South Carolina Public Charter School District
Location
1824 Barnwell Street Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
District information
GradesPre-k12th
Established2006
SuperintendentChris G. Neeley[1]
Deputy superintendent(s)
  • Emily Paul
  • Michael Thom
  • John R. Payne
  • Emalee Baker
[2]
Chair of the boardJohn Payne[3]
Schools38
Budget$3.45 million
NCES District ID4503901[4]
District ID4701
Students and staff
Students17,100 (2022)
Teachers1244[5]
Staff31 FTEs (full-time equivalent)[6]
Student–teacher ratio13.45:1
Other information
Websitewww.sccharter.org

The South Carolina Public Charter School District (often shortened to SCPCSD) is a school district based in Columbia, South Carolina that currently includes thirty four public charter schools across the state of South Carolina. The district has approximately 17,100 students.

Governance and funding

The South Carolina Public Charter School District is semi-unique in the United States for being one of the only statewide public school districts.

The SCPCSD is not funded through local funding (property taxes), which means that when a student attends a public school in the district, the South Carolina Public Charter School District is not given funding for educating that child. Instead, the local school district is provided the local funding for the student even though the student does not attend a school in the local district. To help account for the disparity, the South Carolina legislature appropriates a per pupil amount through an annual budget proviso-- $3,600/student for those attending a brick-and-mortar school, $1,900 for those enrolled in a virtual school and 4,300/student for those enrolled in a special education program.

While public charter schools are sometimes mistaken for private schools, all public charter schools in the United States are authorized and operated by public school authorities. In the case of the South Carolina Public Charter School District, by law the schools within the district are considered to be the same as any other public school district in South Carolina, independent of the South Carolina Department of Education.

Another way for a public charter school to open in South Carolina is through the auspices of a local public school district, but many such traditional districts are extremely hesitant to open public charter schools for a variety of reasons. The SCPCSD was created as a charter school authorizer by the South Carolina Legislature as an alternative method for public charter schools to be approved for operation in the state. The state legislature did this, in part, to resolve various legal questions regarding resource allocation for public charter schools in local districts. In addition, the legislature hoped that a little competition with local school districts might lead to greater reform for the state's historically lagging public school system.

Schools

The district oversees the following public schools, of which some are traditional "brick and mortar" schools and some are virtual schools:[7]

School name Location Grades
Bettis Preparatory Leadership Academy Trenton K–8
Bridges Preparatory School Beaufort K–12
Butler Academy Hartsville K–6
Calhoun Falls Charter School Calhoun Falls 6–12
Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School McClellanville PK-8
Charleston Advancement Academy Charleston 9-12
Coastal Leadership Academy Myrtle Beach 9–12
Compass Collegiate Academy Charleston K-2
East Link Academy Greenville PK-8
East Point Academy Cayce PK-8
Felton Laboratory Charter School Orangeburg K-8
Fox Creek High School North Augusta 9–12
GREEN Charter School of Greenville Greenville K-8
GREEN Charter School of Spartanburg Spartanburg K-8
GREEN Charter School of the Lowcountry Charleston K-8
GREEN Charter School of the Midlands Irmo K-8
GREEN Upstate High School Simpsonville 9-12
Greenville Technical Charter High School Greenville 9-12
Greer Middle College Charter High School Taylors 9-12
High Point Academy Spartanburg PK-12
Imagine Columbia Leadership Academy Columbia K–5
Lakes and Bridges Charter School Easley 1-8
LEAD Academy Greenville K-8
Learn4Life High School Charleston Charleston 9-12
Legacy Early College Greenville PK-12
Liberty STEAM Charter School Sumter K-2
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy North Charleston 9-12
Lowcountry Montessori School Beaufort PK–12
Meyer Center for Special Children Greenville PK-2
Midlands Arts Conservatory Columbia 6-11
Midlands Middle College Columbia 11-12
Palmetto Achievement Center for Excellence Academy (PACE) Columbia 2-8
Palmetto Scholars Academy North Charleston 6–12
Pee Dee Math, Science and Technology Academy Bishopville K–12
Polaris Tech Charter School Ridgeland 5-12
Riverwalk Academy Rock Hill K–12
Royal Live Oaks Academy of Arts & Sciences Hardeeville K–8
SC Whitmore School virtual school 9–12
South Carolina Science Academy Columbia 6–11
South Carolina Virtual Charter School virtual school K–12
Spartanburg Preparatory School Spartanburg K–10
Tall Pines STEM Academy Aiken 5–8
York Preparatory Academy Rock Hill K–12
Youth Leadership Academy (affiliated with Clemson University) Pickens 6–8

Many of the district's virtual learning schools use an education management company. In some states, these companies are for-profit, yet in South Carolina these companies are prohibited by law from being for-profit. The schools are actually different entities than the management companies that serve the schools. For example, Palmetto State e-Cademy changed its education management company in 2009, which demonstrates that the school is broader than the hired management company. Palmetto State e-Cademy later decided that it could operate without an EMO and has been operating that way for the last two years. In practice, the line between school and education management company can be difficult to see, but the law in South Carolina is clear in making an operational and organizational distinction between the education management companies and the schools.

References

  1. "SCPCSD Team". SC Public Charter School District. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  2. "SCPCSD Team". SC Public Charter School District. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  3. "SCPCSD Board of Trustees". SC Public Charter School District. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  4. "District Directory Information". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  5. "South Carolina Public Charter School District 2021-2022". SC Report Cards. SC Dept. of Education. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  6. "SCPCSD Team". SC Public Charter School District. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  7. "Public Charter Schools".
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