Barnwell County set to merge its school districts into one

BARNWELL COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) — Big changes are coming to Barnwell County as three school districts prepare to consolidate into one on July 1. The county’s two smallest districts combined in 2022. Now, the state is merging all schools into one district. Some parents are concerned about losing representation. “I am for consolidation, but I want it to be fair and equal for everyone.” Blackville Town Councilwoman Martha Ann Pernell said.

The goal is to streamline management and operations of Barnwell County schools. There will be one countywide high school and career center. “This is going to be a great setback for us,” she added. “As far as businesses and industry, once they come in and find that we have to bus our kids 12 miles one way to school and 12 miles back, they’re not going to want to locate here.”

Plans include new sites, expansions, or renovations of the current Barnwell County High School, leading to unanswered questions. “How is my child going to take her college courses and have them count towards her GPA? How will she be ranked?,” Willie O’Neal asked. “So for us, what does that look like for our transportation,” Karisma Young questioned. “What does that look like for our kids? What does that look like for their future, traveling back and forth? This should have been discussed with everyone.”

Some we spoke with were part of a previous Barnwell County consolidation process and found it positive due to community input. “There were student committees and councils,” Former Williston-Elko School Board Member Felicia Cuthbertson said. “There was overall input throughout the entire process.”

“If you had a child in the school in Williston or Blackville, you could participate in a survey about the logo,” Young recalled. “You were informed about what was happening. This new consolidation is not informative at all to the other surrounding towns.”

Also, according to South Carolina Senate Bill 654, the new district will set its property tax rate based on what people paid in 2023. Starting in 2026, it can decide its own yearly tax rate.

You can learn more at an upcoming community meeting Tuesday, June 25, at 6 p.m. at the Blackville-Hilda Auditorium.

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