South Carolina H 3792: Clarendon County School District

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3792 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3792

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Introduced

January 30, 2025

H. 3792

Introduced 
by Rep. Pedalino 

L. Printed 1/30/25--S.

Read the first time January 30, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND ACT 106 OF 2021, RELATING TO THE CONSOLIDATION OF 
SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CLARENDON COUNTY INTO THE CLARENDON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, 
SO AS TO CHANGE THE METHOD OF DETERMINING THE RESULTS OF ELECTIONS FOR MEMBERS 
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO ANNUALLY 
SUBMIT ITS PROPOSED BUDGET TO THE CLARENDON COUNTY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. 

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 2(C) 
of Act 106 of 2021 is amended to read:

 (C) All persons 
desiring to qualify as a candidate for the Clarendon County School District 
Board of Trustees shall file written notice of candidacy with the Clarendon 
County Board of Voter Registration and Elections on forms furnished by the 
board. The filing period shall open at 12:00 p.m. on August first or, if August 
first falls on Saturday or Sunday, then 12:00 p.m. on the following Monday and 
shall run until 12:00 p.m. on August fifteenth or, if August fifteenth falls on 
Saturday or Sunday, no later than 12:00 p.m. on the following Monday. This 
notice of candidacy must be a sworn statement and shall include the candidate's 
name, age, election district in which he resides and from which he seeks 
election, voting precinct, period of residence in the county and election 
district, and other information that the board requires. The Clarendon County 
Board of Voter Registration and Elections shall conduct and supervise the 
elections for members of the Clarendon County School District Board of Trustees 
in the manner governed by the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis. 
The board shall prepare the necessary ballots, appoint managers for the voting 
precincts, and do all things necessary to carry out the elections, including 
the counting of ballots and declaring the results. The commission shall publish 
notices of the elections pursuant to Section 7-13-35. The results of the 
elections must be determined by the nonpartisan plurality election and runoff method contained in Section 5-15-615-15-62. The members of 
the consolidated school district elected in these nonpartisan elections shall 
take office one week following the certification of their election pursuant to 
Section 59-19-315.

SECTION 2. Section 3(A) 
of Act 106 of 2021 is amended to read:

 (A) The members of 
the Clarendon County School District Board of Trustees shall elect a chairman 
and other officers they consider necessary for terms that are coterminous with 
their appointed or elected terms of office.

 (B) The Clarendon 
County School District Board of Trustees has the power, duty, and 
responsibility provided by law, including to:

 (1) employ a 
superintendent as the chief executive officer;

 (2) establish 
other administrative departments upon the recommendation of the superintendent;

 (3) adopt the 
annual school district budget subject to approval by the 
Clarendon County Council;

 (4) inquire into 
the conduct of an office, department, or agency of the school district;

 (5) adopt and 
modify the attendance zones of schools within the school district;

 (6) provide for an 
independent annual audit of the books and business affairs of the school 
district and for a general survey of school district business;

 (7) cooperate to 
establish and maintain a central purchasing system for the purchase of 
contractual services, equipment, and supplies;

 (8) cooperate to 
establish and maintain educational consortia;

 (9) be responsible 
for policymaking actions and the review of regulations established to put these 
policies into operation; and

 (10) set by majority 
vote of the board a salary that each member shall receive for attending 
meetings of the board, which may not exceed four hundred fifty dollars per 
month.

SECTION 3. Section 5 of 
Act 105 of 2021 is amended is read:

 (A)(1) 
For the purposes of determining the 2022 property tax millage levy of the 
Clarendon County School District upon its creation, the millage levy for the 
district must be determined and calculated by the Department of Revenue based 
on the 2021 levy of the two present school districts and the value of a mill in 
each district. Thereafter, the millage levy for the year 2023 must be the 
millage levy for the previous year. To the allowed millage levy for 2022 and 
2023 may be added any millage determined by the Department of Revenue necessary 
to comply with educational mandates imposed by federal or state law.

 (2) The 
pr