|
The Greenville County School Board approved the appointment of former school board member Duke McCall to the BEST Board. Attorney Andrew Jones, another former school board member was approved for reappointment to the BEST Board. Both appointments are for three-year terms.
The BEST Board was created by the Greenville County School Board as part of the so-called “Greenville Plan” to circumvent state law and the South Carolina debt limit prescribed by the Constitution.
The school board created the pseudo-private corporation to shield themselves from possible legal action and to facilitate circumventing the debt limit prescribed by the South Carolina Constitution. Through the BEST corporation board, the school board was able to acquire more than one billion dollars of debt for Greenville County property owners to pay off over the next two decades.
Last year, the state legislature passed a bill and Governor Mark Sanford signed into law a measure prohibiting other government agencies from using the Greenville Plan to circumvent the South Carolina constitutional debt limit and jeopardize the financial security of property owners.
Next year, homeowners will no longer pay property taxes on their homes for school operations, however, debt service payments on the huge school construction debt will continue to be assessed on private residences.
Only three school board members who established the BEST board continue to sit on the Greenville County School Board. They are Debbi Bush, Roger Meek and Tommie Reece.
|
