The claim: “The Fort Mill School budget has gone up 50% while student population has grown 3% over the last five years.” The claim was posted Thursday on X by @CaitlinYorkSC, five days before the Nov. 3 Fort Mill school board election.
Verdict: Mostly accurate, but missing context. The Fort Mill School District’s own budget documents show the general fund growing about 41% to 53% over roughly five years, depending on which years you compare. Enrollment grew about 2.5% to 4% over the same periods. The post’s numbers fall within or near those ranges, but no single set of years produces both 50% and 3%. The post also leaves out factors the district cites, including salary costs, two new schools and how school taxes apply to homeowners.
🚨TAXES🚨 The Fort Mill School budget has gone up 50% while student population has grown 3% over the last five years.
Below a chart that demonstrates which candidates think this is concerning and which do not. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.x.com/6uPp7Ert8J
— Caitlin (@CaitlinYorkSC) October 29, 2026
The post included a chart describing where school board candidates stand on the issue. Uptown Informer did not evaluate that chart. This fact check covers only the budget and enrollment figures.
What the district’s numbers show
Fort Mill School District’s general fund, which pays for day-to-day operations such as salaries, utilities and supplies, has grown every year. Here are the totals from the district’s budget documents:
- 2021-22: $177.6 million (2021-22 budget presentation)
- 2022-23: $192.9 million
- 2023-24: $217.8 million
- 2024-25: $234.2 million
- 2025-26: $254.5 million
- 2026-27: $272.4 million (June 2, 2026 board budget presentation and the approved 2026-27 general fund budget)
The 2026-27 budget is about $18 million more than this year’s, as the Rock Hill Herald reported.
Enrollment, measured as average daily membership, has grown much more slowly. The district’s 2022-23 budget presentation lists 17,690 students for 2021-22. Its June 2026 presentation lists 17,995 for 2022-23 and 18,254 for 2025-26, and projects 18,442 for 2026-27.
Where 50% and 3% could come from
Uptown Informer calculated the change over three time frames using the district’s figures:
- 2021-22 to 2026-27 (five budget-year changes): Budget up 53.4%. Enrollment up 4.3%, using the 2026-27 projection.
- 2021-22 to 2025-26: Budget up 43.3%. Enrollment up 3.2%.
- 2022-23 to 2026-27, the window in the district’s own five-year budget analysis: Budget up 41.2%. Enrollment up 2.5%, which matches the district’s figure.
Over that last window, the district says budgeted spending per student grew 37.7%, from $10,722 to $14,771.
A different enrollment number has also been cited this year. In May, WRHI reported that the budget assumed 18,818 students in 2026-27, up from a current average daily membership of 18,254. That is about 3% growth, but it covers a single year, not five.
The post doesn’t say which years or which budget it is using. Uptown Informer compared general fund budgets only. The district’s other funds, such as debt service and building funds, were not included in this check.
Context the post leaves out
The district’s five-year analysis, published on its website, makes these points about what drove the increases:
- Pay and benefits: Personnel made up 90% to 93% of new spending each year, including salary steps, raises, state retirement contributions and health insurance.
- Expiring federal money: Positions once paid for with temporary federal COVID-relief money were moved onto the general fund as those funds ran out.
- New schools: Flint Hill Elementary ($3.38 million) and Flint Hill Middle ($5.07 million) opened in back-to-back years.
- Taxes: District operating millage rose from 203.4 mills in 2021 to 317.1 mills for 2027, about 56%. Rising property values have also brought in more revenue. The district notes that under state law, South Carolina homeowners do not pay school operating millage on their primary home.
- Comparisons: At $12,128 per pupil in 2023-24, the latest comparison data, Fort Mill spent less than Clover, York, Rock Hill and the state average, according to the district.
These points come from the district’s own analysis, which presents its spending in a favorable light. Uptown Informer did not independently audit the district’s spending.
The election
Seven candidates are running for four nonpartisan, at-large seats on the Fort Mill school board in the Nov. 3 election, according to the Rock Hill Herald’s voter guide.
Voting in Mecklenburg instead? See our Election Day guide.
