2 new Carolina Forest elementary schools set to open next fall

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Two new elementary schools in the Carolina Forest area will open at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, Horry County Schools said on Friday.

One of the schools will be on the corner of Ronald McNair Boulevard and Christa McAuliffe Street. The other will be at the corner of Carolina Forest Boulevard and Stafford Drive.

The new schools are in the works after years of parents raising concerns about overcrowding throughout Horry County’s schools .

Both of the schools are scheduled to be open in August 2025. The attendance lines for Palmetto Bays Elementary and Waccamaw Elementary will not be affected, the district said. However, those for Carolina Forest Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary, and River Oaks Elementary will change.

There is an online forum for parents in the Carolina Forest area to view and provide feedback on the proposed attendance-area changes available here until Nov. 1.

The district will submit a final plan for approval by the Horry County Board of Education in mid-November. Proposals for the new schools’ names, mascots, and colors are expected to be submitted in November as well.

For more information, click here .

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Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of her work here .

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