As school returns, SC school districts manage staffing, facility needs

Tina Terry
·2 min read

The first week of classes in underway in South Carolina. With students returning to school, several local districts are facing challenges to meet staffing and facilities needs for their students.

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Rock Hill School District

In stark contrast to staffing demands of last fall, the Rock Hill School District says it is staffed and ready to go as students make their long-awaited return.

This time last year, Rock Hill said it was really struggling with teacher shortages. The district’s program for exceptional students was hit hardest with nearly 30 teacher positions open and 9% of positions in the department still vacant by November.

Now, those positions are nearly filled.

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Rock Hill district leaders told Channel 9′s South Carolina bureau reporter Tina Terry they used some creative outreach to fill the staffing void.

Just two positions remain to teach the exceptional students. The district said it offered cash incentives and reached out to students at Clinton College.

At the end of last week, 98% of teaching positions in the district were full and only one regular bus driver position remained open.

The district still wants to get to 100% in those spots and a need still exists for substitute teachers. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Rock Hill Schools to apply.

Clover School District

A new high school has been a need for the Clover School District for years, but the funding to finance the project has been elusive.

Clover has one of the largest high schools in the state and this fall the district will ask voters for tax money to finance a new one.

But a big question remains: will the voters support it?

Last year, Channel 9 reported that citizens voted down a nearly $197 million bond package, the largest ever request in the area.

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The money would’ve funded several improvements, including the new high school and a new elementary school.

If voters approve this year’s $156 million bond proposal, the district said it would build a new high school to accommodate 2,100 students.

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