March 12, 2024 • 21 mins
Join the conversation with Dr. Robbins, Superintendent of Dorchester County School District 2, who brings a wealth of knowledge from healthcare to education right to our discussion table. With a heartfelt connection as a father and resident, Shane provides rare insights into the evolving landscape of our local schools, revealing how the community's heritage and development intersect with the pressing demands of educational growth. His journey, paved with unwavering family support, underscores the personal dedication he has for the district and its future.
This episode peels back the layers on the strategic decisions and creative solutions at the heart of expanding the district's capacity to cater to the burgeoning number of families making our area their home. We dissect the implications of a pivotal three-year study and the school board's multifaceted approach to funding new facilities, including the pursuit of a referendum that could pave the way for substantial constructions without burdening taxpayers. Dr. Robbins candidly navigates through the financial intricacies, explaining why popular mechanisms like impact fees and sales taxes fall short for our unique community needs, ensuring listeners come away with a robust understanding of our schools' path forward.
Thank you for listening! Please contact me if I can ever be of service:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is the Dorchester County School District 2
Superintendent and he is sharingwith us the need for the
referendum.
Dr Robbins, thanks for comingon today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
My pleasure.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You bet so kind of want to introduce you, let the
community get to know your rolehere in the Dorchester County
area.
But you're a resident yes,ma'am Of Dorchester County.
You're a dad to two boys.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I am.
I have two grown boys.
My oldest son's a surveyor herein the Low Country and my
youngest son is a senior at theCollege of Charleston.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
All right, and you long time educator?
Yeah, tell us about yourjourney.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So I've been an educator for almost 30 years.
I started out my career inhealthcare and then I
transitioned into teaching.
I've been a buildingadministrator teacher and I've
been a superintendent for 16years now.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, but over 30 years in the school district of
some regard right Teachingprincipal and then segwayed into
superintendent.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, I was a middle school teacher, high school
teacher, athletic trainer, highschool principal and then
superintendent.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Talk about wearing many different hats, and so now
your staff you know everybodyunderneath you knows that you've
actually walked in thesefootsteps and you've given you
know, I would imagine a prettygood feel for what the needs are
in different components of theschools.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, I think it's important for people to know
you've done what they've done.
So the challenges that theyhave, you see them as very real
and you can be compassionateabout it and try to provide them
with solutions andopportunities.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah, so tell us about more, a little bit about
your family, your boys andyou're married.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yes, yeah, so actually that's my better half.
So I've moved around a littlebit as my career has grown and
progressed, and I wouldn't bewhere I am today if it wasn't
for her.
She's the reason I've been ableto do what I do.
We've been married for over 25years and she works in the
healthcare industry, but she isa remote worker, so it's made a
(02:10):
little easier for us to move.
But we have two boys.
Our oldest son, bryce, graduatedfrom Coastal Carolina with a
degree in adolescent psychologyand, lo and behold, he's a
surveyor but loves it.
He works here in the lowcountry for an engineering firm,
and so he's nearby.
My youngest son is a financemajor accounting major at the
(02:31):
College of Charleston.
He's a senior this year, and sowe're very blessed to have them
here in the area with us.
But I also add a couple extragrown kids to that resume, and
that's my parents.
When I moved to South Carolina,my parents moved with me, and
so they moved to Somerville whenI took the job at Dorchester
County.
So my whole family is here inthe low country, and that makes
(02:53):
things really nice for us.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, keeping it all local.
And so you've come to grow, tolove this community in the short
time that you've been here.
So you moved into the ponds andyou were telling me a story the
other day.
Retell it to our community,because you were talking about
the growth and there was aholiday and, on the other, side
(03:15):
of that holiday you had extrakids that stood on the corner,
so tell us about that story.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, I'm not always consistent, but I like to run in
the morning and the ponds I'min I think they call it phase
seven.
It was a new build and sobefore Christmas, you know when
I get them run, you know I'dfinish around 6.30 in the
morning, there'd be nothing.
And then after Christmas breakI came back from my run and I
(03:40):
saw about 25 kids across from myhouse waiting on a bus, and
those were kids that weren'tthere before Christmas break,
because there are people thatwere moving in as their houses
were completed during theholidays, and we're seeing that
all across our community, buteven in my neighborhood that's
really mostly built out.
There's been over 150 homesthat were built in the last 18
(04:00):
months, and so they all haveschool-aged children and they
love the community and they'removing here from out of state.
You know a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, you migrated here.
I migrated here back 24 yearsago, moved here into Charleston
to work.
But when I really startedlooking at where am I going to
plan a family, you know,strengthen the roots of
community and where do I want tobe raising my children, I chose
(04:30):
Somerville.
And a lot of other familiesfeel the same way.
We have a big migration to ourarea and I'm on the forefront of
a lot of these conversations.
Just this year we've had 12families that have signed buyers
agency with my team from otherparts of the country and we get
these referrals, you know,referrals in from other real
(04:52):
estate professionals.
But the families are seeking agood quality of life, they're
seeking good schools to puttheir children in, they're
seeking a good opportunity fortheir work environment.
So they're just constantlycoming in and we're going to
continue to see that.
You know, as far as Charlestongoes, they know that we want to
move to Charleston.
(05:12):
But when they really startlooking at community base and
what's important in schools,they oftentimes land in
Somerville, absolutely.
It is putting a lot of pressureon our school district.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
It is.
You know, there are a lot oftimes that we always hear when
new students are enrolling andfrom out of state they do their
research.
And Dorchester School, district2, in this area has a wonderful
reputation.
We're one of the best, if notthe best, school district in the
low country and I'll standbehind that any day, and so that
does put a little pressure onus.
But you know, if you also lookat the community itself and the
(05:45):
things that they're doing withthe parks development, with the
downtown Somerville, trying tomaintain, you know, that
historic image and then bringpeople to the downtown area to
enjoy it, you know I use thethird Thursday as an example and
the farmers market, and thoseare all things that are
wonderful.
That you know.
My wife and I said you know,when I'm done, when I retire, is
(06:08):
this a place that we want tolive and my parents living here?
There's just so many things forpeople to do and it doesn't
matter your age young,middle-aged, old-aged there's
plenty to do in the community.
There really is.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And so it's not just families, it's people retire
here, or even an activeretirement where they're looking
at a second career andsomething different than what
they've been doing.
But you're right, there'salmost between the Flower Town
Festival Dream does not only thethird Thursday, but just an
amazing job of building outalmost more activities than we
can even do.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, and so it's something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
The Italian Festival.
We were just meeting with someof the leaders of these last
night you and I and so it's justinstrumental, but the thread is
that people love Somerville.
It's got a lot of history, alot of richness, but we've got
to do some things to maintainthe quality of life, and that's
(07:06):
really what we're here to talkabout today is what are the
needs for the district in orderto you know, as we present this
growth, you know, and thepressure that it's having on the
schools?
What is that going to look like?
I know that there's been athree year plan and that three
year plan has been Coming to aclose and now it's time to take
(07:30):
some action.
So tell us about what thatvision is and why we need it.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, you know.
So every day we look at thecapacity of our schools with all
the new families moving in, andwhat we don't want to do is
allow the increased enrollmentin certain buildings to degrade
the quality of education thatwe're providing.
Doesn't mean that our teachersare doing any lesser the quality
(07:55):
is any different.
It just means when you have somany students in one classroom
it makes it very difficult forthem.
And so we're looking.
We spent the last three years wedid a demographic study to look
at what our enrollmentprojections look like.
We did a master facility studyTo see what type of capital
projects work we need to do withour current facilities we have,
and then do we need toconstruct new facilities.
(08:17):
So that's where we are at theend of this three-year.
You know, you know kind of workthat we've done To create a
plan.
I provided the board with acouple different options, a
course of action, analysisMatrix for them to make some
decisions, for us to moveforward so that we can maintain
the quality of things that we doin DD2.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, so thankfully we've got a great school board
in place, and so they areinstrumental with making the
best decision with theinformation that you've given to
them.
When we look at moving forwardwith that, there's a couple of
different avenues that Couldhappen the referendum, and I'm
gonna let you talk on that a bit, but that's the avenue that has
(08:59):
been selected to move forwardright.
And so we've got a short.
How many you know?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
75 days 75 days and counting by the time.
People watch this right.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Very short amount of time to be instrumental, so tell
us about why a referendum wasthe avenue chosen right.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So in you know, we do have revenue that we receive to
maintain structures indifferent formats.
The unfortunate thing about itis that will only allow you to
maintain daily you know, yearlymaintenance activities with
those facilities.
It doesn't allow you toconstruct a new facility if you
have major growth in a community.
For us, working with ourplanning commissions, we, we
(09:41):
know now that we have over14,000 homes that are on the
books to be built in the next 10years and you're you know,
probably more aware than mostabout that and then another
3,000 homes that are Potentialdevelopments as well, and so
those all generate some number,some quantity, number of
school-aged children.
And so if you don't plan and beand you're not proactive about
(10:04):
it, then you know it becomescompletely crisis mode for us,
and so the only way we can builda structure, because of the
cost of Building a facility likethat, is through the referendum
route, and that's the reasonwhy, but I also will share that
you know.
First of all, I want to say thisbecause you mentioned the board
.
The one thing that makes ourboard good is, if you ask them
(10:28):
what their primary mission is,they're gonna tell you it's kids
, and that's why we're in thisbusiness.
And so, no, we don't want to becontractors and constructors
and do all those things, but weknow we have to do that to
provide quality education to ourkids.
But, with that being said, wehave more than one pot that
we're working out of.
We do have some money that wecan use to add on additions to
(10:50):
buildings.
Do some of those temporarystructures like learning
cottages which I don't have aproblem saying it's a fancy name
for a trailer, you know so thatwe have capacity in a building.
But to do the major lift wehave to go the referendum route
so that we can acquire moremoney up front to actually
(11:11):
contract with a contractor tobuild a building.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So, as I understand it, it's a $200 million
referendum.
How is that going to beimpactful?
This referendum, how is itgoing to affect the average
homeowner resident here inDorchester County?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, and that's the really nice thing.
We're probably.
I did a little research.
I thought maybe we're numbertwo.
I think we're number three.
Beuford County and Spartanburgboth have used the same concept.
They're growing communities,but we haven't had a referendum
in our school district for 12years.
The last referendum was 2012.
So over the course of that time, we've been able to pay down
(11:51):
debt.
There was a point in time whereinterest rates were really good
, and so we refinanced our bonds, which allowed us to pay that
down a little quicker.
And what that does is itcreates capacity for you to
acquire new debt and not changethe tax rate, the millage rate,
and so that's where we are.
This referendum is going to beone of the only that I've seen
(12:13):
in the state that you're able togo out and ask the taxpayer to
prove it, and it's not going tochange their tax rate or their
millage rate on the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's right and that's impactful, because we do
not want to increase taxes.
People will still be payingwhat they've been paying, but
we're just acquiring more debt.
So for those that may not knowwhat a referendum is, it's
you're taking a loan out,basically right, and then, over
time put it in context of goingand buying a house, leveraging
(12:43):
yourself by taking out amortgage and then, over time,
you're paying that off.
Same concept you're taking areferendum, a bond, and you're
just paying it back over time.
We don't have the.
You know some people.
They don't like the idea ofdebt.
They don't want the county indebt to anybody.
However, we don't have time towaste in or the luxury of saying
(13:09):
, well, let's raise all thesefunds and then build.
We don't have that time.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
No, you know some people have floated the ideas of
impact fees, which isn't on thebooks right now for us, a penny
sales tax, which isn't doablefor us.
There would have to be somelegislative changes.
But even those two concepts, ifand when they would ever pass,
then they have to.
Those monies have to accrue toyou, get to a level where you
(13:35):
could actually build, and I'vetalked to our local finance
people and they've told me whata penny sales tax would
potentially generate.
You know it would take us sixto seven years, if it was
successful, to generate thatrevenue.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
And in six to seven years that's just how much
further behind we are in termsof our enrollment trends in this
community and, as you weretalking about yesterday when we
were speaking, it was you canmake adjustments on a high
school level right, Because ofscheduling and early in and
early out kind of situations,but when we're talking about
(14:09):
elementary and middle school,you can only put so many
children into a classroom and ifwe're at capacity already today
and we know that that area hasthe 14 to 17,000 extra homes
that are going to be built intothese areas that's an emergent
need for building on wings toexisting buildings and then also
(14:33):
exercising the Used to buildcompletely new buildings as well
right.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
You know, even to add a wing on takes us 12 to 18
months and and I'll be veryspecific in a couple areas.
You know, as summerville hasbecome a destination for
families, there are areas inDorchester County that just
hadn't been developed, andthat's the Ashley River area.
So as you get further andfurther away from Charleston and
(15:01):
outside of summerville, it'sstill our school district, but
there are thousands andthousands of homes being built.
The.
The one addition right nowthat's going up really rapidly
feed straight into beach illelementary school, and so there
is just nothing else we canreally do.
And you know it's reallyinteresting as I was researching
all this.
The other significant challengewe have is the Ashley River,
(15:24):
because there's no reallyRoadway to go across the river.
As you get down towards northCharleston you have to drive all
the way up to hit a road tocome back down if we were to try
to bust those kids to differentschools.
So it just creates a lot oflogistical struggles based on
the geography of our communityas well.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, and just to revisit, this has been a
three-year plan.
Y'all have done a lot ofresearch and To the specific
schools where we can just add onthe wings or where a new school
needs to be planted.
So this is not a quick,haphazard decision to run.
You know this referendum andTime is of the essence, as I
(16:07):
understand it.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
It is, and you know.
So kudos to the board and mr Pi.
They started a master facilitystudy shortly after COVID and
then, of course you know, heretired.
When I came I Completed thestudy with the contractor we
were working with and what thestudy did was looked at every
single building and what do theyneed in terms of maintenance
(16:30):
and upgrades and expansions.
And then what we did is ademographic study and we brought
in a professional demographerthat looked at the growth in the
community To give us enrollmentforecasts, and we put those two
things together and said, okay,what's our need?
And and so we have workedreally for three plus years on
this to have a plan to moveforward.
You know, when you bring theplan forward, you don't want to
(16:53):
bring a plan that's not completeto people.
So we have a master facilityproject list that includes where
the new elementary schoolLocations would be constructed,
and you'll see that they're inareas that are really right now
bursting at the seams and areonly Going to continue to grow
here in the near future.
So a lot of thoughts been putinto this.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So what we want to ask the community is to vote yes
.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Tell us about when that voting is going to take
place well and I'm always verycautious of it because the
boards made the decision to moveforward with a referendum and
At this point in the game, youknow, I it's not my role To tell
people how to vote.
I'm just trying to educate themon why we're doing what we're
doing and how we're trying toaccomplish it and be the most
(17:39):
fiscally responsible as possible, you know, and so hopefully
they see the wisdom in why we'reasking them to consider a
referendum and why it's such aneeded thing in our community
right now, because, again, atthe end of the day, we want to
maintain that high quality ofeducation that we provide our
students so the community willbe able to have the opportunity
(18:03):
to voice their vote, and thatdate is going to be when.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
May 14, may 14th, the community can voice their their
vote.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
If this does not pass this year, my understanding is
that it has to wait a whole yearbefore it passes, and so time
is of the essence, and making adecision and getting this it is
and you know, if I could add inthere too, so for us to build
two new schools, it takes 36months, and so you're looking at
three more years of enrollmentgrowth Before we could even step
(18:38):
foot into a new facility.
Now, because we did a littlebit of planning prior to, we do
think that a new facility couldbe constructed and we could
enter it in the fall of 2026versus 2027, but each, you know,
each month you wait, you knowpushes that you know can down
the road a little further andand the Construction costs are
(18:59):
going up as well, and so wethink this is the most
economical approach.
And, again, you're looking atthree years for some of these
things to be completed.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yeah, and again, there's no tax increase.
It's just a continuation ofwhat people have been paying and
new debt accrued and the, thefunds will continue to pay down
that debt right.
Um.
So I think that as a communitymember, I'm excited about this,
this.
I know the need is there.
I'm having the conversationswith families that are moving in
(19:28):
and I understand what thequality of life.
I'm a mom of children who arein the in the Dorchester County
schools, and so I know that Iwant the best for my children
and I want the best for thesefamilies that I'm assisting and
I'm selling this community tothem.
Right?
They're asking me what myopinion is about the schools and
the district and the quality ofeducation, and it's not.
(19:52):
The quality is not changing,but if we're gonna keep adding
kids to it, we've got to have aplace to put them, and that's
really what we're going after.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
So yeah, and I would tell people in the community
first of all, no school board,no superintendent wants to
rezone or run a referendum.
We just don't wanna do it.
We wanna provide great academicand educational opportunities,
but the community is causingthis.
They're causing it because it'sa great place to live All these
organizations that you'vealready mentioned.
(20:21):
They're providing opportunitiesfor families that they can't
find somewhere else, and so it'salmost it's a double-edged
sword there.
Because it's a great thing,it's attracting many, many
people, and so we just we haveto have a plan to be able to
respond, to maintain that levelof quality that we experience
every day.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Wow, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens
in May and really to the futureof our community.
So thank you so much, DrRobbins, for being here today to
tell us about what thisreferendum is gonna mean for
each one of our families.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yes, ma'am, thank you so much You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Oh, thanks for joining us.
I'll see you next time.
He is the Dorchester County School District 2
Superintendent and he is sharingwith us the need for the
referendum.
Dr Robbins, thanks for comingon today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
My pleasure.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You bet so kind of want to introduce you, let the
community get to know your rolehere in the Dorchester County
area.
But you're a resident yes,ma'am Of Dorchester County.
You're a dad to two boys.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I am.
I have two grown boys.
My oldest son's a surveyor herein the Low Country and my
youngest son is a senior at theCollege of Charleston.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
All right, and you long time educator?
Yeah, tell us about yourjourney.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So I've been an educator for almost 30 years.
I started out my career inhealthcare and then I
transitioned into teaching.
I've been a buildingadministrator teacher and I've
been a superintendent for 16years now.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, but over 30 years in the school district of
some regard right Teachingprincipal and then segwayed into
superintendent.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, I was a middle school teacher, high school
teacher, athletic trainer, highschool principal and then
superintendent.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Talk about wearing many different hats, and so now
your staff you know everybodyunderneath you knows that you've
actually walked in thesefootsteps and you've given you
know, I would imagine a prettygood feel for what the needs are
in different components of theschools.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, I think it's important for people to know
you've done what they've done.
So the challenges that theyhave, you see them as very real
and you can be compassionateabout it and try to provide them
with solutions andopportunities.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah, so tell us about more, a little bit about
your family, your boys andyou're married.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yes, yeah, so actually that's my better half.
So I've moved around a littlebit as my career has grown and
progressed, and I wouldn't bewhere I am today if it wasn't
for her.
She's the reason I've been ableto do what I do.
We've been married for over 25years and she works in the
healthcare industry, but she isa remote worker, so it's made a
(02:10):
little easier for us to move.
But we have two boys.
Our oldest son, bryce, graduatedfrom Coastal Carolina with a
degree in adolescent psychologyand, lo and behold, he's a
surveyor but loves it.
He works here in the lowcountry for an engineering firm,
and so he's nearby.
My youngest son is a financemajor accounting major at the
(02:31):
College of Charleston.
He's a senior this year, and sowe're very blessed to have them
here in the area with us.
But I also add a couple extragrown kids to that resume, and
that's my parents.
When I moved to South Carolina,my parents moved with me, and
so they moved to Somerville whenI took the job at Dorchester
County.
So my whole family is here inthe low country, and that makes
(02:53):
things really nice for us.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, keeping it all local.
And so you've come to grow, tolove this community in the short
time that you've been here.
So you moved into the ponds andyou were telling me a story the
other day.
Retell it to our community,because you were talking about
the growth and there was aholiday and, on the other, side
(03:15):
of that holiday you had extrakids that stood on the corner,
so tell us about that story.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, I'm not always consistent, but I like to run in
the morning and the ponds I'min I think they call it phase
seven.
It was a new build and sobefore Christmas, you know when
I get them run, you know I'dfinish around 6.30 in the
morning, there'd be nothing.
And then after Christmas breakI came back from my run and I
(03:40):
saw about 25 kids across from myhouse waiting on a bus, and
those were kids that weren'tthere before Christmas break,
because there are people thatwere moving in as their houses
were completed during theholidays, and we're seeing that
all across our community, buteven in my neighborhood that's
really mostly built out.
There's been over 150 homesthat were built in the last 18
(04:00):
months, and so they all haveschool-aged children and they
love the community and they'removing here from out of state.
You know a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, you migrated here.
I migrated here back 24 yearsago, moved here into Charleston
to work.
But when I really startedlooking at where am I going to
plan a family, you know,strengthen the roots of
community and where do I want tobe raising my children, I chose
(04:30):
Somerville.
And a lot of other familiesfeel the same way.
We have a big migration to ourarea and I'm on the forefront of
a lot of these conversations.
Just this year we've had 12families that have signed buyers
agency with my team from otherparts of the country and we get
these referrals, you know,referrals in from other real
(04:52):
estate professionals.
But the families are seeking agood quality of life, they're
seeking good schools to puttheir children in, they're
seeking a good opportunity fortheir work environment.
So they're just constantlycoming in and we're going to
continue to see that.
You know, as far as Charlestongoes, they know that we want to
move to Charleston.
(05:12):
But when they really startlooking at community base and
what's important in schools,they oftentimes land in
Somerville, absolutely.
It is putting a lot of pressureon our school district.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
It is.
You know, there are a lot oftimes that we always hear when
new students are enrolling andfrom out of state they do their
research.
And Dorchester School, district2, in this area has a wonderful
reputation.
We're one of the best, if notthe best, school district in the
low country and I'll standbehind that any day, and so that
does put a little pressure onus.
But you know, if you also lookat the community itself and the
(05:45):
things that they're doing withthe parks development, with the
downtown Somerville, trying tomaintain, you know, that
historic image and then bringpeople to the downtown area to
enjoy it, you know I use thethird Thursday as an example and
the farmers market, and thoseare all things that are
wonderful.
That you know.
My wife and I said you know,when I'm done, when I retire, is
(06:08):
this a place that we want tolive and my parents living here?
There's just so many things forpeople to do and it doesn't
matter your age young,middle-aged, old-aged there's
plenty to do in the community.
There really is.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And so it's not just families, it's people retire
here, or even an activeretirement where they're looking
at a second career andsomething different than what
they've been doing.
But you're right, there'salmost between the Flower Town
Festival Dream does not only thethird Thursday, but just an
amazing job of building outalmost more activities than we
can even do.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, and so it's something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
The Italian Festival.
We were just meeting with someof the leaders of these last
night you and I and so it's justinstrumental, but the thread is
that people love Somerville.
It's got a lot of history, alot of richness, but we've got
to do some things to maintainthe quality of life, and that's
(07:06):
really what we're here to talkabout today is what are the
needs for the district in orderto you know, as we present this
growth, you know, and thepressure that it's having on the
schools?
What is that going to look like?
I know that there's been athree year plan and that three
year plan has been Coming to aclose and now it's time to take
(07:30):
some action.
So tell us about what thatvision is and why we need it.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, you know.
So every day we look at thecapacity of our schools with all
the new families moving in, andwhat we don't want to do is
allow the increased enrollmentin certain buildings to degrade
the quality of education thatwe're providing.
Doesn't mean that our teachersare doing any lesser the quality
(07:55):
is any different.
It just means when you have somany students in one classroom
it makes it very difficult forthem.
And so we're looking.
We spent the last three years wedid a demographic study to look
at what our enrollmentprojections look like.
We did a master facility studyTo see what type of capital
projects work we need to do withour current facilities we have,
and then do we need toconstruct new facilities.
(08:17):
So that's where we are at theend of this three-year.
You know, you know kind of workthat we've done To create a
plan.
I provided the board with acouple different options, a
course of action, analysisMatrix for them to make some
decisions, for us to moveforward so that we can maintain
the quality of things that we doin DD2.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, so thankfully we've got a great school board
in place, and so they areinstrumental with making the
best decision with theinformation that you've given to
them.
When we look at moving forwardwith that, there's a couple of
different avenues that Couldhappen the referendum, and I'm
gonna let you talk on that a bit, but that's the avenue that has
(08:59):
been selected to move forwardright.
And so we've got a short.
How many you know?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
75 days 75 days and counting by the time.
People watch this right.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Very short amount of time to be instrumental, so tell
us about why a referendum wasthe avenue chosen right.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So in you know, we do have revenue that we receive to
maintain structures indifferent formats.
The unfortunate thing about itis that will only allow you to
maintain daily you know, yearlymaintenance activities with
those facilities.
It doesn't allow you toconstruct a new facility if you
have major growth in a community.
For us, working with ourplanning commissions, we, we
(09:41):
know now that we have over14,000 homes that are on the
books to be built in the next 10years and you're you know,
probably more aware than mostabout that and then another
3,000 homes that are Potentialdevelopments as well, and so
those all generate some number,some quantity, number of
school-aged children.
And so if you don't plan and beand you're not proactive about
(10:04):
it, then you know it becomescompletely crisis mode for us,
and so the only way we can builda structure, because of the
cost of Building a facility likethat, is through the referendum
route, and that's the reasonwhy, but I also will share that
you know.
First of all, I want to say thisbecause you mentioned the board
.
The one thing that makes ourboard good is, if you ask them
(10:28):
what their primary mission is,they're gonna tell you it's kids
, and that's why we're in thisbusiness.
And so, no, we don't want to becontractors and constructors
and do all those things, but weknow we have to do that to
provide quality education to ourkids.
But, with that being said, wehave more than one pot that
we're working out of.
We do have some money that wecan use to add on additions to
(10:50):
buildings.
Do some of those temporarystructures like learning
cottages which I don't have aproblem saying it's a fancy name
for a trailer, you know so thatwe have capacity in a building.
But to do the major lift wehave to go the referendum route
so that we can acquire moremoney up front to actually
(11:11):
contract with a contractor tobuild a building.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So, as I understand it, it's a $200 million
referendum.
How is that going to beimpactful?
This referendum, how is itgoing to affect the average
homeowner resident here inDorchester County?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, and that's the really nice thing.
We're probably.
I did a little research.
I thought maybe we're numbertwo.
I think we're number three.
Beuford County and Spartanburgboth have used the same concept.
They're growing communities,but we haven't had a referendum
in our school district for 12years.
The last referendum was 2012.
So over the course of that time, we've been able to pay down
(11:51):
debt.
There was a point in time whereinterest rates were really good
, and so we refinanced our bonds, which allowed us to pay that
down a little quicker.
And what that does is itcreates capacity for you to
acquire new debt and not changethe tax rate, the millage rate,
and so that's where we are.
This referendum is going to beone of the only that I've seen
(12:13):
in the state that you're able togo out and ask the taxpayer to
prove it, and it's not going tochange their tax rate or their
millage rate on the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
That's right and that's impactful, because we do
not want to increase taxes.
People will still be payingwhat they've been paying, but
we're just acquiring more debt.
So for those that may not knowwhat a referendum is, it's
you're taking a loan out,basically right, and then, over
time put it in context of goingand buying a house, leveraging
(12:43):
yourself by taking out amortgage and then, over time,
you're paying that off.
Same concept you're taking areferendum, a bond, and you're
just paying it back over time.
We don't have the.
You know some people.
They don't like the idea ofdebt.
They don't want the county indebt to anybody.
However, we don't have time towaste in or the luxury of saying
(13:09):
, well, let's raise all thesefunds and then build.
We don't have that time.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
No, you know some people have floated the ideas of
impact fees, which isn't on thebooks right now for us, a penny
sales tax, which isn't doablefor us.
There would have to be somelegislative changes.
But even those two concepts, ifand when they would ever pass,
then they have to.
Those monies have to accrue toyou, get to a level where you
(13:35):
could actually build, and I'vetalked to our local finance
people and they've told me whata penny sales tax would
potentially generate.
You know it would take us sixto seven years, if it was
successful, to generate thatrevenue.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
And in six to seven years that's just how much
further behind we are in termsof our enrollment trends in this
community and, as you weretalking about yesterday when we
were speaking, it was you canmake adjustments on a high
school level right, Because ofscheduling and early in and
early out kind of situations,but when we're talking about
(14:09):
elementary and middle school,you can only put so many
children into a classroom and ifwe're at capacity already today
and we know that that area hasthe 14 to 17,000 extra homes
that are going to be built intothese areas that's an emergent
need for building on wings toexisting buildings and then also
(14:33):
exercising the Used to buildcompletely new buildings as well
right.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
You know, even to add a wing on takes us 12 to 18
months and and I'll be veryspecific in a couple areas.
You know, as summerville hasbecome a destination for
families, there are areas inDorchester County that just
hadn't been developed, andthat's the Ashley River area.
So as you get further andfurther away from Charleston and
(15:01):
outside of summerville, it'sstill our school district, but
there are thousands andthousands of homes being built.
The.
The one addition right nowthat's going up really rapidly
feed straight into beach illelementary school, and so there
is just nothing else we canreally do.
And you know it's reallyinteresting as I was researching
all this.
The other significant challengewe have is the Ashley River,
(15:24):
because there's no reallyRoadway to go across the river.
As you get down towards northCharleston you have to drive all
the way up to hit a road tocome back down if we were to try
to bust those kids to differentschools.
So it just creates a lot oflogistical struggles based on
the geography of our communityas well.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, and just to revisit, this has been a
three-year plan.
Y'all have done a lot ofresearch and To the specific
schools where we can just add onthe wings or where a new school
needs to be planted.
So this is not a quick,haphazard decision to run.
You know this referendum andTime is of the essence, as I
(16:07):
understand it.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
It is, and you know.
So kudos to the board and mr Pi.
They started a master facilitystudy shortly after COVID and
then, of course you know, heretired.
When I came I Completed thestudy with the contractor we
were working with and what thestudy did was looked at every
single building and what do theyneed in terms of maintenance
(16:30):
and upgrades and expansions.
And then what we did is ademographic study and we brought
in a professional demographerthat looked at the growth in the
community To give us enrollmentforecasts, and we put those two
things together and said, okay,what's our need?
And and so we have workedreally for three plus years on
this to have a plan to moveforward.
You know, when you bring theplan forward, you don't want to
(16:53):
bring a plan that's not completeto people.
So we have a master facilityproject list that includes where
the new elementary schoolLocations would be constructed,
and you'll see that they're inareas that are really right now
bursting at the seams and areonly Going to continue to grow
here in the near future.
So a lot of thoughts been putinto this.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
So what we want to ask the community is to vote yes
.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Tell us about when that voting is going to take
place well and I'm always verycautious of it because the
boards made the decision to moveforward with a referendum and
At this point in the game, youknow, I it's not my role To tell
people how to vote.
I'm just trying to educate themon why we're doing what we're
doing and how we're trying toaccomplish it and be the most
(17:39):
fiscally responsible as possible, you know, and so hopefully
they see the wisdom in why we'reasking them to consider a
referendum and why it's such aneeded thing in our community
right now, because, again, atthe end of the day, we want to
maintain that high quality ofeducation that we provide our
students so the community willbe able to have the opportunity
(18:03):
to voice their vote, and thatdate is going to be when.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
May 14, may 14th, the community can voice their their
vote.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
If this does not pass this year, my understanding is
that it has to wait a whole yearbefore it passes, and so time
is of the essence, and making adecision and getting this it is
and you know, if I could add inthere too, so for us to build
two new schools, it takes 36months, and so you're looking at
three more years of enrollmentgrowth Before we could even step
(18:38):
foot into a new facility.
Now, because we did a littlebit of planning prior to, we do
think that a new facility couldbe constructed and we could
enter it in the fall of 2026versus 2027, but each, you know,
each month you wait, you knowpushes that you know can down
the road a little further andand the Construction costs are
(18:59):
going up as well, and so wethink this is the most
economical approach.
And, again, you're looking atthree years for some of these
things to be completed.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Yeah, and again, there's no tax increase.
It's just a continuation ofwhat people have been paying and
new debt accrued and the, thefunds will continue to pay down
that debt right.
Um.
So I think that as a communitymember, I'm excited about this,
this.
I know the need is there.
I'm having the conversationswith families that are moving in
(19:28):
and I understand what thequality of life.
I'm a mom of children who arein the in the Dorchester County
schools, and so I know that Iwant the best for my children
and I want the best for thesefamilies that I'm assisting and
I'm selling this community tothem.
Right?
They're asking me what myopinion is about the schools and
the district and the quality ofeducation, and it's not.
(19:52):
The quality is not changing,but if we're gonna keep adding
kids to it, we've got to have aplace to put them, and that's
really what we're going after.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
So yeah, and I would tell people in the community
first of all, no school board,no superintendent wants to
rezone or run a referendum.
We just don't wanna do it.
We wanna provide great academicand educational opportunities,
but the community is causingthis.
They're causing it because it'sa great place to live All these
organizations that you'vealready mentioned.
(20:21):
They're providing opportunitiesfor families that they can't
find somewhere else, and so it'salmost it's a double-edged
sword there.
Because it's a great thing,it's attracting many, many
people, and so we just we haveto have a plan to be able to
respond, to maintain that levelof quality that we experience
every day.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Wow, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens
in May and really to the futureof our community.
So thank you so much, DrRobbins, for being here today to
tell us about what thisreferendum is gonna mean for
each one of our families.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yes, ma'am, thank you so much You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Oh, thanks for joining us.
I'll see you next time.
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