How do you spell relief?

Mark and Karen Carriker paid $300 a year in property taxes on their $89,500 home near Charlotte, N.C., 12 years ago.

In 1994, the couple moved to a 15-year-old home in Spartanburg County where, at the time, they paid $347 in property taxes.

That figure has since escalated to just more than $900 each year.

"Taxes have gone up, but yet our property value hasn't gone up," Karen, 53, said of their home, valued at $108,000, in District 6.

While the Carrikers are relieved to hear about recently passed legislation that lawmakers say provides property tax relief to homeowners, school officials argue the change will hurt school operating budgets in years to come.

"This will be wonderful," Karen said of the new legislation. "It will make a big difference."

According to data provided Spartanburg County Auditor Sharon West, taxpayers could save several hundred dollars each year -- or even a few thousand -- depending on the assessed value of the home.

"I think it's going to help us all," said West, who added that many residents in the county have long sought property tax relief.

The auditor's office plans to begin an in-depth study of the effects of the new legislation this month, she said. Until then, West said she couldn't say what the impact on school districts will be.

State and local school administrators are predicting that the consequences will be harsh. They fear that dollars will be short in the coming years, which would potentially increase class size and cause some programs to be scaled back or cut altogether.

"If something doesn't change in the redistribution formula, we will have doomed our area to poverty from now on," said District 4 Superintendent Rallie Liston.

Under the new law, which raises the sales tax to six cents on the dollar, the money will be returned to school districts on a dollar-for-dollar basis in the first year. After that, funding increases would be based on a weighted per-pupil basis with the addition of a poverty factor for students eligible for free or reduced lunches.

The higher sales tax will generate about $582 million, with about $527 million going to eliminate school operating property taxes from owner-occupied homes. The remaining $55 million, plus $15 million taken from the general fund, will be used to remove county operating property taxes.

Homeowners will still pay property taxes for school and county bond debt, as well as for municipalities and special purpose districts.

Budgets for all seven districts have been passed, and five of the seven districts approved a tax increase:

(bullet) District 1 will see about a 20-mill tax hike;

(bullet) District 2 will raise taxes by up to 12 mills;

(bullet) District 3 will see a 7 or 8-mill hike;

(bullet) District 5 will see a 36-mill increase; and

(bullet) District 6 will see at least an 8-mill increase.

Residents in Districts 4 and 7 will see no tax increase this fall.

Officials in Districts 1 and 5 say the majority of the tax hike goes to cover major district building projects. Districts 2, 3, 5 and 6 officials said the increases are going toward salary increases and hiring additional staff members due to rapid growth.

District 5 financial director David Hayes said that his understanding of the law is that residents who live in districts where taxes increase will only have to pay the higher millage rates next year.

That's good news to local residents like 32-year-old Jay Squires. He lives in District 6 but has no children in the schools.

"We will be glad to have relief. We've been hearing that for a long time," Squires said. "I'm not ever comfortable paying any tax, but I think a sales tax would be better than a property tax. That way, everybody shares into it."

Marsha and Pete Lawson, who live in District 7 and own a tire business on Church Street, fully support the new legislation.

"I think they should get rid of all property taxes," Pete Lawson said. "It's like they're penalizing us for owning homes."

Bobby Johnson is a 60-year-old District 4 resident who works for a steel company. He has been pleased with District 4's millage rates over the years, but has mixed views on the issue.

"I don't have a problem with it," Johnson said of property tax relief. "They'll eliminate something and they'll come up with something else."

But he thinks the penny sales tax increase could hurt his neighbors, most of which are older, retired, and on fixed incomes.

"One cent is better than two or three or four cents, but a lot of older people can't afford it," he said.

Dennis Nace is general manager of Weichert Realtors Peggy Wilson & Associates. He believes it may take up to two years to see any sweeping changes with the property tax relief legislation, but thinks that it's "a wonderful thing" that may encourage more folks to buy homes.

"If South Carolina had one of the lowest taxes on property in the country, I think there will be a huge influx of people moving here for property tax relief," Nace said.

"It would definitely get renters more interested in buying a house," he said. "It would lower the mortgage rate tremendously and give everybody the chance for the American dream."

Ashlei N. Stevens can be reached at 562-7425 or ashlei.stevens@shj.com.