As of July 1, the South Carolina state budget is in.
We recently told you that Greenville secured $19 million from the state for the new downtown conference center, but there’s plenty more in the 182 page budget. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, we’ll give you a head start. Out of the ~$30.1 billion in general funds for the fiscal year 2021-2022, here are some of the places that money is going.
Gov. McMaster says $500 million will go into SC’s “rainy day” reserve fund. The budget states that this money is for any future economic uncertainties.
The budget allows for $1,000 pay raises for SC teachers + enough funding to hire a resource officer and nurse at each school. This year, schools will also be given funding to have access to mental health counselors + expand the needs-based 4-year-old kindergarten. Plus, locally, the budget provides $11,791,854.23 for Greenville Technical College and $6,647,104.97 for UofSC — Upstate.
There’s also money approved in the budget to freeze college tuition, approx. $40 million to increase the state’s workforce training programs, and additional funds to expand broadband access.
South Carolina will also see about $13 million go towards outdoor public spaces + park projects, $20 million will be alloted to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, and an additional $150 million will be divided up for projects across the state.
That’s just the tip of the cold hard cash iceberg. Want to read more? Click here.
