What Myrtle Beach area subdivisions will be affected by new schools’ attendance changes?

Horry County Schools will change attendance lines for three Carolina Forest elementary schools as it prepares for the opening of two new schools in the area, spokesperson Lisa Bourcier said.

Depending on where students live, it could mean that some students won’t be attending the same school for the 2025-2026 school year.

River Oaks Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary and Carolina Forest Elementary will have different attendance lines when school begins in August 2025. Palmetto Bays Elementary and Waccamaw Elementary will not be impacted.

Preferred alignments will be released in October and then reviewed in November, according to a presentation from Bourcier.

The new schools will help deal deal with overcrowding within Carolina Forest schools. One will be located at the intersection of Ronald McNair Boulevard and Christa McAuliffe Street and the other at Carolina Forest Boulevard and Stafford Drive.

Currently River Oaks Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary and Carolina Forest Elementary have a combined capacity of 2,700 students but have over 4,100 students enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year.

The two new schools would each have a 1,200 student capacity, allowing the schools to no longer be over capacity, the email from Bourcier said.

Parents can send feedback about the realignment to Horry County Schools through Nov. 1.

Ronald McNair Boulevard elementary

Neighborhoods initially zoned to attend the new Ronald McNair Boulevard elementary school, located at 250 Ronald McNair Blvd., are listed below. The school will draw students from both Carolina Forest Elementary and River Oaks Elementary.

The attendance lines begin at the railroad tracks at Singleton Ridge Road and going southeast to Highway 31, then encompassing Bella Vita and neighborhoods at the River Oaks Resort area, then going southwest to include Burcale Road and Arrowhead areas, then going northwest to include Highway 501 and areas including Legends, Sago Plantation, Tuscany and Burning Ridge areas.

Subdivisions from the Carolina Forest Elementary School attendance area:

• Burning Ridge

• Forest Lakes Estates

• Kingston Greens

• Willow Greens

• Willow Trace

• Myrtle Trace

• The Commons

• Ridge Lake

• West Ridge

• Perry Place at Ashford

• Ashford

• Ridgefield

• Lakeside Crossing

• Forest Square

Subdivisions from the River Oaks Elementary School attendance area:

• Legends

• Sago Plantation

• Pine Island

• Emerald Lakes

• Emerald Forest

• Burcale Road Area

• Copperpoint

• Sandalwood

• Sandstone

• Starpoint

• Arrowhead Pointe

• Longwood Lakes

• Silver Lake

• Hammerstone Landing

• Highland Woods

• Highland Ridge

• Riverwalk

• Villages of Arrowhead

• Bella Vita

Carolina Forest Boulevard Elementary

Neighborhoods initially zoned for the new Carolina Forest Elementary, located at 2287 Carolina Forest Blvd., are listed below. This new school will draw students from both Carolina Forest Elementary and Ocean Bay Elementary.

The attendance lines begin at the Summerlyn development and The Parks development and going west to include Indigo Bay, Waterbridge, Avalon, Plantation Lakes, Brighton Lakes, Covington Lakes East and Southgate areas.

Subdivisions from the Carolina Forest Elementary School attendance area:

• Turnberry Park
• Avalon Plantation
• Sawgrass East
• Brighton lakes
• Southgate
• Covington Lake East

Subdivisions from the Ocean Bay Elementary School attendance area:

• Carolina Willows
• Turning Pines
• Plantation Lakes
• Waterbridge
• Summerlyn
• Artisan Carolina Forest Apartments
• Indigo Bay
• The Parks

This story was originally published October 6, 2024 at 6:00 AM.

Emalyn Muzzy

The Sun News

Emalyn Muzzy is the retail and leisure reporter for The Sun News. She started as a breaking news reporter in Myrtle Beach before switching to the business beat. She graduated from the University of Minnesota is 2022 with a degree in journalism and Spanish.