Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Questions of how the new Barnwell County School District (BCSD) will be structured have been circulating - where will the new consolidated high school be? Will Pre-K through eighth grade remain in each community?
At the Nov. 28 board meeting, BCSD Superintendent Dr. Crissie Stapleton explained no decisions have been made regarding facilities and it is the board's priority to keep Pre-K through eighth grade facilities in their existing municipalities.
“It is our priority to keep Pre-K through 8th grade in the communities in which they are currently located and to do thorough information gathering before any decisions are made regarding the ‘plutonium money,’ as it was most often referenced in the past few years,” said Dr. Stapleton at the meeting.
The ‘plutonium money’ is the monetary allotment for the county housing part of the Savannah River Site (SRS). Disbursed by the Executive Budget Office, the SRS settlement funds are allocated by the FY 2022-23 General Appropriations Act.
Barnwell County will be receiving funding for specific projects, but to actually receive the funding, the county must submit a request to the budget office. The board has not yet submitted a request for these funds to be disbursed.
The only decision made by the board regarding facilities thus far has been to house the district office address at 770 Hagood Avenue in Barnwell.
Consolidation Plan
Meetings between administrators across all schools are being held to ensure a smooth consolidation.
The first meeting has been held with the superintendent, chief financial officer, high school principals, and the athletic directors to begin planning for athletic budgets. The curriculum departments have met to look at the federal programs in each district including allocations and items being funded in each district, and transportation heads met to discuss merging their departments.
Nurses have also begun to meet to discuss the district’s Medicaid billing service. Barnwell School District 45 (BSD45) currently uses Frontline Enrich, a billing management software, and the Barnwell County Consolidated School District (BCCSD) does not use an electronic system. Recognizing these areas is one of the initial steps toward a district-wide electronic billing system for health services.
Plans are also being made to bring in new and expand current early childhood programs.
School of Choice
The consolidated district is looking at a different method for students to attend a school outside of which they are zoned for.
Currently, both BSD45 and BCCSD enroll students in a tuition and application process. BCCSD allows for transfers between Williston-Elko and Blackville-Hilda schools.
“During the 2024-2025 school year, there will be two choice options available to students and parents in BCSD: zoned schools and schools open for expanded enrollment choice,” stated Dr. Stapleton at the meeting.
Attending a ‘zoned school’ means the student is attending the school they are zoned for based on where they live.
Students looking to go to a different school than they are zoned for, will apply to an enrollment lottery and district personnel will create a waiting list for seats as they become available.
Students with parents who are employees of the district do not need to complete school of choice applications if they are attending the same school where the parent works. There are further stipulations for students whose parents work at one school, but want to attend another.
Students currently attending a school other than which they are zoned for will be grandfathered into this developing program.
The school of choice program will be presented to the board for final approval at the January meeting.
Policies
The district is contracted with the S.C. School Board Association (SCSBA) to take the individual policies of BCCSD, BSD45, and the Barnwell County Career Center and provide policy recommendations to the new board for the district and elected board.
The board approved numerous policies on the first reading pertaining to foundation and basic commitments (category A) as well as school board governance and operations (category B). Many of the policies in these categories are standard.
Policies in category A include establishing the legal authority, drug/alcohol/tobacco free status, and nondiscrimination positions of the district. Other policies include guidelines for service animals and board structure.
All policies in category A were approved.
Policies in category B include establishing the board’s general operations, self-evaluation ability, duties, code of ethics, relationship with the superintendent, and election process.
Other policies in this category include board member conduct, resignation or removal, responsibilities, and qualifications as well as establishing committees and meeting structure.
The wording in some of these policies will be revisited for the second reading, such as excluding specific examples listed by SCSBA.
All policies were approved except Policy BK: An optional policy recommended SCSBA establishing the board’s membership in the statewide association. This membership requires dues to be paid per state law.
Barnwell County school boards have previously kept an active SCSBA membership, according to Dr. Stapleton.
Chairman Terry Richardson expressed membership should be up to the board in place at the time. When the new board members are elected, they can opt to adopt this policy.
