FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District One hopes to continue to rebuild outdated schools. They are looking at two options; a $300 million dollar  bond referendum or a pay- as- you go plan. So far they have rebuilt four schools with one under construction with the pay as you go plan including:

  • North Vista Elementary
  • Royall Elementary
  • Lucy T. Davis Elementary
  • John T. Moore Intermediate School
  • Delmae Elementary (under construction, set to open August 2017)

The school district developed a subcommittee to look at payment options available for the next two phases of construction. The goal of the committee is to develop a master plan of how all schools in the district will be re-build or renovate older schools.

The next three schools to be rebuilt include:

  • Southside Middle School
  • Williams Middle School
  • Savannah Grove Elementary School

Allen Port is a retired postal maintenance worker. He says students in Florence School District One need new schools.

“They need up to date buildings because a lot of buildings are outdated,” said Port. “It’s always a good idea to focus on education because these kids need it.”

Wednesday the facilities committee met to go over payment options. Chairman Barry Townsend says the district has been able to build four new schools so far with a pay- as- you go plan.

“We’ve been able to build these new schools without any debt. We call it pay- as- you go because essentially when we open a new school it is paid for. We are excited about that,” saidTownsend.

Townsend explains the plan allows the district to borrow up to $11 million dollars each year through bonds. Which works out fine to rebuild  elementary and middle schools, but not for a High School.

“The limitations on that money prevent us from using it to build something as large as a high school,” explained Townsend. “The fact that we’ve been using this money on an ongoing basis has also limited us for using it on other things. What we’re looking at now is how do we fund a larger project?”

The committee determined $300 million dollars will meet all of facility needs such as:

  • Wiring each school with technology
  • Renovating South Florence High, Wilson High, HenryTimrod Elementary, Wallace- Greg Elementary, and Mclaurin Elementary
  • Building a new West Florence High School

“We have massive issues with overcrowding at West Florence. We have 22 mobile [units] on site which is a problem on many level including safety,” explained Townsend.

The committee is looking at the option of a bond referendum, to ensure all schools in the district are updated.

Port hopes they consider other ways to pay for the upgrades if this will make taxes go up.

“We can’t really afford for our taxes to keep going up. We’re not getting an increase [in retirement],” said Port.

Townsend says the committee anticipates some push back if a bond referendum is put in place but he hopes everyone will see the benefits of new and updated schools.

The committee will update the board at the next board meeting in May.