Richland 1 halts construction on $31M center after concerns from SC education department
Richland 1 has stopped construction on its multi-million dollar early learning center to ensure compliance with the South Carolina Department of Education and Richland County, the school district announced Friday.
“Our belief in the need for Vince Ford Early Learning Center and our commitment to this project have not wavered,” Superintendent Craig Witherspoon said in a press release. “We look forward to resuming construction once these matters have been addressed.”
The state department sent a letter to the district in December, informing it that the Vince Ford Early Learning Center, a $31 million facility in Lower Richland, could not be designated as a public school building.
“Based on (Office of School Facilities)’s review of this project, the District’s submission fails to establish that the building(s) being proposed for construction will be used for K-12 classroom instruction,” Deputy State Superintendent John Tyler wrote.
The district’s submission documents showed the facility to be an “early learning center” and a “family services center,” Tyler wrote. But not a school. For that reason, it could not fall under the jurisdiction of the state education department, a spokesman explained.
According to state law, if a school district wants to construct a public school building, it must first seek approval of the state superintendent of education.
Richland 1 broke ground on the center last February, with a ceremony honoring its namesake Vince Ford, a Columbia community leader and longtime member of the Richland 1 school board. The district began construction in October 2023 on Rawlinson Road, with the goal of completing it by December 2024.
Witherspoon will make recommendations to the school board at its Jan. 23 meeting, to adjust the age range and grade levels of the students served at the center. It was originally meant for children as young as six weeks old until age five. Witherspoon will now recommend it for students in 3-year-old kindergarten through second grade, according to a press release.
A Richland 1 spokesperson could not immediately be reached for additional comment.
This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 5:05 PM.
