Campaign Launches For Berkeley Schools Referendum

The campaign kicked off Tuesday in support of Berkeley County's $198 million plan for 5 new schools and renovations at 29 existing sites.

Fittingly, the volunteer campaign Yes 4 Schools selected Stratford High's trailer park — more than a dozen units used for history classes, English as a Second Language and other programs. The issues at the Crowfield campus are just as bad in the lunchroom, with students pushed into the hallways to eat when tables fill up.  

"Some kids don't even eat lunch," said Stratford student Phillip Habib, before looking at the 16 trailers that have been fixtures on the campus for decades. "This bond referendum will get rid of all the trailers and expand our cafeteria," Habib said.

Read the Berkeley schools ballot referendum as it will appear on the ballot

Stratford is one of the local schools that will receive significant renovations if the referendum is approved, along with Goose Creek High School and Marrington School of the Arts.

New campuses would be built in the Goose Creek area include new elementary schools in the Sheep Island Road area, Tanner Plantation and Foxbank Plantation. A new high school and middle school are also planned in the Daniel Island/Cainhoy area.

Improvements are also planned for 29 other schools, including Boulder Bluff Elementary, College Park Elementary, College Park Middle, Devon Forest Elementary, Goose Creek Primary, Hanahan Elementary, Hanahan Middle, Hanahan High, Howe Hall AIMS, Marrington Elementary, Sangaree Elementary, Sangaree Intermediate, Sedgefield Intermediate, Westview Elementary and Westview Middle. 

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Supporters pointed to safety concerns of cramped classrooms and programs in trailer, as well as the need for modern facilities for students currently learning in buildings built for another generation.

"The state of our school facilities today is poor, and simply put, it means our kids are being held back from learning what they need to succeed," said John Matthews of Goose Creek, Co-Chair of Yes 4 Schools. "It's hard to learn when you’re crammed into a trailer with too many other students, or you're an 18-year-old basketball player stuffed into a classroom built for kindergartners. Overcrowding is a major issue stifling Berkeley County schools right now, and our students are also suffering because schools lack modern technology and even adequate safety measures."

And if the referendum doesn't pass? Stratford principal Conrad Lopes surveyed the trailers at the back of his campus. "We'd continue to do this," he said. "We may have to build more huts."