Opinion ID: 2502158
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether a General Law Can be Made Applicable

Text: In determining whether a general law could be fashioned to standardize school district budget-making statewide, this Court's decision in Moseley v. Welch is instructive on both points of fact and law. 209 S.C. 19, 24, 39 S.E.2d 133, 135 (1946). In that case, plaintiffs sought to have declared invalid an act that would abolish the Williamsburg County Board of Education, replacing it with a new board consisting of seven members to be appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the local delegation from that county. Id. at 24, 39 S.E.2d at 136. In pertinent part, the act empowered the new board with the final authority to approve budgets submitted by trustees in the individual districts within the county, to set teacher salaries, to borrow funds, and to order the construction and repair of buildings. Id. at 25, 39 S.E.2d at 136. In that case, it was urged that the act was a special law where a general law could be made applicable. Id. at 27, 39 S.E.2d at 137. This Court explained that the chapter in the 1942 South Carolina Code containing general school law was followed by a chapter containing special legislation relating mostly to the fiscal affairs of the schools in each of the forty-six counties in the state. Id. This Court recognized that the General Assembly's opinion that conditions in the various counties ... preclude uniformity of treatment in relation to the administration of school affairs .... is entitled to much respect and in doubtful cases should be followed. Id. at 27-28, 39 S.E.2d at 137. The Court further observed that, although public education is a matter of general concern across the state, the act in question only related to the fiscal operation of the schools, and did not invade the general field of education. Id. at 30, 39 S.E.2d at 138. Specifically, the act did not regulate the textbooks to be used or the subjects to be taught ..., the qualifications of teachers or the manner in which they shall be elected, school attendance or enrollment of pupils, the length of the school term, or various other matters pertaining to the general field of education. The general law regulating all these subject areas is left undisturbed. Id. This Court ultimately found the act was constitutional as a special provision in a general law. Id. at 28-29, 39 S.E.2d at 138. The General Assembly, which has been granted wide authority to legislate the field of education, has chosen not to enact a law that explicitly vests budget-making authority with district boards of trustees. Because the general law is silent on the matter, local legislation in several counties specifically grants this authority to a district's board of trustees. See, e.g., H. 3655, Act 578 of S.C. Acts 1984 (In addition to the powers and duties of the board of trustees of the School District of Calhoun County provided by the law, the board shall prepare and adopt the budget for the operation of the district....); H. 3069, Act 268 of S.C. Acts 1977 (The county board of education (board) shall be granted all of the powers and charged with all of the duties otherwise provided by law and shall have executive, financial and administrative control of the public schools in the school district....). Since this Court's holding in Moseley, the manner in which school district budgets are formulated and approved continues to vary county by county. For instance, in Aiken County, the board of trustees has the authority to prepare the annual budget; however, if the proposed budget exceeds the budget of the previous year, the Aiken County Legislative Delegation must approve it. H. 3069, Act 268 of S.C. Acts 1977. In Anderson County, the board of trustees of each district prepares the annual budget and then recommends to the Anderson County Board of Education the amount of tax mileage, H. 3589, Act 96 of S.C. Acts 2009, while in Orangeburg County, the board of trustees directly notifies the county auditor of the tax levy needed, H. 2788, Act 245 of S.C. Acts 1983. In Horry County, the budget may be prepared by the board of trustees, superintendents, or principals of the several schools, who are then to submit the prepared budgets to the county board of education. S.492, Act 239 of S.C. Acts 1983 (emphasis added). Thus, by passing local laws in this area instead of enacting a general law that standardizes the school district budget-making process, the General Assembly has signaled its belief that a tailored approach best meets the needs of the varied districts within our state. In recognition of the General Assembly's constitutional duty to provide for the maintenance and support of a public school system, I believe the following statement in Moseley aptly states my opinion on this issue: [i]t is exceedingly doubtful whether a general law, uniform in operation throughout the State, regulating ... the extent of the control which should be vested in the county boards of education, could be made applicable. Moseley, 209 S.C. at 28, 39 S.E.2d at 138. I would find Act 308 is sustainable under Article III, section 34(IX). Therefore, I would enter judgment for the Defendants and Defendant-Intervenors.