Start times, sales tax on Beaufort County school board agenda

Budget preparations, Hilton Head Island school start times and a potential 1 percent educational sales tax are up for discussion at the Beaufort County school board’s work sessions this week.

The board meets Friday and Saturday at 8:45 a.m. in the media center of the district office, 2900 Mink Point Blvd., Beaufort.

On Friday, the board will hear any public comments, then listen to a presentation on budget plans for fiscal year 2016-17 from Superintendent Jeff Moss. The board will certify its budget at its regular meeting May 17, about a month before Beaufort County Council adopts the budget June 13.

In the afternoon, at about 3:30 p.m., Moss will give a presentation on school start times and potentially changing the times of the Hilton Head Island cluster to conform to the district’s new time schedule. As of now, Hilton Head Middle School is expected to start classes at 7:20 a.m. next year, about 40 minutes before any other district school and more than an hour and a half before other middle schools will start.

The board voted March 15 to push back all middle and high school start times in the district except for the Hilton Head cluster, which began piloting a different schedule two years ago.

On Saturday, the board will again hear public comments and then a presentation by Moss on a proposed 1 percent educational sales tax, expected to generate about $282 million over the course of 10 years for capital needs.

Moss has asked the board to decide by April whether or not to pursue the sales tax referendum, which would go before voters in November.

In a closed-door, executive session, the school board will discuss its contract with the Jasper County School District regarding the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence. The operation of the school is still uncertain past the 2016-17 school year.

In the afternoon, at about 1 p.m., the district will hear an update on the work of its Ad Hoc Committee on Board Committments and Responsibilities by committee chairman David Striebinger.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Start times, sales tax on Beaufort County school board agenda."