The Horry County Board of Education revisited the subject of school overcrowding at its winter retreat Monday and is moving forward with district-wide and site committees that will examine ways to solve the problem.
The committees are part of a three-pronged plan that the board discussed in October. The plan included better utilization of facilities that have extra space, possible changes to school programs and attendance line adjustments, a hot-button topic.
Board members had a number of priorities to consider, with retaining community integrity, observing natural boundaries and the utilization of empty classrooms at the top of their list, but Harvey Eisner, District 1, and other members said they didn’t want to restrict committees from looking at all available options.
Future recommendations could include building new schools, said Joe DeFeo, District 3, who said he is in favor of researching possible land purchases, especially in the fastest-growing areas. He said any recommendations from the committees would affect the 2013-14 school year.
The district-wide committee will consist of two board members, and the board will appoint two community members from each high school attendance area. Appropriate district staff members will serve as nonvoting members.
For site committees, board members will nominate community members from each high school attendance area, with each school in the attendance area having representation. They also will include each attendance area principal and appropriate district staff members.
Other topics addressed at the retreat included quality and equity in the schools, as well as a scan of issues the district is facing, including a static economy, modest growth in the district and an increase in transient students, even within the district.
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