The Rock Hill school district just wrapped up another year's budget approval process. Now I love a little late night budget work session as much as the next gal, but boring or not, a question continues to nag at me every time I cover these things: Why does nobody speak up about how their tax dollars are spent?

At last week's Board of Trustees meeting at Winthrop University, President Anthony DiGiorgio was given a rating of "exceeds expectations" and board members recommended he get the highest raise allowed. The Winthrop board doesn't get to set his salary, they make a recommendation to the state salary commission, and then the state Budget Control Board decides on the raise in the fall. Right now DiGiorgio makes $157,380. That's about $30,000 more than he made five years ago, though I do not think he has gotten a raise every year.

There are 63 graduating seniors in South Carolina who did not miss one single day of school. Ever. Perfect attendance for 12 straight years. I am not going to lie, never in my 12 years of school did I ever have perfect attendance. Probably not even for a semester. Maybe not even a nine weeks.

This weekend there is a reunion of people who went to, taught at or are otherwise affiliated with Emmett Scott High School, Rock Hill's former black school that closed in 1970.

Some of the members of the D.C. Scott-ites alumni group sent me some of their memories.

Miss Josephine said she remembers her French teacher's precise accent. She was proud, just like the French, Josephine wrote.

Hattie Thompson Small wrote that she often reminisces about the day she enrolled at Emmett Scott. She said if she could said the clock backwards she'd live her Emmett Scott days all over again.

I got a lot of reaction around the newsroom about my story today. A 9-year-old kid brought a gun to York Road Elementary School last month. Police said he pointed it at two other kids and told them he was going to kill them. The child was taken from his home, studied and then determined not competent to be charged with any crimes. Now he has been returned to his family and no charges will be filed against anyone in the family.

Last night the Rock Hill school board took its first stab at budget discussions. There isn't a line-by-line budget yet, but it looks like it will be about $130 million. That will leave the school district with at least a $4 million shortfall of money coming in to overcome.

Here are some highlights of the discussion:
• Rock Hill, unlike Fort Mill, is not planning to look at taking away bonuses for National Board Certified teachers

Artificial turf at Rock Hill's District Three Stadium is expected to be on the ground and ready to go by early July, according to the company that's installing it. I recently got an e-mail from Medallion Athletic Products touting the benefits of the product.

The news release says the field will definitely by ready for fall sports. The real grass on the field already has been removed. The plan is to try to reuse it at Sullivan Middle School.

Did your child attend Saturday School in the Rock Hill school district? If so, I want to talk to you! I am writing a story about Saturday school and really need some parents' opinions. Please call me at 803-329-4072 if your child went to Saturday School and you would be willing to say a few words about the experience.

Thanks in advance!

A week or so ago we ran an article about a push to change the constitution to require a "high quality" public education for children instead of "minimally adequate." Being from North Carolina, I have heard both sides of this debate. North Carolina, my home state, is more like the high quality petition. South Carolina, obviously, has minimally adequate written in the books.

So I went to the online petition today to see if this movement is gaining any ground. So far, only about 4,800 people have signed the petition. The goal is a million signatures, so I'd say they have a ways to go.

After reading this. story about possible lead contamination in artificial turf fields, I asked John Hair, director of auxiliary services for Rock Hill Schools, what this means for putting artificial turf at District Three Stadium. As you recall, the district is spending about $700,000 to put in the fake grass because of its lower maintenance costs and more user-friendly surface.

After boiling down the science talk for this less than science-savvy reporter, here is the scoop: