The Rock Hill Schools Board of Trustees voted on Monday morning to adopt a resolution on the Octapharma Plasma project.
The resolution thanks York County Council, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, York County Economic Development and the City of Rock Hill for their work on the project, welcomes Octapharma to the city, and asks that the school district be treated as a stakeholder in future economic development talks. It also asks the City of Rock Hill to accept the allocations York County Council passed at third reading on July 8.
What the tax agreement means for the district
At the center of the resolution is a fee in lieu of taxes agreement, known as a FILOT, that York County Council approved for the project. Under state law, the authority to approve those agreements rests with the county and the city on behalf of all affected taxing entities. The school district has no vote in the process, even though it is one of the entities whose revenue is reduced.
The resolution acknowledges that the district will forgo a significant amount of tax revenue under the agreement, while pointing to what the board describes as the workforce, economic and educational benefits an investment of that size can bring to students and families.
A request to be included earlier
The sharpest language in the document is a single clause near the end of the preamble. It says neither the board nor district leadership took part in the nearly two years of negotiations that preceded the agreement, and that the district’s perspective should be part of future discussions on projects with significant implications for public education.
The board also affirms that its primary responsibility is the education of children, and that decisions affecting district finances directly affect its ability to carry out that mission.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
