WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsRelief on the horizon for overcrowding at CF schools

Relief on the horizon for overcrowding at CF schools

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) -  It's one of the fastest growing communities along the Grand Strand, leaving elementary age children in Carolina Forest crowding into classrooms.

However, relief could be on the way. The Horry County Board of Education hopes a new school will help relieve the problem.

Horry County School Board member Joe DeFeo says that if plans are approved, ground could be broken on the new school within six months.

"We've already got overcrowding at Ocean Bays. We've got crowding at Carolina Forest Elementary. We've got a lot of portables at Carolina Forest Elementary. We hope to get rid of the portables," said DeFeo.

School officials say the new school will be able to make room for an estimated 1,200 elementary students. The new school will be built in the River Oaks area and will be included in the school district's $90 million building project. It will allow for the addition of more classrooms at Carolina Forest Elementary, tennis courts to area high schools and assist with drainage projects in the district.

DeFeo says he wants the school board to move as quickly as possible to break ground on the new school. He says with prices slashed on land and construction costs in recent months, the school district will save money and maybe even help bring jobs to the area.

“We can save the millions of dollars by doing it now, and by launching this $90 million building campaign now, it will also put an awful lot of people to work in Horry County. So it's a win, win situation from our standpoint," said DeFeo.

The Horry County School Board will discuss the plans at their next board meeting in December.

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