Gaillard Center will benefit schools

June 15, 2010

Last week's story regarding Charleston County Council's decision to agree to extend the King Street Gateway Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District may have left some readers wondering whether the Gaillard Center project will be taking funding away from Charleston County schools. In fact, the Gaillard Center will provide extraordinary benefits to the Charleston County School District and for many generations of Charleston County students.

First of all, Gaillard Center may turn out to be our community's largest classroom. My dream would be that students from every grade at every school could come to Gaillard Center to see and hear performances, master classes, and other opportunities to enrich their lives.

I'd like to see the school district be able to use Gaillard free of charge at certain times of the year. Gaillard Center should be a vital resource for our community's schools. The city has requested of each of the taxing authorities that collects property taxes for their operations to consent to allowing the King Street Gateway Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district be extended to include Gaillard Center, and that its length of time be extended another 10 years.

The TIF concept is that by investing future tax dollars into community projects, areas within TIF districts become more valuable and contribute substantially higher tax revenues as a result of those investments.

In other words, property tax recipients - such as the school district - should get more revenue in the long term by sacrificing revenue in the short term. Time and time again, the theory works. And we expect it to work with Gaillard Center.

At this point, County Council has consented to extend the TIF, and the Charleston County School Board will consider the question in the near future. The TIF funding is diverted from the school district operating budget if and only if the school board determines that it is in its best interest to do so.

Furthermore, if all entities agree to extend the TIF, we would have additional funding for the U.S. 17 Septima Clark Parkway drainage project, which would be an enormous benefit to Burke High School, Mitchell Elementary and the Charleston Development Academy, not to mention the hundreds of city families whose children attend these schools.

And some of the TIF funding could be invested back into the capital needs of our schools, specifically to Buist and Memminger, which the school district has determined need to be completely rebuilt and are within or adjacent to the TIF district.

Our community has no higher priority than our schools, and I am confident that Gaillard Center will be a great benefit to our schools, both financially and in terms of being an extraordinary learning resource for children from all over Charleston County.

JOSEPH P. RILEY Jr.

Mayor, City of Charleston

Broad Street

Charleston