Repair – Renovate - Renew New Elementary Schools – It is time for a reevaluation of the district’s schools and what will best suit this community. The district will be reassessing the current number of schools against the current population/student enrollment decline. New Middle Schools – In 2019, the district merged Granard Middle School into Gaffney Middle School and Ewing Middle School. This was intended to be a short- term resolution to the operating state of Granard Middle School. Blacksburg Middle School, Gaffney Middle School, and Ewing Middle School are all outdated and inadequate for today’s learning standards. All three continue to be a strain on our operating budget. Where it makes more sense to renovate versus building a new building, we will be considering the ages of facilities, current enrollment, and educational and academic needs for all of our students. What is Proposed? Why a Bond Referendum? Why Now? What is the Plan? Support Students First The Cherokee County School District Board of Trustees has approved moving forward with a building bond referendum for the upcoming election year. This bond will allow the district to reevaluate, reconfigure, and reposition our current facilities by building new schools, focusing district and county funding into educating our students, and providing adequate learning environments. This referendum will also continue where the penny sales tax referendum left off, all in an effort to combat the continual mounting costs of operating 50+ year old buildings. Community Support Is Needed Now More Than Ever Although federal legislation has focused attention on upgrading curriculum, teacher qualifications and testing standards, school districts continue to fall behind on modernizing schools. Many school districts are hard-pressed to fund needed upgrades, so they postpone major changes as long as possible. Rapid changes in technology, new government mandated programs, and inadequate conditions are making delays increasingly detrimental. State and federally mandated programs, usually unfunded or under-funded, have become a significant funding challenge for our schools. School districts rely on county funding to operate! It Is Long Overdue and Fiscally Unmanageable Strong Schools – Strong Community. Cherokee County and Cherokee County School District are at a crossroad, particularly with education and how the school district is impacting the community; specifically, the quality of life and community growth. School districts help sustain a community and are helpful indicators of economic growth. The current state of the Cherokee County School District is not that of a district that is thriving academically or financially. With respect to operating costs and funding, the district has reached a point where the facility operating costs and repairs are causing the district to spend more on the buildings that house our students versus educating our students. With respect to teachers, school facilities affect recruitment, retention, commitment, and effort. With respect to students, school facilities affect health, behavior, engagement, learning, and achievement. Facility quality is an important predictor of teacher retention and student learning. Referendum Fast Facts Cherokee County SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM SCHOOL BUS