HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) –The last time Horry County students were in their classrooms they could carry cellphones and whichever type of backpack they liked.
South Carolina Superintendent of the Year Rick Maxey was guiding the state’s third largest school system and teachers were making $1,000 less than they are now.
As nearly 50,000 children gear up for the start of a new academic year on Monday, here are some of the biggest changes ahead for them.
Officials OK a billion dollar budget
Horry County Schools’ first-ever billion dollar spending plan was approved in June , adding base salary hikes for all employees and a longevity-based 2% step increase.
In all, the raises will cost nearly $15 million. Fixed costs for retirement and health insurance are slated to jump by $4.1 million next year.
The budget also includes hiring two safety and security program specialists and more security guards to conduct “all-day searches,” at a total price tag of $2.3 million.
Clear backpacks are now a requirement
In June, district officials rolled out a new “clear backpack” policy as part of an enhanced safety and security initiative.
Clear totes, purses and plastic bags, and clear backpacks with mesh side pockets or a front pocket mesh organizer, colored straps, corner leather reinforcements and small logos will be acceptable, according to the district’s new policy.
The district started requiring clear book bags at some schools last year . Previously, clear bags were required at Myrtle Beach elementary, early childhood, middle and high schools, as well as Pee Dee Elementary School in Conway.
“We know it takes a team effort of our staff, students and parents working together to provide the safest environment possible,” the district said in a June email to parents. “One of the new safety protocols is the requirement that all students who choose to carry a backpack must use a clear backpack, starting this upcoming school year.”
Students will also be allowed to carry non-clear athletic bags and instrument cases; a small, nonclear pouch to hold personal items, like cell phones, money and hygiene products; nonclear lunchboxes; and necessary medical equipment. However, all nonclear bags will have to be visible or carried, and they will be subject to a search.
Not everyone was supportive of the rule.
“They’re kids,” parent Steve Vollgraff told News13 in July. “They want their privacy. You know, they’re also girls. They carry stuff that boys don’t carry. They don’t like everybody knowing that business, either.”
Weapon detection systems are in place districtwide
In March, the district’s board of education unanimously voted to install weapon detection systems in all 56 schools. Their approval came a month after police detained a student at Myrtle Beach Middle School who brought a gun onto campus.
Meredith Kennedy, the parent of a Myrtle Beach Middle School sixth-grader, said she has been pressuring the district to upgrade its security measures since it was reported that a gun was found at the school on Feb. 6.
“We are satisfied with the fact that they have moved on this,” Kennedy told News13 in March. “We do think that it took longer than it should have to get to this point. A lot of recommendations have been made over the past couple of years regarding weapon detection systems, and so we finally got an answer tonight.”
A string of bomb threats also disrupted operations at Carolina Forest High School over the spring. Trenton Alexander Brown, 19, of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to first-offense making a bomb threat or conveying false information about a bomb threat, the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
Brown was slated to appear for a bond hearing on Aug. 13 when he decided to plead guilty after spending 94 days in jail. Brown was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed six years in prison suspended to 18 months’ probation.
District leaders also introduced a new safety reporting app allowing any issue to be reported anonymously and in real-time.
Cellphones could be out of classrooms
The State Board of Education last week gave initial approval to a “model policy” prohibiting students from using electronic devices during the school day, and could withhold aid to local districts that don’t comply.
“During the school day, students are prohibited from accessing their personal electronic
devices, unless authorized for classroom use. Students may not wear or access device
accessories during the school day, language in the policy says.
Students must store their devices and device accessories in lockers, backpacks, or otherwise as directed by the school district during the school day. Districts may forbid student possession of devices and device accessories on school property.”
Once state officials adopt the policy, local districts will have until January to implement it.
Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia and major cities including New York and Los Angeles have all either banned or are planning to bar electronic devices in classrooms, according to S.C. Department of Education data.
A new superintendent is on the way
Rick Maxey, who was named South Carolina’s best superintendent for 2024, announced in April that he was retiring, capping a 35-year education career.
In 2021, the board bumped Maxey’s salary from $227,304 to $266,000. In November, district leaders extended his contract through 2027.
Eddie Ingram was named interim superintendent on July 1 as a national search for Maxey’s replacement was launched.
Ingram’s career in education has spanned 42 years and includes a doctorate in education from East Carolina University in 2002, the district said on Thursday. Most of his time has been spent in North Carolina, including when he was superintendent of Franklin County Schools from 2009 to 2013.
Kevin Castner of BWP & Associates told the school board Aug. 12 his firm hopes to have a list of finalists to the district in December, with an early 2025 start date to follow.
And on Friday, the district introduced former Surfside Beach police chief and longtime public safety expert Michael Frederick as its new public safety coordinator.
Frederick will oversee the district’s comprehensive 450-page safety plan, which includes more than just weapon screenings and active shooter drills.
“It’s not just the screening devices,” he said. “It’s the screening procedures, the assessments we do, the intelligence gathering. It’s a multi-layered approach.”
A key focus for Frederick will be fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the district’s safety and security team.
“The mission of the school district is educating the kids; keeping them safe is an overlay on top of that,” he said.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .
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