Which 5 precincts voted against Beaufort Co. schools’ landslide referendum victory?
In the landslide victory for Beaufort County School District’s earlier this month, only five of 92 precincts — all North of the Broad River — voted “no” on the district’s new $345 million bond referendum, the first to pass in 11 years, and the largest in at least 30 years.
It was a nearly complete reversal from the district’s $72 million bond referendum 18 months ago, when only 12 precincts, all South of the Broad, voted “yes” in the face of a dysfunctional school board and embattled superintendent.
But even with a majority-new school board and a new superintendent, two precincts on Lady’s Island and three on St. Helena Island rejected the referendum by narrow margins, with the biggest percent of “no” votes sitting at 61 percent (St. Helena 2B). In the 2018 bond referendum, neighboring precinct St. Helena 1B had the highest “no” vote percent at 95.
Board of Education secretary William Smith, who represents St. Helena and was the only board member to reject all votes to hold the November referendum when it was approved by the board on June 18, said his precinct’s reluctance stemmed from a lack of representation on the projects list.
“The people in St. Helena feel like they’ve been dragged along, not cared about and not thought about,” Smith said Tuesday. “... There was no buy-in and there was no hope.”
St. Helena schools are included on the district’s county-wide referendum projects, for improvements to security, technology, playgrounds and athletic facilities. However, there are no referendum items specific to St. Helena schools, something Smith pointed out in June.
Across St. Helena’s six precincts, Question 1 of the referendum got a 59 percent “yes” vote, with 19 percent of its nearly 8,000 registered voters casting a ballot.
Board member David Striebinger, who represents Lady’s Island, said Tuesday that he didn’t know why parts of his district had rejected the referendum.
“But it was close,” he said of the vote in those precincts.
The two Lady’s Island precincts that voted “no” each did so with about 51 percent of the vote. The community’s seven precincts narrowly approved Question 1 of the referendum with 53 percent of the vote and a 17 percent voter turnout.
How the county voted
The referendum appeared on the ballot in two parts. Voters needed to pass part one, a $291 million package, in order to pass part two.
Part one of the referendum included the following, with cost estimates:
Safety and security improvements to every school in the district: $25.7 million
Demolishing the current Robert Smalls International Academy, and constructing and equipping a replacement: $71 million
Building additions at May River High School and River Ridge Academy: $26 million
Updating technology infrastructure across the district: $55.3 million
Renovations at Beaufort Elementary School: $24.2 million
Renovations, construction and necessary demolition at Battery Creek High School and Hilton Head Island Middle School: $88.3 million
Part one passed with 15,700 voters, or 70 percent, voting yes, and 6,838 voting no. 22,538 votes were cast.
Part two is a $54 million package, which included the following (with cost estimates):
Construction and renovation for Career and Technology Education, or CATE, at Battery Creek High School and May River High School: $12 million
Designing renovations for Hilton Head Island High School: $3.8 million
Athletic improvements at Beaufort Middle School, Whale Branch Middle School, River Ridge Academy, Bluffton Middle School and H.E. McCracken Middle School: $7.6 million
Athletic improvements at all district high schools: $22 million
Playground improvements at early childhood centers, elementary schools, and preK-8 schools across the district: $8.7 million
Part two passed with 15,233 voters, or 68 percent, voting yes, and 7,103 voting no. 22,336 votes were cast.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND
The largest voting bloc in the county has had low support for past referendums, with just one precinct there — Hilton Head 2B and Daufuskie’s sole precinct — supporting the district’s 2018 request.
Board member JoAnn Orischak predicted in May that there would be a “pocket of resistance” on the island this time around due to the district’s investigation of longtime Hilton Head principal Amanda O’Nan, who resigned in May.
However, the island had above-average voter turnout and “yes” votes on Nov. 5: 19 percent of the island’s 31,000 voters cast a ballot, 73 percent in favor of question one and 71 percent in favor of question two.
Hilton Head’s referendum projects are expected to cost $52.7 million, with district-wide improvements to technology, security, playgrounds and athletic fields and renovations to Hilton Head Island Middle School.
BLUFFTON
Bluffton had the highest “yes” vote percentage in the county at 77 percent, with 17 percent of the town’s 29,000-plus voters casting a ballot (many of which also included Bluffton mayoral and town council races).
This tracks with past trends: Bluffton has historically been the most supportive area of the county for school bond referendums, with 10 of its 16 precincts in favor of the district’s 2018 $76 million ask, making up the vast majority of the 12 precincts that voted “yes” that year.
Referendum losses in 2016 and 2018 left the district behind on repairs and construction, especially at overcrowded schools South of the Broad.
May River High, River Ridge Academy and Pritchardville Elementary were at or above 97 percent capacity as of February, forcing those schools to contend with classrooms in trailers, increasing class sizes and teachers without permanent space.
NORTH OF THE BROAD
In 2018, no precincts North of the Broad voted in favor of the referendum.
The most expensive project on this referendum is located North of the Broad: a complete replacement of the K-8 Robert Smalls International Academy, estimated to cost $71 million. Superintendent Rodriguez toured the school on his first day at the district in July, where principal Jennifer Morillo showed him leaking windows, unused athletic fields and distressed ceiling tiles.
Where Bluffton schools are overcrowded, many north of the Broad River are undercrowded: Of the district’s 30 schools, 10 are under 70 percent capacity, and all 10 are north of the Broad River. Robert Smalls International Academy is among those schools, at 66 percent capacity.
Beaufort’s turnout was lower than county averages, with 16 percent of voters casting a ballot; 62 percent voted yes and 38 percent voted no on question one.
Port Royal had the highest voter turnout in the county — 29 percent — for the election, the referendum as well as mayoral and town council races.
Board secretary Smith said Tuesday he hopes for more projects specific to north of the Broad schools, specifically St. Helena, in future bond referendums.
He cited the gym at St. Helena Elementary School, which motivated his summer votes against the referendum, as an example of a St. Helena project that could have been included in the referendum to garner more voter support. The gym is scheduled to be renovated with annually borrowed district funds after he raised the subject, but Smith said Tuesday that wasn’t encouraging to his constituents.
It is still unclear when the gym renovation will begin.
“That showed it was something that could’ve already been handled that wasn’t,” Smith said Tuesday of what he perceived as a delay to renovation funding.
He said he wants fellow board members to remember St. Helena feels “left out” in the future.
“It passed, that’s not the question,” Smith said of the Nov. 5 vote. “I hope now, with the bond referendum and outcome, that we will start putting our resources in places we haven’t.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 4:03 PM.