South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster laid out his fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. He was joined by Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
The plan included many of the themes that have been a hallmark for McMaster, such as reducing the state income tax and improving teacher pay.
Just five years ago, South Carolina had the highest personal income tax rate in the southeast at 7%. McMaster pushed to have it lowered incrementally to its current 6%. He proposes dropping it to 5.9% and continuing to reduce it with the goal of eliminating it.
McMaster wants the minimum starting pay for teachers to jump from the current $48,500 to $50,500. He proposed using $150 million from the budget surplus to achieve the goal.
“This represents a 68% increase since 2017. South Carolina’s required minimum starting teacher salary continues to exceed that of both Georgia and North Carolina,” he said. “In addition, as the minimum salary for new teachers has risen, so has the average salary of a public school teacher in South Carolina, reaching $64,050 last year, which has exceeded the Southeastern average every year since 2021.”
McMaster turned his attention to the growth the state is experiencing in new business and increased population. He said that growth, coupled with inflation, means the state’s major infrastructure systems and essential government services are struggling to keep up. It is one of the reasons he is asking for $1.1 billion in new money dedicated to road projects.
“Last year, the U-Haul rental company ranked South Carolina as the number one destination for their moving trucks and vans,” said the governor. “Left unaddressed, the state may face future problems with water and sewer access, traffic congestion, road and bridge repair, demand for electric power generation, public safety, school overcrowding, and healthcare availability.”
The budget lays out a wide range of education programs to be funded. It includes expanding full-day 4K, breakfast for every public school student, expanding school choice, and freezing college tuition.
“This year marks the seventh consecutive year that I will propose that we freeze college tuition for in-state students with an appropriation of $39.2 million,” he outlined. “To receive funds from this appropriation, each institution is required to certify that there will be no in-state tuition or mandatory fee increase for the 2026-2027 academic year.”
McMaster’s budget again includes $95 million in education lottery funds to cover the South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships (SC WINS) through the state’s technical college system. The funds cover tuition and fees at technical colleges to address the skills, training, and knowledge needed for in-demand careers.
In addition to the funds in the budget, State Sen. Tom Young (R-District 24, Aiken County) told ABD education in Aiken County also benefits from the money received from the $600 million SRS lawsuit settlement. The state sued the federal government over plutonium left at SRS.
“At Aiken Technical College, the Career and Technology Center that’s being built there, our local Aiken County legislative delegation in 2022 secured $30 million from the state, to fund a substantial portion of that,” he explained.
Young added that the settlement also provided funds to build the new nursing education center under construction at Aiken Tech.
“To help provide the infrastructure that’s necessary to train more nurses in our region and meet the demand for nurses in the central Savannah River area. Those are just two significant capital infrastructure investments that our legislative delegation has been very involved in securing in the last three years to help transform our region and help with workforce development,” he said.
This marks the final budget McMaster will offer as his time in office ends in January 2027. Young said he is committed to collaborating with the governor through his final year, adding that the proposed FY 2026-2027 budget lays the groundwork for McMaster’s successor.
“It also provides some guidance as we go into the budget season in the General Assembly, which will start in the House Ways and Means Committee, and then come to Senate Finance and back and forth, and we’ll conclude in June of 2026,” he said.
McMaster said leaders must work to create, innovate, and improve to ensure the state’s future prosperity.
“By thinking big, by being bold, and by making these transformative investments, I believe we will set our state on a course that will provide the opportunity for prosperity, success, and happiness for generations of South Carolinians,” he said.
