Opinion: Impact Fee Best Option to Pay for School Dist. One Growth

Robbie Binnicker/Supertindent, Anderson County School District One

Anderson One’s plan to help our current taxpayers is to let growth pay for growth. We are facing two unavoidable facts. The first fact is that Anderson One is one of the fastest growing areas in the state, Powdersville and Wren in particular. We project having to serve an additional 2,000 students in the next 8 to 10 years. The second fact is that Anderson One will have to add classrooms at every one of our 14 schools and/or build new schools to accommodate this record growth.  

The question is: How do we pay for this growth? Instead of asking our current taxpayers to pay the entire bill for expanding classrooms, we would like for new subdivisions and new houses to pay a fair share. 

An impact fee is the best way to accomplish this. An impact fee would allow growth, in the form of new subdivisions and new houses, to pay for the increased need for school capacity. It will allow Anderson One to keep up with the pace at which developers and builders are adding to the population of our area.

Here’s how it works. Similar to the impact fees charged by water and sewer companies, the fee is assessed at the time a new construction building permit is purchased. This fee is only assessed on new subdivisions, new houses, and new apartments, not the buying or selling of existing homes. The money from the impact fee then goes into an escrow account, which Anderson One can only use for the purpose of expanding school capacity for students. 

Historically, Anderson One has turned to the taxpayers through bond referendums to pay for new schools and renovations to existing schools. In 2009, Anderson One passed an $85 million referendum to build a new high school in Powdersville and to add classroom space to many of their 14 campuses. Again, in 2019, Anderson One passed a $109 million bond referendum to replace two outdated middle schools and to add additional space in elementary, middle, and high schools. Now, Anderson One is continuing to face additional record growth. According to Data USA, Powdersville is growing at a rate of 2% per year and has grown an astounding 42% since 2000. In comparison, the fastest growing area in the state, York County, is growing at a 3.5% pace. 

Bond referendums like the one in 2019 spread the cost for new classrooms across all home and business owners. An impact fee, however, would ask new subdivisions and new houses to pay a fair share for the impact this growth has on our schools.

In November 2021, TischlerBise, the nation’s leading expert in cost of growth strategies, completed the required study. The firm calculated a maximum impact fee of $7,855 on multi-family homes and $11,249 on single family homes. Based on the $176,000 median home price in Anderson School District One, if rolled into the mortgage, the cost would be $55 per month on a new house. 

Other school districts growing as fast as Anderson One have used impact fees as a way to reduce further tax increases. The most notable is York County which passed an $18,000 impact fee to help pay for additional school capacity. Closer to home, the city of Easley passed a $3,340 impact fee. Tega Cay near Fort Mill passed a $4,317 impact fee for schools, and Lancaster passed an impact fee for both new residences and businesses. None of these areas have seen a decrease in demand for housing as a result of the impact fee. Not even York County which has the highest fee. 

Our main goal in the near future is to build a new elementary school in Powdersville. It is imperative that we alleviate overcrowding at Concrete Primary, Powdersville Elementary, and Spearman Elementary.  Equally important is that we provide some relief for the traffic impact that growth has had on the current residents. We would like for new subdivisions and new houses in our area to pay a fair share for this. Growth should pay for growth.  

The Anderson County Planning Commission and subsequently the Anderson County Council is considering the impact fee proposal. If you agree with the idea that growth should pay for growth, please contact your representatives.  Express your support for the idea that the new subdivisions and new houses should pay a fair share for expanding schools, not the current taxpayers of Anderson One.