Money “FOUND” for Special Education in SC

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

South Carolina is all set to appropriate $75M to districts across the state in order to avoid federal penalties for not spending more on Special Education over the past few years.

Apparently the economy in South Carolina isn’t as bad as some would have us believe. State education leaders say they “found” the money to spend on special education from a few sources. Jay Ragley with the Education Department says an unexpected uptick in revenue from a .01-cent Education tax helped, along with a decrease in transportation fuel costs and an improved economy.

The money will be distributed to the districts based on the special needs populations they service by June 30th.

Greenville County apparently has the largest Special Education population. They are receiving $8 million, the most in the state.  Berkeley County will receive $3 million, Dorchester District 2 $2 million, Charleston County $1 million, and Dorchester District 4 $253,000.