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DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Families living in one Dorchester County neighborhood say a plan to rezone parts of Dorchester District Two needs more consideration.
The plan was introduced by the DD2 Board of Trustees on Sept. 11 to address overcrowding and rapid growth in the county.
The board meeting held Monday night was one of four public engagement opportunities and the last chance for community members to share their thoughts.
The board is set to take a final vote on Jan. 8, 2024.
Homeowners say the decision feels rushed.
“Trying to do hard cut lines instead of worrying about actual children’s futures, the relationships they have with their counselors, with their teachers, with their principals. How they’ll be pulled out of that, is not the answer,” parent Crystal Snow says.
Snow moved to Highwoods Plantation with her family to access a better education for her kids.
She worries about other families who made the same choice and how it will impact the morale of students and property values.
“It’s a little bit crushing to be specifically taken from the school you intended. You had great hopes that your child would attend,” Snow says.
Highwood Plantation is currently pointed to Beech Hill Elementary but with the new plan, students would go to Newington Elementary instead.
A presentation from Dorchester District Two officials shows Beech Hill is at 120% capacity with current attendance lines, which caps off at 1,032 students.
They added that the plan would redistrict 2% of K-5 students, none of 6-8 grade students, and 3% of 9-12 grade students.
One Lowcountry realtor says this first phase should not largely impact property values or taxpayer contribution.
“It looks like they’re trying to keep a lot of neighborhoods in place,” Josh Dix, Government Affairs Director at Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS, says. “The other options are really going to increase taxes for property owners because they’re capital improvement projects. Realignment is a real benefit point to the taxpayer because there’s no impact for this first phase.”
Live 5 reached out to the school district for a statement on the matter, but they said they would prefer to wait until after the meeting wrapped up.
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