LAKE CITY, SC (WBTW) – There’s a new equation that helps the state determine how many children live in poverty in each school district, and because of that new equation, school leaders say the numbers this year are misleading.
The statistic is tied to millions of dollars of your tax money and determines just how much money each district receives from the state.
It’s called the poverty index, and it’s changed the numbers for every single district in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.
According to last year’s state report cards, ninety four percent of the children in Florence School District Three lived in poverty.
Dr. Lane Floyd has been part of that district for more than 50 years, and he says in that time, the poverty numbers haven’t really changed.
“We are a small, poor, rural school district. We scratch for every dollar. Losing any money is almost catastrophic for us,” said Floyd.
But, the new numbers on the district’s report card show more than 100 students are no longer in poverty, in just one year.
“I don’t see an influx of jobs in Lake City. I don’t see an influx of industry. I don’t see minimum wage going up, so I don’t understand how we get less than we did in the past,” said Floyd.
According to the state report cards, every single district in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand now has fewer students living in poverty than in years past, but according to schools all around the state, that’s simply not true. In fact, it could be the opposite.
In Lake City, funding from that poverty index equation goes towards things like after school and summer programs, and in an area where nearly all of the students live in poverty, educators like Keyasia Gathers-Hale say it’s that extra attention that will bring change for the future.
“I like change, and seeing them come at the beginning of the year whether it’s behavioral things or socially, they’re just shy, or they’re not able to express themselves, or cope with a lot of things they see happening in the community or at home, then as time goes by, I can see a major change,” said Gathers-Hale.
Now school districts are wondering if they’ll lose that money.
“It’s going to be tough. We’re going to have to evaluate very carefully and make some hard decisions,” said Floyd.
In years past, the poverty index was determined solely on the number of students eating free-or-reduced school lunches, but then some schools started feeding free meals to all of their kids, regardless of their families’ income.
That’s why SC State Superintendent Molly Spearman says they’ve added six additional factors to the equation.
“It may mean that less students qualify, but at the same time, there are other weightings that districts have where they’ll get additional funding. If the students are not performing well, they’ll get additional technical assistance money. So, there are lots of changes going on right now in the financial formula,” said Spearman.
Spearman says they’re still working on the formula to be sure each district will not have to take a significant hit.
We asked districts in our area when they’ll know if they’ll lose funding, and they said they don’t know yet.
The district in our area with the biggest drop in that poverty index figure was Horry County, dropping from 75.2% last year to 69.3% this year.
