Study: Horry Schools must increase teacher salaries to compete with other SC districts
Horry County Schools isn’t paying its employees as much as other South Carolina school districts, according to a study the district commissioned.
The district contracted Management Advisory Group to study its compensation compared to similar districts and businesses to help improve employee retention and recruitment.
The total cost of bringing its staff’s salary levels up to industry standards will be about $10-14 million at a time when government agencies are looking to cut costs due to financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Russell Campbell, senior consultant for Management Advisory Group, presented an overview of their findings Monday during the school board’s virtual meeting.
The study examined more than 6,000 positions and 200 job titles within the district, and how those same positions are compensated in other school districts including Greenville, Charleston and Georgetown, as well as other public agencies including Horry County, City of Myrtle Beach and Santee Cooper.
Based on the group’s findings, the district lags behind its competitors by 11.7 percent at its minimum compensation levels and 3.5 percent at its highest compensation levels for non-instructional staff. Campbell noted that the district’s compensation packages are not competitive with positions including assistant principals and nurses, but its bus drivers are “some of best paid in state.”
HCS’ salaries for teachers were also lower than their competitors, particularly compared to Greenville and Charleston school districts, which are the only districts with higher student populations in the state.
Campbell explained that bringing non-instructional staff’s salaries and benefits up to industry standards will cost about $5.5 million. He offered two options for increasing teacher salaries: $4.4 million when looking at all school districts in the study or $8.6 million to compete specifically with Greenville and Charleston.
Campbell said he’d recommend implementing the first option, which would cost a total of $9.9 million, because pay alone doesn’t dictate where someone chooses to work, and he understands the current state of the economy makes adding costs a difficult decision.
Annual staff STEP increases and a planned increase in employer contribution rate for retirement benefits have already been suspended until the state passes its 2020-21 budget.
Board members had previously discussed the importance of having this study’s results in time to implement recommendations in its 2020-21 budget, but Board Chairman Ken Richardson recently told The Sun News that he doesn’t see any way they can act on the study without clarity on the future of the district’s financial situation.
Board member John Poston said he’s excited to have this data, but he acknowledged the difficulty of the timing, and he urged other board members to make sure these recommendations are funded in a sustainable manner.
The board had previously contracted another company to conduct a similar study a few years ago, but they weren’t happy with the lack of data included in that final report, and minimal changes were implemented as a result.
Campbell said many staff members expressed concern that this study would also yield minimal results.
Given the district’s current financial uncertainty, Campbell recommended increasing salaries and benefits across two school year budgets, meaning half during 2020-21 and the other half during 2021-22.
The Sun News has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the district seeking the final report, which Campbell said is about 600 pages.
