Fort Mill sets date for voters to decide $204 million school bond referendum
Voters will decide in March whether the Fort Mill School District can get up to $204 million for new school, land and maintenance needs.
The school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to put a bond referendum to voters on March 19.
General obligation bonds would pay for a new middle school and a new early childhood education facility. Technology upgrades, property for future schools and capital maintenance at existing sites would be funded. Any remaining money would be used for ongoing renovation, repair or expansion needs.
That plan tackles what the district sees as its most pressing needs for the next five years. Last month, the board heard plans from its construction consultant detailing almost $700 million of needed upgrades in the next 10 years.
A citizen committee typically forms ahead of school bonds in Fort Mill to push information out into the community. The board expects something similar this time. Several board members led or participated on such committees for prior referendum votes, before they were elected to the board.
By rule, once a bond is set the board isn’t allowed to advocate publicly for or against it.
So board members made their case for why the money is needed just ahead of their decision Tuesday night, especially for one piece of the bond that isn’t the typical new school construction.
Does Fort Mill need an early childhood center?
Last month, the board saw a $64.2 million early childhood center listed on its 10-year needs study. That number figured in 34 acres donated by Clear Springs Land Co. and space for 1,200 students in 4K classes.
The district serves about 200 students in 4K programs and has to turn away hundreds more each year. Programs are a mix of half- and full-day, state-funded and tuition based.
Superintendent Chuck Epps said Fort Mill is a rare district in South Carolina that doesn’t offer state-funded full-day programs for 4-year-olds.
“We’re currently having to turn away a lot that would potentially need — not just want, but need — this,” said board member Joe Helms.
This year, 54% of incoming kindergarten students tested as ready for kindergarten, according to the district. That number is higher than the 38% statewide from the most recent state report card. Still, board members say almost half of students not ready for kindergarten is a concern.
“This number only has room to go up with a program like this,” Helms said.
New data this fall showed Fort Mill led the state in elementary and middle school test scores across almost every combination of grade and subject tested at the state level. High school scores showed similar results.
“When you get to scores like we have... it’s hard to continue to improve,” said board chair Kristy Spears. “The way you do that is you make sure that every single student is coming in with the best opportunity.”
Board member Wayne Bouldin said the childhood education center has a double impact. It would move 4K programs spread across the district now, which creates classroom space at each of them, and delay new elementary school construction on future bonds.
Plus, Bouldin said, there’s learning opportunity for several times more pre-K students than the district can serve now. A recent conference of statewide school board members identified quality pre-K programs as a contrast between typical U.S. schools and higher-achieving international models, Bouldin said.
“Like any strong building,” Bouldin said, “you start with the foundation.”
Fort Mill needs elementary, middle, high school space
Three decades ago, Fort Mill had four schools. Primary, elementary, middle and then high school students across the district went to the same school at each level.
A 1992 school bond for $10 million and a new elementary school began a dramatic shift to keep up with a population surge in Fort Mill, Tega Cay and the space between them.
That decision was the first of 10 bond votes. All but one passed. The district now has 20 schools. For the past five years, Fort Mill has been the biggest school district by enrollment in York County.
The March bond vote won’t include a new $67 million elementary school on Gold Hill Road. The district recently broke ground there and will pay for that school using impact fee collections and interest.
The bond referendum next year isn’t likely to be the last.
In that 10-year needs study, the district projected elementary schools would need capacity by 2027-28, middle schools by 2028-29 and high schools by 2029-30. Two new elementary schools will be needed within 10 years.
Board members say new high school capacity would likely come through expansion or schools or course offerings, and not by adding a fourth high school.
This story was originally published December 6, 2023 at 10:58 AM.
