serious financial crisis before our district, provide them with the resolution, and urge them to ask delegation members to support the resolution’s action items.

SHS PTSA will notify you of any further actions. We believe that we must be willing to take these steps as parents and school supporters for our children’s education.

Thank you for your immediate attention to accomplishing this request.

A RESOLUTION OF THE SUMMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL PTSA

WHEREAS, South Carolina is experiencing a severe economic crisis that is significantly impacting state revenue; and

WHEREAS, over the past two fiscal years South Carolina K-12 public schools have received General Fund budget cuts totaling $484 million which equates to more than a 20 percent reduction; and

WHEREAS, these budget cuts have reduced the base student cost to $1,764 per student, reflecting 1996-1997 funding levels; and

WHEREAS, Education Improvement Act funds have been reduced $112 million over that same two-year period; and

WHEREAS, the most recent figures for the proposed 2010-2011 state budget include additional EIA cuts of $9 million, and EFA cuts of $85 million, reflecting a base student cost of $1,630 (1995 funding level); and

WHEREAS, further cuts in revenue will harm the education of every child in South Carolina, threatening the State’s decades-long effort to raise the levels of educational achievement and personal income of the people of our State; and

WHEREAS, Act 388 (property tax relief act of 2006) has severely hampered school districts’ ability to raise local revenue to offset state funding shortfalls, and has had consequences that will, unless addressed legislatively, cause unintended shifts in the distribution of EFA funds; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly continues to give favorable consideration to legislation such a H. 3272, the point of sale bill, and H.4243, the charter school bill, that will negatively impact local school district revenue; and

WHEREAS, it is apparent to this Board that the K-12 educational system is at risk of significant damage due to the failure to take any action, either immediate or long-term to address our District’s/State’s fiscal crisis.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT SHS PTSA DOES HEREBY STRONGLY URGE the South Carolina General Assembly to support public schools during this economic crisis and prevent the loss of more teacher jobs by providing new revenue streams such as removing tax exemptions, enforcing online sales tax collections, and increasing the State’s cigarette tax to the national average while directing a portion of the proceeds collected from the increase in the cigarette tax to K-12 public education.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the South Carolina General Assembly place an immediate moratorium on the passage of any further laws that will grant additional tax exemptions, or increase school district financial obligations at the local level without adequate and recurring state funding.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the SHS PTSA supports the immediate enactment by the General Assembly of maximum financial flexibility for local school districts.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the SHS PTSA supports Legislative action this year to hold temporarily (for one year only the Index of Taxpaying Ability published in February 2009 and use it for funding fiscal year 2010-2011.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be furnished to our members of the Legislative Delegation and communicated to our parents, businesses and school supporters.

APPROVED by the SHS PTSA at is March 2, 2010 Board Meeting.

As the initiator of this petition, my name is Tanya Robinson, President SHS PTSA

and I can be contacted at  krobinson20@sc.rr.com

for further information in relation to this matter.