South-Carolina

Nearly $1B in school bonds is on the ballot in Lancaster, Chester and York counties

Published

2 months ago

November 1, 2024

Nearly B in school bonds is on the ballot in Lancaster, Chester and York counties

Voters in three of South Carolina’s Charlotte metro counties will decide the fate of nearly $1 billion in school bond referendums this election. School districts in Lancaster, Chester, and York counties are looking to expand capacity and enhance security features in campus buildings.

Meanwhile voters in Chesterfield County are being asked to renew the county school district’s penny sales tax to help fund upgrades to athletic facilities, general renovations, and expanded classroom and cafeteria spaces.

Lancaster

The largest of the referendums on the ballot is in Lancaster, where the county school district is seeking $588.15 million, mostly for the construction of four new school buildings. The district serves almost 16,000 students in 22 schools; it is looking to add an elementary school and a high school to fast-growing Indian Land (which would use $315.6 million of the bond funds); a new elementary school in Lancaster ($113.45 million); and a new elementary school in Kershaw ($95 million).

An additional $37.6 million is earmarked for districtwide facilities upgrades, while $26.5 million would pay for security, safety, and facilities upgrades in the Buford community.

The tax impact on voters, should the referendum pass, would be about $65 per year for every $100,000 of assessed property value of an owner-occupied home, and per every $10,000 of assessed vehicle value. That tax would bump to $92 per year $100,000 of assessed value of non-owner-occupied residential properties.

Chester

In Chester, voters will decide on $227 million that would fund a pair of new high schools and upgrades to another.

The new high schools would replace the current buildings in Chester and Lewisville. The upgrades would be made at Great Falls High School.

The money raised by the referendum would cover most of the costs of the projects. According to information published by the district, the referendum would pay $99.1 million towards the new high school in Chester and $100.15 million towards the new high school in Lewisville. The remaining $16.8 million to complete both projects would be paid for by the district’s capital funds – which would pay for a theater and a gym at each location.

The tax impact, according to the district, would be $230 annually per $100,000 of assessed home value, plus $34.50 for every $10,000 of assessed vehicle value. The owner of a home valued at $100,000 and a vehicle valued at $10,000, therefore, would pay an additional $264.50 per year in taxes, if the bond referendum passes.

That is a big if, however. Chester voters have denied three successive bond referendums, in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

District spokesman Chris Christoff said that following the 2022 referendum, voters stated that they had felt the district was trying “to do a little too much at one time.” In response, the district launched a series of listening sessions this past spring.

“We asked, if we were to pursue a fourth referendum, what would you want to see,” Christoff said.

A follow-up survey asked whether voters understood the capacity, security, and facilities conditions issues in the district. According to the district, about 80% of the roughly 1,000 respondents said they better understood what they would be voting on, which is a scaled-down slate of projects that no longer include athletics expansions or work to the district career center.

If the referendum fails this round, Christoff said, the district will spent about $20 million of its own capital funds to replace the roofs at Great Falls and Chester high schools, plus other funds to buy additional modular classrooms in Lewisville – the fastest-growing area of the school district, he said.

Chester County School District serves about 5,500 students, which is up from about 5,100 students in 2018-19.

York

The smallest referendum on the ballot for Pee Dee voters this election is a $90 million bond that would pay for a new middle school and expansion and renovations to a learning center in York County School District 1, in York.

According to the district, four elementary schools and one middle school are between 80% and 90% capacity in a district that continues to grow along with the Charlotte metro. As of March, almost 2,400 new homes in the City of York are on tap from development plans in place, according to the district

Therefore, the district maintains, a new middle school is needed to meet that growth as elementary students age up.

The district also wants to renovate its Pinckney Street Learning Center/York One Academy to become an early childhood center.

The tax impact on voters would be $36 additional per year for every $100,000 of assessed home value; $54 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value on second or rental properties; and $945 per year for every $1 million of assessed business property value.

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South-Carolina

WBB: Wofford Preview

Published

1 hour ago

December 29, 2024

Press Room

Who: #2 South Carolina (11-1) vs. Wofford (6-4). Columbia, SC

Time/TV: 2:00 on SEC Network.

Line: There might not be one but we will update if one becomes available. SC -42.5 with a 131.5 total is best guess.

History: South Carolina leads 7-0 all-time and is 5-0 in Columbia. The schools have only met once during Dawn Staley‘s tenure.

Last Meeting: November 19, 2017. SC 94-60 in Columbia. Carolina beat the Terriers in their fourth game of the season behind 16 points and 13 rebounds from All-American A’ja Wilson. Wilson did her damage in just 19 minutes. Ty Harris had 13 points. Wilson and Harris were joined by Alexis Jennings, Kiki Herbert-Harrigan, Lindsey Spann and Doniyah Cliney all with double digit points.

Scouting the Terries

Wofford enters this contest at 6-4. They have one common opponent with the Gamecocks- Duke. The Terries fell at Cameron 93-58. The Gamecocks beat Duke 81-70 in game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Terrier leading scorer Rachael Rose (13.8 pgg) is back from an injury that kept her out of more than half of Wofford’s games thus far. Rose is a career 40% three-point shooter but she’s struggled this season hitting only 23.8% of her attempts. She’s also 16% below her career average in foul shooting. Rose was named as the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year. The Scranton, PA native is trying to repeat winning the award as she was the player of the year in the league last season as well. Wofford was also picked to win the league narrowly over UNC Greensboro.

Wofford’s best all-around player on the season has been Evangelia Paulk. The 6’0 guard out of Asheville is averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game, (team high).

As expected, Wofford doesn’t have the size or athleticism to keep up with Carolina. Wofford only has three players at 6’0 or above and only Paulk starts. The tallest player is 6’2. Wofford is one of the few teams that will rotate as many players as the Gamecocks. Wofford has 12 girls that are playing over nine minutes a game.

For Carolina

It’s pretty simple, don’t get anyone hurt. South Carolina will embark on its’ 16-game SEC odyssey plus UConn beginning on January 2. The Gamecocks play nine games against teams presently ranked in the Top 25.

Fans can enjoy free concession for this game. During the free concessions promotion, hot dogs, regular fountain sodas, popcorn and bottled water will be free for all fans. For each transaction, fans can get one hot dog, popcorn and one regular fountain soda or bottled water for each ticket they have for that game. Fans can visit the concession stands an unlimited amount of times throughout the game.

At each game, the free concessions promotion will end at the end of the third quarter for women’s games.

Prediction: 88-51 Gamecocks.

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South-Carolina

Analyst sends strong message on South Carolina's offensive schemes after major Gamecocks football coaching change | Sporting News

Published

9 hours ago

December 28, 2024

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Analyst sends strong message on South Carolina's offensive schemes after major Gamecocks football coaching change | Sporting News

South Carolina’s offense will be in new hands as the Gamecocks transition from Dowell Loggains to Mike Shula. As On3’s Kevin Miller notes, Shula’s experience working with QB LaNorris Sellers during the 2024 college football season likely means the team’s schemes won’t be changing much.

“As South Carolina transitions from Loggains to Shula, there shouldn’t be a dramatic scheme shift. Shula worked closely with Sellers this year and has shown similar offensive philosophies to Loggains during his other coaching stops. However, Tuesday will mark his first solo experience calling plays for the Gamecocks,” Miller wrote.

Loggains took the head coaching job at Appalachian State, leaving the opening for Shula. Among the many goals Shula has during their Citrus Bowl matchup against Illinois, finding common ground in rushing the ball and keeping Sellers from taking too many hits is of utmost importance.

“South Carolina’s rushing success fluctuated in 2024, and 77.9% of the team’s yards on the ground came from Sanders (who isn’t playing) or the quarterback position. Finding consistency will be key. It seems obvious that Sellers will be a major factor in the game plan on the ground. However, every offense would prefer its star quarterback to avoid taking hits if possible.”

Shula has discussed giving Sellers the key to the offense in a way that’d unlock him – perhaps unleashing a Cam Newton-like QB in the Gamecocks backfield.

“You actually kind of find yourself looking back and I think we’ll do that some in the offseason,” Shula said, per On3. “Maybe there’s some things that we did back there with Cam that maybe we haven’t done in a while that might fit here with LaNorris.

“It’s going to probably be more philosophy wise regarding X’s and O’s than it would be ‘Hey, watch how he runs.’ So, it’s hard to have it both ways. That’s the one thing I’ve learned with guys that can carry the football and run like both Cam and LaNorris. LaNorris has still got a long way to go. It’s just his first year. But we’ll continue to try to build on those things.”

Illinois is a mediocre defensive team, so Shula and Sellers may have a big debut together. It’s no guarantee, though, with bowl game unpredictability being prominent this year outside of any College Football Playoff games so far.

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Top 10 women's sports moments in 2024: South Carolina's perfect season to Olympic golds

Published

17 hours ago

December 28, 2024

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Top 10 women's sports moments in 2024: South Carolina's perfect season to Olympic golds

On Her Turf’s Natalie Esquire and Callie Fin reflect on their top women’s sports moments from the year, from gold medal Olympic wins, historic WNBA finals and plenty of strong comeback stories.

1) Gamecocks cap perfect season with NCAA title win over Iowa

The University of South Carolina Gamecocks completed their undefeated season after they bested Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In 2023, they had fallen in the semifinals to the Hawkeyes. Led by the legendary Dawn Staley, who racked up multiple coach of the year accolades, and Kamilla Cardoso, star defensive player of the year, the Gamecocks secured their third national championship title. “When young people lock in and have a belief, and have a trust, and their parents have that same trust, this is what can happen,” Staley said after the win. “They made history. They etched their names in the history books.”

CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 07: Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks celebrates after beating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Championship at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 07, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. South Carolina beat Iowa 87-75 (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

2) New York Liberty win first WNBA Championship

The New York Liberty, an original WNBA franchise, won its first ever WNBA championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx, 67-62, and going 3-2 in the series. The 2024 season was record-breaking across the league, with soaring attendance numbers and viewership. The No. 1 seeded Liberty had reached the final five other times, including falling to the Aces in 2023, but had never won. The 2024 title marked the first basketball championship win for New York in 48 years, and Ellie the Elephant celebrated accordingly.

3) U.S. women’s gymnastics reclaims team gold at Olympics

Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team reclaimed team gold at the Paris Olympics. After taking home silver in 2020, all eyes were on Team USA’s redemption tour and Biles’ return to Olympic competition after she withdrew from Tokyo with the twisties. The squad featured Tokyo returners Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Jade Carey. The Americans had a 3.602 led over Italy heading into the final rotation, where Biles delivered her triple-twist double on the floor to clinch the U.S.’s fourth ever gold medal in the event.

USA Gymnastics team final paris 2024 — PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 30: Biles Simone, Carey Jade, Chiles Jordan, Lee Sunisa and Hezly Rivera of Team United States celebrate after winning the Artistic Gymnastics – Women’s Team Final on day 4 of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Bercy Arena on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Sheng Jiapeng/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

4) Katie Ledecky four-peats in 800m freestyle at Paris Olympics

On the anniversary of her first gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle (August 3, London 2012), Katie Ledecky took home her fourth consecutive medal in the event in Paris. In a gritty, neck-and-neck race, Ledecky held off Australian star Ariarne Titmus, who was 11 years old when Ledecky won her first gold in the event. With the win, Ledecky now has 14 Olympic medals, nine of them gold, making her the most decorated U.S. woman athlete to compete in the Olympics.

katie ledecky 800m paris 2024 — Katie Ledecky of United States of America reacts after winning the gold medal in the swimming 800m Freestyle Women Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena. Paris (France), August 03rd, 2024 (Photo by Deepbluemedia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

5) USWNT tops Brazil to win gold at Paris Olympics

The USWNT took home its fifth gold medal in Paris after a tight, 1-0 match against Brazil. The win came just 70 days after Emma Hayes started her tenure as head coach, her new leadership a breath of fresh air for a program that last won gold in 2012 and settled for bronze in 2016. The self-proclaimed “Triple Espresso” trio of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson powered the team through an undefeated tournament. The match was also Marta’s last international game, with her retirement pending at the end of 2024.

USWNT Gold medal paris 2024 — PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 10: (L-R) Alyssa Naeher , Emily Fox , Naomi Girma , Trinity Rodman , Lynn Williams , Mallory Swanson , Sophia Smith , Tierna Davidson , Jaedyn Shaw , Rose Lavelle , Samantha Coffey , Casey Murphy , singing the national anthem after winning the Women’s Gold Medal match between Brazil and United States of America during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Parc des Princes on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

6) USATF comes from behind to win gold in 4x100m relay

Anchored by Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry and Gabby Thomas earned the team’s first medal in eight years with their gold medal finish in the 4x100m relay. Richardson came from behind in fourth place to secure the gold, 0.07 seconds ahead of Great Britian and Germany in a tight-knit, rainy race. It was Thomas’ second Olympics, while everyone else made their Olympic debuts.

Women's 4x100 T&F Paris 2024 — PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 09: Sha’carri Richardson looks across to Daryll Neita of Team Great Britain before she accelerates to the line to win the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final for the USA on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

7) USA Basketball wins 8th straight Olympic gold in thriller

The USA Women’s Basketball team added to its undefeated streak at the Olympics, defeating the host France in a close 67-66 game. With the gritty win, the U.S. earned its eighth consecutive gold medal and has now won 61 games in a row at the Olympics, beginning all the way back in 1992. Led by A’Ja Wilson and her 21 points and head coach Cheryl Reeves, the team became the first team in any sport in Olympic history to win eight straight golds.

USA Women's Basketball Paris 2024 — USA’s players celebrate after winning the women’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Damien MEYER / AFP) (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images)

8) Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaks her own world record

What can’t she do? Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the defending gold medalist in the women’s 400m hurdles heading into Paris. She not only secured gold once again, but finished in 50.37, .28 seconds faster than her world record time she set in June at the Olympic trials and demolished the Olympic record of 51.46.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 400m Paris — PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 08: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of Team United States competes in the Women’s 400m Hurdles Final on day thirteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

9) Coco Gauff rallies to win first WTA Finals title

20-year-old Coco Gauff became the youngest player since 2004 to win the WTA Finals, after a season filled with ups and downs, including the longest title match in WTA Finals history. With her wins during the tournament, she also became the youngest player since 2002 to beat the reigning world No.1 and No. 2 and brought home the largest single prize in WTA history of $4.8 million dollars.

lol safe to say I beat the bad season allegations 😭🫣
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) November 10, 2024

coco gauff wta finals 2024 — RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – NOVEMBER 09: Coco Gauff of the United States celebrates with the Billie Jean King trophy after her win against Qinwen Zheng of China in their Women’s Singles Final match during the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh as part of the Hologic WTA Tour at King Saud University Indoor Arena on November 09, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA)
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10) Team USA wins first-ever medal in women’s rugby

In the final seconds of the bronze medal rugby game, all hope seemed lost for the U.S, down 7-12 to Australia. Then, Team USA’s Alex Sedrick sprinted the entire length of the pitch, diving for a try that would tie the game. Sedrick, not a designated kicker, took the conversion to secure Team USA’s first ever medal in the sport since it was added in 2016 and the first medal in rugby 15s or 7s for the U.S since 1924. “I hope it means we get more games in stadiums like this, that we get more money and funding for the women’s game. We deserve it. We need more girls in the U.S trying rugby and seeing what it can do for them,” Ilona Maher said.