Berkeley Co. Schools approves first phase of renovation plans

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - A Lowcountry school district is renovating the old and building new facilities to keep up with growth they’re seeing in schools.

The Berkeley County School Board has approved phase one of their capital building program, which includes immediate steps on constructing new schools and renovating current buildings.

The money will come from the one percent sales and use tax in Berkeley County that was voted on back in November. This penny tax will directly impact the future growth of the district.

Phase one of the capital project will include constructing a K-5 school on Black Tom Road in the Jedburg area, adding a middle school on the Highway 52 corridor of the Nexton area and renovating and expanding Hanahan Middle School.

The district says both Cane Bay Elementary and Cane Bay Middle are currently at capacity. And although Carolyn Lewis, the new K-8 school expected to open in August will provide some relief, they say with more homes being built, they will need this middle school in Nexton.

Although the district has not released specific cost estimates for each project, they did release price estimates on overall construction of the type of school.

They say elementary school construction could cost about $48-$52 million, K-8 schools are about $70-$75 million and middle schools are about $60-$65 million.

There are other areas listed for possible improvement over the next several years that are not officially under phase one. This includes upgrading athletic facilities at eight of the ten high schools and renovating and expanding Berkeley High School, Cane Bay High School and Goose Creek High School. They plan to add over a dozen classrooms and two-story wings to each school.

The district says the costs and timeline will come before the board at a later date. There’s no information on when that might be at this time.

For more information on the capital building program, click here.

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