GREENWOOD, S.C. — Voters in Greenwood School District 50 in Greenwood, S.C., will decide on Nov. 3 whether to let the district borrow up to $175 million for school construction and renovation, and district leaders are walking residents through how that money would work.
If approved, the general obligation bonds would pay for a new Benjamin E. Mays Elementary and a new combined Lakeview-Pinecrest Elementary School, major renovations and additions at Rice Elementary and Hodges Elementary School, and safety, transportation and facility upgrades across the district. Planning and design are underway, construction would begin in 2027 and the work is expected to wrap up during the 2028-2029 school year.
Andrew Macke, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, described school finances as two separate checkbooks. The general fund covers operations such as salaries, benefits, supplies and testing. A separate capital, or debt service, fund pays for large construction projects and is supported by bonds and property taxes set aside to repay debt.
Macke compared a bond to a home mortgage: the district borrows the money up front and pays it back over time. Under state law, bond money cannot be spent on teacher pay, textbooks or other daily operating costs, and he said the two funds are kept apart with separate accounts and internal controls.
The South Carolina Constitution caps school district borrowing at 8% of the assessed value of taxable property without voter approval, which is why a project of this size goes to a referendum. Macke said the district now brings in about $16 million a year from its debt service millage, with roughly $9 million to $10 million going to existing debt.
District officials say the bond is not projected to require a tax increase. The district will hold community information sessions at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, and Monday, Oct. 26, at the Genesis Education Center. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.
