kitchen countertopsIn Johns Island, SC

A new elementary school planned for Johns Island is making its way through the approval process with the City of Charleston.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A new elementary school planned for Johns Island is making its way through the approval process with the City of Charleston.

The construction plan went before the design review board for the second of its three times, on Monday. It’s a standard, but lengthy, process any builders go through with big projects in the city.

Executive Director of Capital Programs Jasmeen Shaw explains the school is going to be state of the art and offer STEAM – science, technology, engineering, arts and math – education.

“The island truly deserves a brand-new school and we’re able to bring them a brand-new school which as well as alleviates some of the overcrowding that’s been caused by growth in the area – which is a great thing,” Shaw says.

The elementary school will be off of River Road. It is planned to be two stories and serve 700 2nd through 5th graders.

During community meetings last year – some people expressed concern about traffic. Part of the construction also includes building a roundabout on River Road to enter the school property. The project also includes adding a left turn lane from River Road to Brownswood Road and adding a right turn lane from Brownswood Road onto River Road.

“We’re going to bring several road improvements to the area, which is not only going to benefit the school which operates Monday through Friday for the most part, but even on weekends and as a whole, this particular school is going to be an asset to the entire community,” Shaw says.

Stephanie Yesil and her husband live in a neighborhood off River Road.

“Maybe it will help with the development of River Road and turning it into a safer place. Maybe adding some sidewalks, maybe adding some additional controls, maybe some new lights, maybe some new signs to make it even more family friendly. So, this could be a really good thing if it’s done well,” Yesil says.

She is a former education who says she doesn’t have kids yet, but supports investing in education.

“My husband and I hopefully one day will be parents but for now, I mean, we love our neighbors and almost every single one of them have new children and it would be really nice to make sure that this is more of a community-oriented place rather than having a bus kids all over the place,” Yesil says.

The elementary school is meant to help with the crowding at the Angel Oak Elementary, which is operating at 129% capacity over operating ability. The $53.5 million dollar brand new school will offer STEAM programs. Then, the Angel Oak Elementary building will be converted to serve as a head start and 1st grade center, so all levels are included. The goal open date for the school is the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

“I think education is always a great idea. I think there’s always going to be a need for it. I can’t speak to other city planning. I can’t necessarily speak to any other kinds of businesses that we should have over here. But you’ll always get a yes vote for me when it comes to bringing in good teachers, good people and giving more and more space for kids to go to places to learn,” Yesil says.

Monday, the design review board approved the conceptual plans and submitted the information to staff for a further focused review. The board made some aesthetic suggestions to the plans like more fencing around the back of the building, but overall supported the designs. Charleston County Schools says the project is on track and they expect to start site prep work in March.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

This money will come from the first half-cent sales tax that the county approved back in 2004.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Millions of dollars will come from Charleston County Council to go towards the I-526 expansion after Tuesday night’s approval. This money will come from the first half-cent sales tax that the county approved back in 2004.

This is the second time Charleston County Council has attempted this vote. It was finalized with five yeas, three nays and one absence. Just like the council was during discussion, public comment was also divided.

“You are our trustees,” Elizabeth Singleton, who is against the county funding said. “This is not your money. It’s ours.”

Bradley Taggart, for the county funding, disagreed.

“Poll after poll has shown that people with this project are in fact permanently in favor of completing 526,” Taggart said.

Rick Voight, against county funding, says there are better ways to spend billions of dollars and should use better outcomes.

Joe Greck, for the county funding, encouraged all of council to support the funding, which they ultimately did.

The Mark Clark Extension will extend from West Ashley to Johns Island, James Island and areas of the Charleston metropolitan area to provide easier transportation and improved safety. The total project cost is more than $2 billion.

Councilman Teddie Pryor Sr. District 5 says if this began when it was first presented 42 years ago, it would have only cost around $280 million.

“And you know, people are saying ‘Well why do we delay it?’” Pryor said. “The more we delay, the more it’s going to cost because construction goes up.”

Councilman Larry Kobrovsky for District 2 says otherwise.

“I think it is a tremendous gamble,” Kobrovsky said. “Other words, we voted to spend $75 million of taxpayers’ money without any guarantee that it will be put to any use.”

Kobrovsky says he wishes they would have waited until the next sales tax referendum in two years for them to know exactly where this money will go.

“If we have $75 million that was designated for transportation money and we can put that to meaty use, let’s do that and not gamble,” Kobrovsky said.

Pryor says putting money towards 526 will not defer any other transportation projects going on.

“We just need to move on and move forward,” Pryor said. “People can make excuses or comments when they don’t want anything done, but I’m trusting that Secretary Hall and SCDOT working with us to get this project completed.”

Pryor says the next step is for South Carolina Department of Transportation to start the permitting process. No word right now on when that could start.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The $75 million in funding that Charleston County Council approved for the Mark Clark extension project last week has the potential to be transformative for Charleston County and Johns Island in three ways, but not in ways council members or residents may think.

First, the project could be financially transformative in the short-term because it could be the largest county financial debacle since the millions “invested” in the former Naval Hospital.

Why? Because council is betting taxpayer money that a slew of low-probability events take place that make this $75 million bet a sure winner.

These events include betting that:

These bets don’t even include the bet that the state Joint Bond Review Committee will shirk its fiduciary responsibility and approve the infrastructure bank’s request for matching funds. This despite Charleston County having no real plan to raise the additional funds needed for the project.

If this low-probability bet is lost, county taxpayers will not only be out $75 million, but they also would have to reimburse the infrastructure bank for 50% of all funds it provided. And we would have lost $75 million that could have been spent on making much-needed improvements to our roads now.

Second, the project could be financially transformative for Charleston County in the long-term since the true cost of the project will likely be much greater than $2.2 billion.

Why? Because of the intergovernmental agreement Charleston County signed with the infrastructure bank and the state Department of Transportation, the county is solely responsible for all additional costs. These costs include any cost overruns and lawsuits; funds for bond servicing; and the cost to upgrade River Road to accommodate the traffic from this project.

These costs could easily add up to an additional several hundred million more dollars. Just imagine how the bond rating agencies will assess the county’s creditworthiness with this unbounded financial obligation.

Third, the project could be transformative to Johns Island because the Lowcountry character of the island would be lost forever.

Why? Because large road projects like these attract large “Anywhere USA” residential developments with their multitude of cars, big box stores and national franchises that push out local businesses. They also dislocate long-time residents. All of this would greatly and adversely impact our quality of life and worsen traffic congestion.

If you need some examples of this, just look to Mount Pleasant and the Cainhoy Peninsula.

Once the Ravenel Bridge was completed, growth in Mount Pleasant exploded. The town is now grappling with its growth and congestion at nearly every Town Council meeting. For example, the town recently announced it will perform an in-depth study to see what can be done to reduce the number of vehicles traveling on roads throughout the town. The study is not about building new roads but managing traffic on existing ones.

Without Interstate 526, the Cainhoy Peninsula was not attractive to developers. Now, there are plans to build 9,000 homes there and to fill vast stretches of wetlands — not to mention the eventual dislocation of long-time residents.

Even without the 9,000 Cainhoy houses, I-526 is currently so congested that the state and federal governments (not Charleston County) are looking to spend billions of dollars to try to relieve this congestion.

This is not the future Johns Islanders want.

There will be those who say that this is a much-needed project. This despite effective lower-cost alternatives that do not alter our island forever.

There will be those who say that residents are overwhelmingly in support of this project. This despite the latest DOT survey showing that fewer than half of them support the project.

There will be those who say that we need a third way on and off the island. This despite, in comparison, that we have only 10% more daily traffic than Hilton Head on our bridges. Yet we have two bridges with eight available lanes, while Hilton Head is about to spend millions to expand its single bridge from four to only six lanes.

Do we need to improve safety and reduce congestion on our roads to improve our quality of life? Yes.

Is betting the county’s short-term and long-term financial future, losing the soul of what makes Johns Island who we are, ignoring effective lower-cost alternatives and ignoring the desires of the majority of the residents the way to do it? No.

So what will happen?

The county could be saved from itself if the Joint Bond Review Committee votes against authorizing the matching funds. Then we can get back to the business of improving safety and reducing congestion on our roads.

John Zlogar is a cofounder of Rational Roads for Johns Island.

An annual 5K returns to the Charleston area this weekend to raise money for brain cancer research.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - An annual 5K returns to the Charleston area this weekend to raise money for brain cancer research.

The 7th annual Head for the Cure Charleston 5K/Walk takes place Saturday at 8 a.m. at James Island County Park.

CLICK HERE for more information on the event and how to donate.

The nonprofit Head for the Cure teamed up with the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center for the effort with proceeds going toward the fight against cancer. All funds including ticket sales will go towards various brain cancer research and education initiatives and programs.

“We are trying to find a good treatment for glioblastoma and we are trying really hard to engineer cells so that they can be targeted against a patient’s own tumor,” MUSC Neuro-oncologist Dr. Alicia Zukas said. “With that and development, we certainly need the support and head for the cure has been very supportive to us in the past with pushing research forward and helping our patients get new opportunities and care they might not otherwise have.”

The event has already raised over $70,900, ahead of its $70,000 goal.

Charleston is one of 28 cities to host a Head for the Cure event.

Brain cancer survivor and Head for the Cure Community Outreach Coordinator DJ Stewart battled Grade 4 glioblastoma at the age of 28 years old, which he said was a “life-changing moment.” Doctors gave him from 11 to 18 months to live at the time of his diagnosis but beat the odds to document his journey against the condition.

He learned of the foundation at the beginning of his diagnosis and says it showed him there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He said the local hospital partnership with the organization benefits the community of brain cancer patients by doctors connecting survivors.

“It’s so win-win for Head for the Cure to work with the local beneficiaries because then we get to meet the real survivors,” Stewart said. “I get to go out and have conversations that really, like, matter because their doctor is sitting there telling them, ‘Hey go to this event. Meet all these other people that are in your similar circumstances and be surrounded by some love for a while. You deserve it.’”

Stewart said over 450 people have registered for the event as of Thursday night and signup closes about 2 hours before the start of the event Saturday morning.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Charleston County School District staff members presented new information and a possible plan to build a new elementary school on Johns Island Thursday night.

The district has allocated $41 million in taxpayer dollars to build the new campus, according to the school district’s 2023-2028 Capital Building Program.

The school will be built on River Road, between Brownswood and Murraywood roads. As it stands, the district says they will have to put in a roundabout at the River Road entrance of this new school near Swygert Boulevard.

Several parents say they are worried about the impact on traffic, but others were worried about equity. The district’s chief financial officer, Jeff Borowy, says the school will ease overcrowding at Angel Oak and Mount Zion elementary schools.

“We have multiple children that are in trailers,” Borowy said. “They’re still a good educational environment but certainly not as good as a permanent building, and so this project will give us the opportunity to bring kids in from the classroom trailers.”

As part of the new school, the district is looking to establish a single attendance zone for elementary students on the island and change the grade configurations.

Students in Head Start through first grade would go to Angel Oak Elementary, while students in second through fifth grades attend the new school. Mount Zion Elementary would be turned into a family center under this proposal.

“It would give every child on Johns Island an opportunity to be at the new school in grades 2 through 5,” Borowy said.”

A big talking point among parents was the potential impact the school will have on traffic.

“We do need a new school, especially our Mount Zion kids, but also, it’s just the location of where they’re going to have it,” Keiaunta Alexander said. “How are we going to fight this traffic when we already have more traffic?”

However, other parents were worried about how the school’s proposed change to grades will affect education.

“Having Mount Zion being a Title I school and all the extra resources that go to that Title I school, just want to make sure that when we combine schools and have those different age levels that our children who are living below the poverty line are still getting equal access and getting resources they still continue to need...,” Casey Thaler said.

Officials say they need to come back with recommendations on possible changes to the board of trustees in August.

The district says they expect construction to be completed on this new school in the summer of 2024.

In its 2023-2028 plan, the district has funded over $410 million consisting of several new buildings and expansions to current schools.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.