AP: Teacher raises back in consideration in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A South Carolina House committee has approved a bill to reinstate some teacher raises into this year’s budget. The House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance the bill to the full House. The bill would restore “step increase” raises for teachers, which amount to several hundred dollars a year given annually as teachers gain experience. Lawmakers paused the raises last spring due to uncertainty of what the COVID-19 pandemic might do to the economy. Ways and Means Chairman Murrell Smith said lawmakers were honoring commitments made at the end of last year. The committee also advanced legislation to increase charter school funding.