A provision in the property tax compromise would ban school districts from using a controversial alternative financing method to pay for school construction projects.

At least eight school districts in South Carolina - including Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester District 2 - have used installment financing in recent years to fund large-scale building efforts.

The method allows districts to exceed debt limitations without a direct tax hike by issuing installment revenue bonds.

The bonds are purchased by a nonprofit board and repaid over time by future tax dollars, but opponents criticize the funding method for relying on future growth to pay off the debt.

In recent months, local school administrators seemed to realize that state lawmakers were ready to close the loophole that allowed districts to borrow money through installment financing.

District officials added millions of dollars to building programs before it became too late to act.

At the end of March, the Charleston County School Board approved adding up to $120 million to the district's construction schedule and voted to pay for the extra construction through installment financing. That means the district's total building program for 2005-09 will reach close to $500 million.

In late January, the Dorchester District 2 school board added $43.7 million to a building plan that already called for $84.3 million to finance four new schools.The scope of the building project was expanded when officials realized that the original funding proposal would not meet future enrollment estimates.

The Berkeley County School District borrowed more than $206 million in installment bonds in 2003. The school board recently said it may need to build about 10 new schools to accommodate planned subdivisions, and is scheduled to hear a report at a Tuesday night meeting about facility needs.

Facing the prospect of a July 1 end to installment financing, Berkeley School Board Chairwoman Kathleen Bounds said the board still plans to receive the report Tuesday and proceed in meeting the district's facilities needs. Board members and district officials are prepared to operate under a "compressed time schedule," she said.

"We've been making plans for this over the course of the last few months," Bounds said. "We've been aware of this possibility since we first began these deliberations. If, after public input and board discussion, we decide to move forward, we will be ready to face these challenges."

Reach Mindy B. Hagen at mhagen@postandcourier.com or 937-5433.