This Jasper County charter school is one step closer to being built

A Jasper County charter school is one step closer to opening in time for next school year.

Polaris Tech Charter School, a career-focused middle and high school, selected a developer Tuesday morning, according to a school news release.

True North Companies, based in Roswell, Ga., will build the 28,000 square-foot facility at the site of the former Ridgeland Hospital across from the county airport and located near public schools. The company has previously built charter schools in Winnsboro and Salters, S.C., the release said.

“We have a lot of work to do to get Polaris Tech built and opened in 11 months, but we are confident that True North will get the job done,” Polaris Tech Committee chair Sandra Chavez said in the release.

The school’s project-oriented curriculum will train students in the area’s growing industries, such as aviation and the future Jasper Ocean Terminal. The port is still about 10 years away from completion but has the potential to create 1 million new jobs.

The committee has an option to buy the property. A second phase of the project includes a 60,000 foot expansion as enrollment grows.

Applications for enrollment will open Jan. 1, 2018, and continue through March, according to the release.

Polaris Tech will be the second state charter school in Jasper County, joining the five-year-old Royal Live Oaks Academy in Hardeeville. The area has two other state charter schools — Bridges Preparatory School and Lowcountry Montessori in Beaufort, and another charter school, Riverview, that is sponsored by the Beaufort County School District.

To keep updated about Polaris Tech Charter School, follow them on Facebook and at http://www.polaristech.org/.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 8:45 AM with the headline "This Jasper County charter school is one step closer to being built."