North Charleston Parents Express Concerns Over School Facility Upgrades and District Autonomy

North Charleston parents grapple with school facility upgrades and district autonomy

by Webb Wright

Fri, May 3rd 2024 at 7:31 PM

Several North Charleston parents are voicing frustration over local schools. At a town hall Thursday night many say they haven’t seen facility upgrades they believe are necessary. However, there are differing opinions about what should be next for their schools.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Several North Charleston parents are voicing frustration over local schools. At a town hall Thursday night many say they haven’t seen facility upgrades they believe are necessary. However, there are differing opinions about what should be next for their schools.

There have been people who want to see North Charleston break away from Charleston County Schools to form an independent district. Still, others believe with a new superintendent and a new proposed change in the budgeting formula, there should be a wait-and-see approach before taking drastic measures. Two differing opinions aimed at one problem – pulling North Charleston schools up to par regarding facilities.

Seeking Autonomy

“You can look at the schools and tell it’s different. That’s not even a question. You can look and see that there’s things over in East Cooper that we don’t have here in North Charleston,” said community activist Elvin Speights. “We have trailers with kids still going to school with no air conditioning. We got schools that are over 70 years old,” adds North Charleston City Councilman Jerome Heyward.

Heyward says it’s time for the city to have its district. He wants a referendum on the ballot by November, but that may not be likely. “We’ll have to vote on the City Council to allow it to be placed on the referendum,” Heyward says. “We still have time to get it on the ballot for November. It’s probably a year or two out.”

Potential Solutions

Speights is a member of a Charleston County Schools/North Charleston joint commission. He says CCSD already has programs in place to help the city. “We got programs where we’re feeding kids, housing kids, paying light bills, water bills for kids. That’s outside the norm for school. That goes beyond just school,” Speights says.

Speights says he wants to see what new Superintendent Anita Huggins and her student-weighted budget proposal that pushes more money to lower-income areas will do. “$15 million of the extra $32 million that’s already set coming out. $15 million of that will be spent in District Four helping the schools. Now we need the city council to do it on the neighborhood side,” Speights says. “It has to be a safe place. Kids have to come from a safe place to go to school and learn. No child’s thinking about learning education when they’re coming from a rough and dangerous place.”

School District Response

To the community, Charleston County School District had the following statement: “We believe we are moving in the right direction in serving all of the children and families of our communities throughout the county, including those in the City of North Charleston. We are committed to providing resources that improve student outcomes – through curriculum, professional development, wrap-around services, and increases in pay for teachers and support staff.”

“Those investments are leading to positive results. Schools like Hunley Park Elementary, Chicora Elementary, Matilda F. Dunston Elementary, W.B. Goodwin Elementary, and Military Magnet Academy made double-digit gains in proficiency on the SC READY in English Language Arts this past year.”

“In addition, the district has expanded and continues to expand early childhood education opportunities in North Charleston, ensuring we are using best practices to educate our youngest students. For example, Midland Park Primary School and Mary Ford Early Learning and Family Center were accredited before the start of the year by a leading early childhood education organization.”

“More support is on the way. Under the proposed Weighted Student Funding model for the district’s FY2025 budget, $15.27 million of the roughly $32 million to fund additional resources for schools across CCSD will be spent in Constituent District 4, with R.B. Stall High School anticipated to receive the most of any school in