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H. 4164
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Hagood
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20564sd03.doc
Introduced in the House on May 6, 2003
Currently residing in the House Charleston Delegation
Summary: Charleston County School District, superintendent
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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5/6/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-31
5/6/2003 House Referred to Charleston Delegation HJ-32
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND ACT 340 OF 1967, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION OF CHARLESTON COUNTY IS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE DISTRICT AND TO PROVIDE FOR HIS SELECTION, DUTIES, AND POWERS, TO REVISE AND FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE POWERS OF EACH OF THE CONSTITUENT DISTRICT BOARDS OF TRUSTEES AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THESE POWERS ARE EXERCISED, AND TO DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS AND PERSONNEL AND THE TRANSFER OF TEACHERS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 4 of Act 340 of 1967 is amended to read:
"Section 4. The Superintendent of Education of Charleston County shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District to serve under such terms and conditions as the board may prescribe. He shall be selected on the basis of professional qualifications as an administrator and shall have had experience in the administration of the affairs of schools. The Superintendent of Education of the Charleston County School District, in addition to the duties imposed upon county superintendents of educations by the general laws of the Sate, shall perform such other duties as shall be prescribed by the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District. The Superintendent of Education of Charleston County shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District (known as the Charleston County School Board, the school board or the board) to serve pursuant to those terms and conditions as the board may prescribe. He shall be selected on the basis of professional qualifications as determined by the Charleston County School Board, and which qualifications need not include experience or certification as an education administrator. The Superintendent of Education of the Charleston County School District, in addition to the duties imposed upon county superintendents of education by the general law of the State, shall serve as the chief executive officer of the district and shall implement the policies established by the Charleston County School Board. He shall hire all personnel necessary to conduct the business of the district, including, without limitation, teachers, principals, area superintendents, assistant superintendents, resource personnel, other countywide school personnel, and constituent district personnel. He shall also perform those other duties as shall be prescribed by the Charleston County School Board. The legal exercise of power or duty by the superintendent may be overridden by the board only by a two-thirds vote of the membership."
SECTION 2. Section 5 of Act 340 of 1967 is amended to read:
"Section 5. In addition to the duties, powers, and responsibilities now provided by law for county boards of education, and for school district trustees other than those devolved upon the constituent trustees in Sections 6 and 7 of this act, the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District shall:
(1) Adopt and alter a corporate seal;
(2) Adopt and publish administrative policies and procedures and maintain a system of public relations which will keep the public fully informed of the operation of the public schools;
(3) Prescribe uniform employment procedures, position qualifications, and a uniform salary schedule for all professional personnel and establish and maintain a program of profession personnel an establish and maintain a program of professional personnel recruitment to enable all schools in the county to employ fully-certified and capable employees;
(4) Upon recommendation of the Superintendent of Education of the Charleston County School District, appoint such number of assistant superintendents, resource personnel, and other countywide personnel as deemed necessary;
(5) Provide programs of in-service education for professional educational personnel in the county and promote the continuous development of qualified public leadership for the county schools;
(6) Borrow in anticipation of the collection of taxes, state aid or federal aid. The borrowing shall be in the form of notes, maturing not later than one year from the date of issue, bearing such rate of interest as the board shall determine. The notes shall be payable, both principal and interest, from the funds in anticipation of the receipt of which they are issued, and to the payment of the principal of and interest on the notes for which such funds shall be pledged;
(7) Determine and evaluate the educations program in the schools in the constituent districts and provide a systematic program of curriculum development and revision designed to provide maximum educational opportunities for each child in the county;
(8) Provide for physically and mentally handicapped children educational programs organized and conducted in cooperation with the social or civic organizations and agencies in the county or community; provided for intellectually gifted children a program which shall challenge their talents;
(9) Keep an accurate record of board proceedings, which record shall be kept in the office of the board sand shall be open to public inspection;
(10) Authorize the purchase and sale of land, the planning and construction of new school facilities, and the maintenance and repair of existing buildings and grounds, and develop long-range planning for physical facilities and the educational program in the county;
(11) Adopt a system of budgetary controls and annually adopt a budget, with power to revise when necessary, sufficient to meet the educational needs of the district;
(12) Provide for the disbursement of all county, state, and federal educational funds received by the county or by any constituent district in the county;
(13) Establish and maintain a central purchasing system for the purchase of all contractual services, equipment, and supplies and purchase all equipment and supplies pursuant to rules promulgated by the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District;
(14) Prescribe the forms of vouchers or pay warrants to be used in said district;
(15) Cooperate with the County Council of Charleston in the annual audit of the financial affairs of the district and one copy of each audit shall be kept in the office of the board, and one copy shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Charleston County, to be open to the public.
(A) The General Assembly by the provisions of this act has determined to revise the governance structure of the Charleston County School District using as a guide the following governance principles:
(1) the school board serves the district's ownership, the people of Charleston County;
(2) the school board defines and delegates;
(3) the school board makes policy decisions;
(4) the school board's primary role is determining the district's goals;
(5) the school board sets operating parameters for the district superintendent;
(6) the school board sets its own processes and policies to ensure effective board performance;
(7) the school board empowers the district superintendent and requires accountability; and
(8) the school board measures the superintendent's performance against appropriate evaluation criteria, including student achievement.
(B) In addition to the duties, powers, and responsibilities now provided by law for county boards of education or boards of school trustees, the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District shall:
(1) adopt and alter a corporate seal;
(2) establish the mission of the Charleston County School District and determine the benefit to be conferred by the district on what persons and at what cost;
(3) determine, implement, evaluate, and revise as necessary a systematic, comprehensive program of educational services that assures that every child has maximum educational opportunities so that every child meets at least the minimum standard at each grade level established by the State subject to modification for professionally assessed and documented disabilities;
(4) hire a superintendent to serve as chief executive officer of the school district;
(5) not less than annually, establish objective educational goals for which the superintendent shall be responsible and evaluate the superintendent based on how well the school system achieves those goals;
(6) prescribe the policies within the limits of which, reasonably interpreted by the superintendent, the superintendent shall operate the district;
(7) borrow in anticipation of the collection of taxes, state aid, or federal aid. The borrowing must be in the form of notes, maturing not later than one year from the date of issue, bearing the rate of interest as the board determines. The notes must be payable, both principal and interest, from the funds in anticipation of the receipt of which they are issued and to the payment of the principal of and interest on the notes for which the funds are pledged;
(8) authorize the purchase and sale of land, evaluate the superintendent's execution of the maintenance and repair of existing buildings and grounds, and provide long-range planning for educational programs and physical facilities;
(9) adopt a system of budgetary controls and annually adopt a budget, with power to revise when necessary, sufficient to meet the educational needs of the district;
(10) provide for the disbursement of all county, state, and federal educational funds received by the county or by any constituent district in the county;
(11) provide educational programs for physically and mentally handicapped needs children organized and conducted in cooperation with social or civic organizations and agencies in the county or community; provide for intellectually gifted children's programs which shall challenge their talents;
(12) transfer any pupil from one school to another so as to promote the best interest of education, and determine the school in which any pupil shall enroll;
(13) keep an accurate record of board proceedings, which record must be kept in the office of the superintendent and open to public inspection;
(14) authorize the purchase and sale of land, the planning and construction of new school facilities, and the maintenance and repair of existing buildings and grounds;
(15) adopt an ongoing and systematic process of evaluation and analysis to determine the cost effectiveness of instructional and other programs implemented by the school district and cause to be made the changes as are indicated by the evaluation. Exclusive of reports and evaluations specifically protected under confidentiality statutes, all evaluations of instructional and other programs immediately shall be made available to the public;
(16) cause to be conducted an annual audit of the financial affairs of the district, the results of the audit to be reported to the public. One copy of each audit must be kept in the office of the board, and one copy must be filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Charleston County, to be open to the public;
(17) engage as a board not less than annually in an ongoing program of board development and training in policy governance and effective board operations;
(18) ensure that the school district at every level complies with both the letter and the intent of all statutes, regulations, and directives that pertain to the engagement of parents and the broader community in the process of public education; and
(19) delineate the roles and responsibilities of the trustees in each of the constituent districts, consistent with the letter and intent of this act."
SECTION 3. Section 7 of Act 340 of 1967 is amended to read:
"Section 7. The trustees in each of the constituent districts shall have the power in their respective districts, subject to the appeal to direction and approval of the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District in the manner provided in Sections 21-247, et seq. of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1962:
(1) To transfer any pupil from one school to another within the same constituent district so as to promote the best interest of education, and determine the school within such constituent district in which any pupil shall enroll;
(2) to suspend or dismiss pupils when the best interest of the schools makes it necessary;
(3)(2) to cooperate with the State Highway Department Departments of Public Safety and Transportation in enforcing safety rules and regulations applicable to school buses and making provisions for school bus transportation within the area of a constituent district where such the transportation has heretofore been in operation in such these areas;
(4)(3) to require all school buses operated under any a transportation contract to be covered by casualty liability insurance in an amount to be fixed by said the constituent district trustees, the policies to be approved by said the constituent district trustees, the polices to be approved by said the trustees and filed in the office of the Superintendent of Education of the Charleston County School District; and
(4) to serve in an advisory capacity and perform such other functions as may be designated by the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District.
The trustees in each of the constituent districts shall keep an accurate record of their proceedings, which record shall must be kept in their office and shall must be open to the public inspection, and they shall annually make recommendations annually to the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District relative to the educational affairs of the respective districts."
SECTION 4. To the extent the provisions of this act conflict with any other local or general law provisions, the provisions of this act control.
SECTION 5. Sections 6 and 8 of Act 340 of 1967 are repealed.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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