OPINION: Before Lexington 1 asks taxpayers for over $680M, it’s time to rethink school board representation

Why does one of South Carolina’s largest school districts still govern itself as if it were a much smaller, rural district?  

How can the school board fairly prioritize the facility needs of five attendance zones and responsibly spend over $680 million in taxpayer dollars if all attendance zones are not equally represented on the board?  

These questions deserve serious attention as Lexington County School District One reviews the results of a districtwide facility study conducted by McMillan Pazdan Smith. Facility improvements across the district could approach over $680 million, according to a presentation given during the March 10 Lexington One Board of Trustees workshop. When investments of that scale are being considered, taxpayers deserve confidence that every part of the district is fully represented.  

When a classroom roof leaks, a school grows overcrowded or afternoon car lines spill into surrounding roads, those problems are felt first inside the schools themselves by the students learning there and the teachers working there every day.  

Yet the people making decisions about how those problems are prioritized may be far removed from the daily realities of those schools and communities.  

Currently, Lexington One elects all seven school board members at large, meaning every voter elects every trustee and no board member represents a specific geographic area or cluster of schools. That structure may have worked decades ago when the district was smaller and easier to manage as a whole. Today, Lexington One serves more than 26,000 students across more than 30 schools spread across five attendance zones in a large and growing district.  

Several Lexington One trustees have community ties to schools in the River Bluff, Lexington High and Gilbert High attendance areas. Meanwhile, the communities served by Pelion High School and White Knoll High School do not currently have a board member with close community ties to those zones.  

Yet each of Lexington One’s five attendance zones faces different challenges including growth pressures, enrollment changes and aging facilities, making local representation even more important.  

In 2018, voters approved a $365 million construction referendum to address facility needs across the district. A proposal to move toward geographic representation was also considered by the Lexington County legislative delegation in 2018 but did not ultimately move forward. Today the board is considering a facility plan that could lead to another bond referendum totaling hundreds of millions more in school bond debt.  

Just like the $365 million invested in facility improvements in 2018, these improvements will ultimately be paid for by every property taxpayer across the district including homeowners, rental property owners and businesses alike. When taxpayers across the entire district are funding these decisions, every part of the district deserves a clear voice in how facility upgrade priorities are set.  

A zone-based board structure would help ensure each attendance area has a board member focused on understanding and advocating for the needs of its schools and community.  

Before Lexington One asks taxpayers to fund over half a billion dollars in facility upgrades, the Lexington legislative delegation should begin a serious conversation about whether the district’s board structure provides for complete and equal representation of all people living, working and learning in all five attendance zones.  

When investments of this scale are being considered, representation is not just important; it is essential.  

Katie Jeffcoat was born and raised in Lexington County and is a graduate of Lexington County School District One.