When will Midlands schools start seeing work after voters approve $240M bond referendum?
Lexington-Richland 5 could soon see results from a $240 million bond referendum voters approved on Tuesday, as the Chapin-Irmo area school district looks to get the public on board by rallying a new citizens advisory review team to oversee how the district spends the money.
The district announced the formation of the community group now that 70% of voters in the district have signed off on Lexington-Richland 5’s first bond issue in 16 years.
Superintendent Akil Ross told a post-election press conference Friday that he would be meeting soon with the superintendents of Dorchester 2 and Beaufort County schools to discuss similar citizens’ groups set up to oversee projects in those districts. A similar body set up in Lexington-Richland 5 after a 2008 bond referendum will also serve as a model, Ross said.
The final makeup of the panel will be decided by the newly-elected school board, some time after board members formally approve the bond issue at their Nov. 18 meeting.
Despite a two-to-one “yes” vote in the referendum, “We have trust to earn,” Ross said. That’s why he wants the citizens group “to have an active role in delivering these projects.”
The district plans to issue bonds in three tranches across three years, Ross said. The scheduling on different projects will ultimately depend on the bids the district receives from construction companies, he added.
The district wants to move quickly on the safety and security component of the referendum, including the new vestibules at school entrances that will block anyone from entering the rest of the school building without being buzzed in by an administrator. New security cameras will also be installed in schools.
Ross also wants to move students out of the current Dutch Fork Elementary School before the planned expansion of Broad River Road takes a portion of its compact campus — and, he believes, creates a safety concern for students. Construction of a new elementary school, a $41.4 million project on its own, is one of the top line items of the referendum. The district will keep the current site as the Richlex Education Center.
The bond will also pay for a $30 million small business incubation center at Irmo High School, a $10.5 million construction and infrastructure workforce development lab at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies and a $800,000 digital solutions and artificial intelligence lab at Dutch Fork High School.
“We know tomorrow’s workforce is in the classroom today,” Ross said. “These will provide better resources to tomorrow’s workers.”
The bond is also expected to ease the need for rezoning in the district, as new additions will also be added to Chapin and Lake Murray elementaries, replacing portables that are currently used for classes.
“Do you want to pull the bandaid off slow or fast?” Ross said he asked principals about the planned on-campus construction. “They would prefer to do it fast, and minimize the disruption.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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