State funding will help newly consolidated district in South Carolina build high school

The Hampton County (S.C.) district will receive $52 million in state funding to help it build a replacement high school.

Bluffton Today reports that the district wants to build a consolidated high school that will replace two existing campuses.

The Hampton County district was created in 2021 after Hampton County District 1 and Hampton County District 2 consolidated. The new high school would replace Wade Hampton High School from the former Hampton County School District 1 and Estill High School from the former Hampton County School District 2.

The new high school is estimated to cost about $80 million. The district expects to seek request a bond referendum for about $25 million dollars to secure the rest of the funding.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman says Hampton County was chosen to receive state funding after the state commissioned independent studies of school facilities in the state’s poorest counties. The facilities assessment  determined that replacement of Wade Hampton High School was Hampton County's most critical need.