ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Anderson District 4 is getting some changes after a bond referendum passed on election night.
The referendum is helping with the district’s 10-year-facility plan, which is all about accommodating growth.
“If you’re student focused, and child focused, it’s an important thing for our community,” said Jodie Allmon, a parent in the school district.
Tuesday night, the results came in.
“It was close, people have strong opinions, both sides of the issue. What we can do as a school district is ask to borrow this money, to sell these bonds,” said Superintendent Dee Christopher.
This will allow the district to build a new high school and contribute to their facility plan.
Due to the bond referendum, property taxes will increase.
“It’s going to be $64 per $100,000 of property value, we believe that that is going to be less than that as we continue to grow,” said Christopher.
“As more housing developments go up, the more people then it should decrease the individual burden,” said Allmon.
Parents like Allmon voted yes.
“And we were watching the numbers, looking, hoping that it was going to pass,” she said.
The mother of four said the facilities need upgrades.
“If you’ve been in the schools lately, and know what’s going on, you recognize that there’s a need for it and it’s better for our community. You don’t want our schools to be run down,” she said.
Here’s how it will work: a new Pendleton High School will be built, Riverside Middle School will move into the hold high school, 6th grade classes will join the middle school, and all the elementary schools will get improvements.
Superintendent Dee Christopher said they tried to pass a referendum in 2017, where there would be a new middle school. That one failed and the district realized this new plan gives them the most room.
“Because of our growth, which has really accelerated over the last three years, and what our consultants projected to be 1,300 students in 10 years. That’s significant growth, 30%,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that we are able to take care of our students in the future.”
The district plans to break ground on the high school in April 2024, with their goal of having everything completed by 2026/2027.
