Charleston County school board to vote on capital funding for improvement projects

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – The Charleston County School District met on Tuesday for its first finance committee meeting of 2025.
The committee voted unanimously to move forward on several capital funding items, one being the reallocation of $14.6 million for five improvement projects. This request comes from a total of $37.4 million leftover from Phase IV of the one-center sales tax program.
The approval moves the item into the hands of the Board of Trustees for a final vote later in the month.
The projects will include HVAC, finance and technology renovations at 75 Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston, restroom renovations at Meeting Street at Brentwood and trailer demolition and parking changes at the Bridgeview Drive location. It will also provide HVAC replacements at both Mount Pleasant Academy and Military Magnet Academy and replace the track at Wando High School.
The district claims to be one of few in the state who are able to use one cent sales tax earnings to fuel improvements to schools and associated projects. The program is called the Education Capital Improvement Sales Tax and each cycle runs for seven years.
The tax makes it possible to fund new school construction, replacement of existing schools, capital maintenance and technology. The funding comes from tourism, helping to reduce property taxes and debt burdens around the county.
The five listed projects were originally not part of the referendum. However, because any prioritized capital maintenance projects have been completed, the five initiatives were raised as projects with great need of addressing over the past few years.
“It’s really important we explain conditions to the board and they understand the need for quality facilities for our students. They’ve supported us in the past and continue to support in the future, providing the funding necessary to do the best we can for our kids,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Borowy says.
Borowy expects these projects to begin in Spring 2026 at the earliest.
The board will meet next on Jan. 27.
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