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MYRTLE BEACH — New attendance lines could impact more than 1,900 students in one of the fastest-growing communities in Horry County. Horry County Schools plans to open two elementary schools next year in Carolina Forest , which sits between Conway and Myrtle Beach. District officials said the new schools will help alleviate some of the overcrowding in an area where most schools exceed 100 percent capacity.
This week, the school district unveiled updates to its attendance plan, which details which Carolina Forest neighborhoods will be served by the new schools. The plan also explains how Carolina Forest Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary and River Oaks Elementary attendance will change as a result. These three are some of the district's most overcrowded schools.
Carolina Forest is at 136 percent capacity, while Ocean Bay is at 144 percent and River Oaks is at 166 percent. "I'm sure there's also a lot of excitement and maybe some trepidation about attendance lines," said Joe Burch, the district's executive director of capital projects. "We did an extensive examination of all known potential development data in these areas that we could find.
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We did not split any neighborhoods." The district's facilities committee discussed the latest updates on Nov. 18, and Burch's team will bring the plan back to the Horry County Board of Education for consideration on Dec.
9. Horry County Schools released on Nov. 18, 2024, its current draft of new Carolina Forest elementary attendance areas.
The district plans to finalize the new attendance areas by December. The new attendance areas include the two new elementary schools set to open by the start of that school year, which are being called "Carolina Forest Blvd Elementary" and "Robert McNair Blvd Elementary" to distinguish them. The new schools are located along Carolina Forest and Ronald McNair boulevards.
Each cost at least $64 million to construct, and their respective capacities are about 1,200 students. Both sites are being constructed simultaneously and are anticipated to be completed by July, according to district records. With no official names yet, the new buildings are currently referred to as Carolina Forest Boulevard Elementary and Ronald McNair Boulevard Elementary.
Carolina Forest Boulevard Elementary would draw students from Carolina Forest Elementary and Ocean Bay Elementary. It would include the following neighborhoods: Summerlyn, Waterbridge, The Parks, Plantation Lakes at Carolina Forest, Avalon Plantation, Brighton Lakes, Southgate at Carolina Forest and Reserve at Walkers Woods. Robert McNair Boulevard Elementary would include Burning Ridge, Ridgefield, Legends, Sago Plantation, Emerald Forest, Tuscany, Bella Vita, Arrowhead, River Oaks Drive and Carolina Waterway Plantation.
Meanwhile, Carolina Forest Elementary would serve Conway-area neighborhoods: Wild Wing Plantation, Clear Pond, Sanctuary at Wild Wing Plantation, Waterford Plantation and Covington Lake. Ocean Bay Elementary School in Carolina Forest. Ocean Bay Elementary, which borders Waterbridge and Summerlyn, would include the following communities: The Farm at Carolina Forest, Willows at Bellegrove Preserve, Forest Village and Town Centre Commons.
River Oaks Elementary's coverage area would border the Bella Vita subdivision and River Oaks Golf Plantation. It would include Berkshire Forest, Waterway Palms Plantation, Bluffs on the Waterway, Carolina Waterway Plantation and The Battery on the Waterway, according to district records. Burch's team met with the school principals and the Carolina Forest Area Advisory Board about the new attendance areas and HCS has already included their feedback in the plan.
Many of Horry County’s school buildings are overcrowded and have exceeded functional capacity, including seven of the nine Carolina Forest schools. Functional capacity reflects a school’s space constraints and helps districts plan for individual facility needs. It is based on the use of rooms and current pupil-teacher ratio, and it's measured as a percentage.
County documents note that 85 percent is considered to be "efficient" functional capacity. This tiny, exclusive SC school outclasses the rest of the state. Here's why.
When the two new schools open, 1,920 of the 3,870 students who currently attend Carolina Forest Elementary, Ocean Bay Elementary and River Oaks Elementary would be reassigned next year. Plans call for 920 of those students to be reassigned to Robert McNair Boulevard Elementary and 1,000 moving to Carolina Forest Boulevard Elementary. This would reduce the functional capacity in all five of these Carolina Forest schools to an average of about 76 percent, making them within efficient functional capacity levels, according to district records.
In addition, the district plans to move over 50 modular classrooms once the two new buildings open. Modular classrooms, used to help alleviate overcrowding, are portable classroom buildings placed on school property. They can often include up to eight classrooms, with each fitting up to about 30 students.
The district's facilities committee approved relocating 24 modular classrooms to Carolina Forest High School, 22 to Myrtle Beach High School and 10 to Waccamaw Elementary. These portable classrooms have been located at Carolina Forest Elementary, River Oaks Elementary and Ocean Bay Elementary. Myrtle Beach's tourism industry relies on international workers.
A new complex will house them. The modular classrooms will help alleviate overcrowding as the schools prepare for renovations and future growth, Burch said. There will also be remaining modular classrooms at River Oaks Elementary if needed.
The school board had already approved about $7 million in total for the Carolina Forest High and Myrtle Beach High relocations. Also, the Waccamaw Elementary relocation is expected to cost about $950,000 next year, and that is currently in the district's capital improvement budget, Burch said. School Board Vice Chairman Neil James commended Burch and his team on the updated plan.
He mentioned how, during the district's recent comment period, officials sent out 8,500 emails about the plan and received over 100 comments and questions from affected families. "This has been a painstaking process," James said. "There's been significant interaction with our public, so thank you for leading the charge on that.
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