Spartanburg Co. School District 4 asks voters for new high school

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Some Spartanburg County voters have an important decision to make.

Spartanburg County School District 4 is asking voters to approve a new high school, which would cost millions of dollars.

The potential new Woodruff High School would replace the one on Cross Anchor Road.

Superintendent Dr. Rallie Liston said with almost 5,000 new homes approved by the county, they need more room.

“For every two houses you normally get about one student. So, you know, if we look at an increase of over 5 years of potentially 2,000 to 2,500 students, we’re going to have to increase the size of our high school,” said Dr. Liston.

He said to make room in all the schools, they would move a grade out of each of their feeder schools.

“We will create an intermediate school with our current middle school, and it will become 4^th and 5th, but to give you an idea our middle school will move to our current high school,” he said.

For convenience, the potential new high school would be close to all the others. Dr. Liston said the land they bought on Allendale Road has already been approved by the Department of Transportation.

If people vote against the new high school, Dr. Liston said they will have to turn to portable classrooms, which is something, he said, has some negatives.

“Once you have to go out and buy those, it’s going to be difficult to get your money back and you’re still going to need a new facility, at some point. Secondly, safety. Communication, planning, and all of those things, that’s not the best option,” said Dr. Liston.

Right now, Dr. Liston said they’re in the pre-construction phase. He says they’re asking for up to $100 million to make this project happen.

“What we’re trying to do, though, is that we have limited the cost to the taxpayer, additionally, to $10 per $100,000 in value, a month,” he said.

For example, if you own a home worth $200,000, that’s just another $20 on your taxes each month.

Dr. Liston said the board has already approved the referendum. Now, its up to the voters of District 4 to have their say.

“We have to go ahead and plan, and so, if it’s approved, we can go to work to be in by the fall of ’25. We must be ready,” said Dr. Liston.

He said they will seek voter approval on August 11, on the day they plan to have open houses for all of their schools.

So, after that date, Dr. Liston said they will know whether or not they can build a new high school.