Amid a largely negative and harsh response on social media, the Hampton County School District is providing more details and answering questions about a school bond referendum to be placed on the November General Election ballot by issuing a fact sheet on its online platforms last week.
Less than a month after cutting the ribbon on its new $85-plus million Hampton County High School, the HCSD is asking voters to approve another multi-million-dollar school bond referendum.
On Aug. 5, the HCSD announced that its Board of Trustees had approved a resolution at its Aug. 4 regular meeting to place a $29 million bond referendum on the Nov. 3, 2026, General Election ballot.
Following the announcement, the vast majority of social media comments by county
residents were either highly critical of the proposal or outright opposed, and the district promised to issue a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) fact sheet to provide clarity and more details.
What new information has the HCSD released in last week's FAQ?
If approved by voters on Nov. 3, the $29 million bond loan would take 25 years to pay off, but planning, design and construction could be immediately after the General Election.
The school district says it would not have the funds to complete three proposed construction projects, or the legal authority to borrow this amount of money, without an authorized referendum and voter approval.
If approved by voters, the referendum will fund three major capital improvement projects at the newly constructed Hampton County High School. These projects include:
- Completing the construction and equipping of the athletic complex at the Hampton County High School, to include outdoor athletics fields. This project is estimated to cost $26.1 million.
- Constructing and equipping a greenhouse for the Career and Technical Education Agriculture program at the new high school. This project is estimated to cost $400,000.
- Constructing and equipping a dedicated alternative educational placement learning center at the new school. This project is estimated to cost $2.5 million.
If not approved, the district would have to continue using its existing athletics and alternate learning facilities in Varnville at the former Wade Hampton High School campus and would have to forego the addition of the greenhouse project.
Will the new school bond referendum cause taxes to increase?
During the HCSD Board of Trustees July 21 meeting, financial advisors informed the board that the district's current debt service millage is 44 mills, which they say is considered low in comparison to surrounding counties. According to the July 21 minutes, "the proposed referendum is expected to require an increase in the current debt service millage to finance the projects."
According to meeting minutes and the FAQ fact sheet, if the bond referendum is approved it would require an additional 35 mills to fund the $29M loan payment, resulting in an estimated total of 79 mills.
Each additional mill represents approximately $4 annually on an owner-occupied home with an assessed value of $100,000, resulting in an estimated annual tax impact/increase of approximately $140 for that $100K home.
If approved, voters would first see the increase on the tax bills that would be mailed out in the Fall of 2027.
What is the next step for the school district?
Hampton County voters can help determine the future of those projects by casting “yes" or "no" votes on the Nov. 3 referendum, say district officials, who have pledged to lead a "robust education campaign" to inform the public about the capital improvement projects and the referendum from now until Election Day.
To reach voters, the district says it plans to use its existing communication platforms, including social media, as well as door-to-door canvassing, community meetings, and other events.
The new high school was primarily funded by a $52 million allotment from the State, with then-State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman personally presenting the ceremonial check in September 2022, and in November 2022 Hampton County voters approved a $25 million bond referendum to complete the funding for the $85-plus million project.
That referendum narrowly passed with 59 percent of the vote four years ago.
The new high school campus currently offers a state-of-the-art basketball gym large enough to host state playoff tournaments, but no outdoor athletics facilities.
What could happen to the old Wade Hampton High School facilities?
For now, both the district alternative school facilities and outdoor athletics facilities remain at the high school campus in Varnville formerly known as Wade Hampton High School.
If the referendum is not approved, the district would continue to use these facilities for at least the next several years, until funding for new projects can be procured via another attempted bond referendum, or allotted state funding. If the referendum is approved, Hampton County local government has plans for the former WHHS campus.
In January of 2025, the HCSD and the Hampton County Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding allowing the county to purchase the roughly 28-acre WHHS campus for only $250,000.
As one of several conditions outlined in this memorandum, the county would allow the school district to continue using its athletics facilities for both the middle and the high schools until new facilities can be constructed at the new high school campus on Savannah Highway (U.S. 601 South).
During a series of community forums in the Spring of 2026, Hampton County officials outlined plans for the former WHHS campus that included using it for a countywide recreation complex, as well as moving many county offices and operations centers there.
To help make those plans a reality, county officials said they have applied for $3 million in federal funding and submitted a $31 million funding request package to the State. Those funds have not yet been announced.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: HCSD answers questions about November bond referendum
