FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District One is raising tuition by almost $2,500 for some students living outside the district.
The Florence One board voted late Thursday night to approve raising tuition to $3,000 dollars for new students next school year. For returning students, tuition will go up to $1,500 for each of the first two children in a family and $750 for each additional student.
That’s up from $550 dollars for the roughly 150 students living outside the district. That doesn’t count children of employees, who get tuition waivers.
Florence One school board chair Barry Townsend says the raise covers the cost for those students that isn’t paid by the state.
“Any monies raised by this tuition would go to raises for our bus drivers and custodians,” Townsend said.
Parents opposed to the tuition increase say it’s too drastic.
“We had to purchase property in our children’s names,” said Florence One parent Lynn Odom. “That property was not cheap. Second of all, we paid property taxes on that property, just like each and every one of you do. A percentage of that property (tax) goes to these schools.”
The tuition increase will start next school year and could bring about $500,000 to Florence One.
