$211 million could go to South Carolina teacher raises

Walhalla state lawmaker Rep. Bill Whitmire says he’s confident the General Assembly next year will see fit to add more than $200 million to the education budget which, he says, will be enough to give every South Carolina teacher a three thousand dollar pay raise. Whitmire, a retired teacher and member of the Ways and Means Committee, has a big hand in forming education budgets. He told Oconee district officials and members of the trustees board today that he considers Gov. McMaster a friend of education and is happy to work with him the improve the quality of the product. By raising teacher salaries for this year and by raising them again next year, Whitmire says South Carolina will join the top 25 states in teacher salaries. Which means, he says, the average salary of a state teacher will rise to $57 thousand a year.