COLUMBIA -- House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a property tax compromise Thursday that would remove school operating taxes for homeowners, reduce the sales tax on groceries and offer a two-day sales tax holiday after Thanksgiving.

The plan would raise the statewide sales tax to 6 cents per dollar.

It also guarantees each county in the state at least $2.5 million from the deal and the option to raise sales taxes 1 percentage point more if local governments want further tax cuts.

"It's a wonderful thing for the state and the taxpayers," said an exuberant Rep. Bill Cotty, a Columbia Republican who led House lawmakers in negotiations. "I think it's fair. It's balanced and it helps people."

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The plan must still go before both chambers Tuesday. The Legislature is set to adjourn Thursday.

Gov. Mark Sanford applauded the compromise, but said, "While we continue to believe much more should be done to provide tax relief this year, we're glad the House stood with us on the idea of providing at least some immediate relief and that the Senate ultimately agreed."

Chuck Saylors, chairman of the Greenville County school board, said he would reserve final judgment until he sees the legislation -- but the news didn't sound good to him.

"Not seeing the numbers, my first-blush impression is we're going to end up on the short end of the stick," he said. "I can tell you right now our revenue stream for next year will not be what it is this year."

The likely impact of that could be fewer teachers, he said.

"Look at the struggles we've had in the past when they've shortcut us on funds. What's suffered? Teaching positions," he said. "It just depends on how they distribute it."

The agreement follows a roller-coaster week for the three House members and three senators who began working on a compromise Monday. Both sides rejected proposals from each other and talks stalled at times. The committee met for five hours Thursday before voting unanimously to accept the plan.

The increased sales tax would generate more than $580 million to eliminate school operating taxes on owner-occupied dwellings, which account for about 60 percent of most homeowners' bills. School operating revenue could be increased only by a combination of student growth and inflation, under the agreement.

Once law, the legislation would require a two-thirds vote to change, a concession to the House, which wanted a constitutional amendment to make the tax elimination permanent.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, a Florence Republican who chaired the conference committee, had told House members no tax-relief plan could collect the necessary 31 votes in the Senate for a constitutional amendment.

"For almost a year we have been debating the best way to relieve the huge property tax burden that is levied on homeowners," House Speaker Bobby Harrell said. "This is a step in the right direction."

Lawmakers would use about $180 million of new budget surplus money to pay for the reduction in the sales tax on groceries from 5 cents per dollar to 3 cents per dollar, beginning in October.

The surplus money also would pay for some reduction of county operating taxes as well as for the sales tax holiday, which would occur statewide for the two days following Thanksgiving.

It also would pay the cost of guaranteeing that each county receives at least $2.5 million in tax relief no matter what the increased sales taxes produce. Senators and Democrats had complained that many rural and poor counties in the state where homes raise less in property taxes needed the adjustment.

Asked if the money answered a circuit judge's order last year that the state address school funding inequities, House Majority Leader Jim Merrill said, "It's a good start."

The compromise also would eliminate school districts' use of alternative financing, which lawmakers said has been used by some to get around the state's constitutional debt limit.

The plan passed by the House earlier this year would have increased the sales tax by 2 cents, eliminated all sales taxes on groceries and removed most taxes on owner-occupied homes.

The Senate chose a local option plan, one that would have allowed each county to choose whether to eliminate or reduce taxes by raising local sales taxes.

The compromise reached Thursday afternoon allowed lawmakers to resume work on a budget compromise. House lawmakers refused to work further on that Monday, saying they wanted to see an agreement first on property taxes.

The stalemate on the property tax had also held up final negotiations on property reassessment. Lawmakers are expected to meet on that Tuesday morning.

House members said this week that they would approve the Senate's proposal of capping reassessment at 15 percent over five years. Voters would have to approve the constitutional amendment in November.

While praising the compromise, Sanford also said he had concerns he wants lawmakers to address in the future.

"This bill creates the possibility of future tax increases on business owners and farm owners as homeowners demand education-related services they no longer have to foot the bill for," he said.

"I'd urge every lawmaker in Columbia to bear this in mind going forward and to not close the book on the idea of further tax reform in order to address these and other issues sooner rather than later."