CCSD Shares Status of North Charleston Schools
NORTH CHARLESTON —
Charleston County School District Superintendent Anita Huggins called efforts to split city schools from the district “very disruptive” as she presented performance data to city council members on May 16. Huggins stated that achievement data for local schools shows improvement and that the district’s recently proposed funding model allocates nearly half of its funds to support North Charleston schools.
The Weighted Student Funding Model
The weighted student funding model — proposed in the school district’s fiscal year 2025 budget — provides an additional $32 million to schools based on the number of students in poverty, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities. With the model in place, the school district will monitor how student achievement correlates with money designated to local schools. Nearly $15 million of this funding is allocated to North Charleston schools.
Effectiveness of the Funding Model
Some councilmembers inquired about how the money will be used in each school and how the success of the funding model will be tracked. According to Huggins, the district is working with Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, an education finance research center, to show how the funding model will impact student success. Results on how effective the model is may take three to five years.
The Split Debate
The council’s discussion to split from the school district stems from ongoing dissatisfaction with student achievement levels and school building issues. Several councilmembers shared their experiences touring North Charleston schools a year ago, stating many buildings were in disrepair and some lacked sufficient air conditioning.
Progress in North Charleston Schools
Huggins told the council that schools in North Charleston are making progress. Elementary schools in the city are seeing better performance in reading and math from fall to winter this school year compared to the previous year. North Charleston middle schools saw a 35 percent increase in students who are reading on grade level compared to a 23 percent increase last year. For math, this metric grew by 29 percent compared to 20 percent the year prior. North Charleston high schools are also documenting higher graduation rates at 75 percent last spring compared to 66 percent in 2019.
