Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) in Rock Hill, SC

Two teams — both from South Carolina — sit atop The Carolinas Top 25 high school football poll this week, including a new No. 1.

Top-ranked Dutch Fork (8-0) hosts No. 7 Irmo (9-0) on Friday in its regular-season finale. Second-ranked Northwestern awaits its playoff opponent for Nov. 15.

The poll, put out by McClatchy media companies in North and South Carolina, ranks the Top 25 teams in both states, regardless of classification. The poll appears weekly throughout the regular season.

More mobile classrooms, redrawn attendance lines and even a new bond referendum vote are possibilities in Lancaster County after voters turned down a $588 million bond package on Election Day.

“I think every option is on the table for us,” said Elizabeth Bryant, Lancaster County School District spokeswoman.

Almost 60% of county voters chose “no” on a bond package that would’ve built a new high school and elementary school in Indian Land. Two more new elementary schools in the county would’ve consolidated facilities in Lancaster, Kershaw and Heath Springs. Other renovations and upgrades would’ve stretched across the county.

Now the district has to reset and come up with a new plan to address school crowding.

Election day brings two new school board members, one of them replacing Chairman Brad Small. So it’s unlikely a timeline for next steps will be set by the board’s next meeting on Nov. 19, Bryant said.

The new plan will focus on creating space for students, she said. The district could raise its tax rate by a smaller amount than the bond would have, something the district could do without a public referendum.

Mobile classrooms at the most packed schools are a likely option. Redistricting, though often unpopular for school districts, could happen. “I’m not saying we’ll do that,” Bryant said. “That’s something that we might have to consider.”

A bond takes typically takes a year or two, she said, from start to election date. A new bond proposal could take less time since so much work was done on the failed bond.

Board member Melvin Stroble chaired the subcommittee that came up with Tuesday’s bond. It’s important to separate the vote, he said, from public support.

“The result of the bond in no way means that Lancaster County as a whole is not supportive of education and our students,” Stroble said.

Community members ahead of the bond questioned the high cost, the equity of devoting so much money to Indian Land and the need for a new high school there. Stroble heard so many variables, from curriculum to traffic, that he doesn’t see a single reason for the bond failure.

But larger voting trends on Tuesday seemed to point toward the wallet.

“Nationally, folks are concerned about the economy,” Stroble said. “And that concern certainly spills over into taxes.”

The election map in Lancaster County shows a geographic divide, too. The five precincts on the northernmost tip of the Indian Land panhandle each voted for the bond, with approval between 51% and 64%. The farther north the precinct was, the higher approval was.

The 31 precincts below where the Catawba River meets the panhandle each voted against the bond. In all, voter turnout across Lancaster County topped 79%.

Results aren’t official until they’re certified.

Stroble and Bryant are encouraged that the bond allowed district personnel and new Superintendent Raashad Fitzpatrick to connect with their community. Both want to see that process continue as next steps emerge.

The failed bond is a data point, Stroble said, that can help create a better plan. While it’s unclear exactly what will happen next, he said, it can’t be complacency.

“School bells rang all over Lancaster County regardless of the bond,” Stroble said Wednesday morning. “We’ve still got to educate kids. Our buses are still on the road. Our operations are still running.”

Indian Land has had new neighborhoods pop up for a generation now. More new home subdivision are under construction there, but also in Lancaster and Kershaw.

“The next steps start now,” Stroble said.

The Herald

803-329-4076

John Marks graduated from Furman University in 2004 and joined the Herald in 2005. He covers community growth, municipalities, transportation and education mainly in York County and Lancaster County. The Fort Mill native earned dozens of South Carolina Press Association awards and multiple McClatchy President’s Awards for news coverage in Fort Mill and Lake Wylie.

Lancaster County and Chester County voters chose not to approve massive school bonds, unofficial election results show.

Almost 60% of voters picked “no” on the school bond in Lancaster County, with all precincts reporting. Results won’t be official until they’re certified later this week. The bond would’ve built new Indian Land schools and renovate facilities elsewhere. The five northernmost precincts supported the bond and everything farther south opposed it, among posted results.

The Lancaster County School District asked voters to approve what may be a state record $588 million school bond.

The proposal included a new high school and elementary school in Indian Land. Two more new elementary schools would consolidate four facilities in Lancaster, Kershaw and Heath Springs. The bond included renovations and upgrades throughout the district.

The South Carolina School Boards Association tracks referendum results back to 1978.

Only two votes put more money to schools than the one voters saw on Election Day in Lancaster County. Neither of them were true bond votes. Each was a sales tax to fund schools.

The Lancaster school bond was debated in numerous school district and community forums. Groups like Vote Yes Lancaster School Bond and Lancaster Vote No School Bond formed online.

Support came from parents concerned with school overcrowding, particularly in Indian Land. Opposition focused on the high price, the amount of resources devoted solely to the county’s panhandle and the need for a new high school.

More than than half of the registered voters in Lancaster County cast ballots before Tuesday. More than 38,000 early and absentee ballots make up 54% of all voters. York County had 53% of its registered voters participate early. Chester County was at 45%.

The York School District asked voters for $90 million to pay for a new middle school, expansion and renovation of district facilities. The plan included the conversion of the district’s alternative learning school, York One Academy, into an early childhood learning center.

More than 64% of the votes in York supported the bond, with all precincts reported.

The Chester County School District asked for $227 million to replace Chester and Lewisville high schools with new facilities. The bond also included money to upgrade classrooms, security, gym and fine arts space.

Like the even larger amount in Lancaster County, the bond request in Chester County is higher than any approved school bond amount on record in the Rock Hill region. A $226 million bond approved by Fort Mill voters in 2015 was the highest heading into Election Day.

Chester County voters did see the only one larger, when they turned down a $263 million bond two years ago.

About 54% of votes were against the school bond once all precincts reported.

A Flourish chart

Coming into election day, six school districts across the three-county Rock Hill region had a 71% passage rate for 38 bonds all-time.

Lancaster County (67%) and Chester County (17%) fell below that mark. York (80%) passed bonds at a higher rate.

The Lancaster County bond Tuesday was more than twice the amount of all three of its prior referendum questions combined. Voters turned down a $30 million school bond in 1991 and a $37 million bond in 1999.

The school district went the other way in 2016. That’s when 74% of voters approved a $199 million bond for a new high school in Indian Land, an elementary school and other upgrades.

York approved four bonds from 1985 to 2007, combining for $119 million. Voters there voted against a $69 million bond in 2003.

Chester County last passed a bond in 1996.

Since 1989 there were five failed bonds, including three in the last six years. Before Tuesday’s decision, Chester County voters turned down $482 million worth of bonds while passing only the $19 million vote almost three decades ago.

This is a developing story.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024, 8:29 PM.

Lancaster County won’t get a new transportation tax, while voters laid a clear path for a new Pennies for Progress campaign in York County.

Almost 53% of Lancaster County voters opted not to start a new road tax. That’s with all precincts reporting. Results aren’t officials until they’re certified later this week.

It would have been a one-cent sales tax that could’ve lasted up to 15 years. It was expected to generate $405 million.

Pennies for Progress is a one-cent sales tax to fund road work in York County. It received more than 71% support with all precincts reporting.

It began in 1997 as the first of its kind in the state. Now dozens of counties have similar sales tax programs. Campaigns run seven years in York County. Tuesday’s vote was the fifth Pennies referendum, to continue the tax when the 2017 program expires next spring.

The record $410.7 million campaign Tuesday included $225 million for projects that appeared on prior referendum ballots. They weren’t completed due to soaring projects costs from post-COVID inflation, Pennies manager Patrick Hamilton said prior to Election Day.

Some of the biggest road jobs that hinged on Tuesday’s vote are five-lane widening of U.S. 21 from S.C. 160 to Carowinds Boulevard in Fort Mill, and of Fort Mill Parkway near Interstate 77.

The most expensive new project on the ballot was a $44.9 million widening of U.S. 21 from S.C. 160 to Sutton Road.

Since the first Pennies vote narrowly passed in 1997 with 51% support, no campaign got less than 73% approval coming into Tuesday’s election. York County voters cast more than 61,000 votes combined in the prior four programs, with 70% of those votes opting for the sales tax.

Tuesday’s campaign was, however, the first Pennies vote held in a presidential election or an even year.

Unlike Pennies, the Lancaster County transportation tax on Tuesday’s ballot was a first-time effort.

The county asked voters for the transportation tax largely as a way to create a funding source for improvements on U.S. 21, or Charlotte Highway. A list of road jobs the county expects to complete is heavy with road widening, especially in Indian Land. It puts $165 million to major road widening like U.S. 521.

A second question asked voters whether the county could borrow up to $250 million against the tax to get the road jobs started quicker. The tax would pay back bond money issued by the county in a deal that would front money to road jobs before its collected through the sales tax.

That second question was, of course, dependent on the transportation tax passing.

The more than 105,000 early and absentee votes is 53% of the registered voters in York County. Lancaster County had more than 38,000 pre-election day votes, 54% of its registered voters.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024, 8:19 PM.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The girls’ lacrosse team at Legion Collegiate Academy in Rock Hill was suspended months before the season started because they couldn’t find a coach, officials said.

High school women’s lacrosse players take part in nationwide showcase

“It’s disheartening,” said Nadege Baron, a parent of one of the team’s players. “We feel disrespected and not heard.”

The college’s athletic director said in a statement, in part, “After careful and extensive evaluation, we were unable to identify a coaching candidate who aligns with the mission of Legion Collegiate Academy.”

Barron said the team hasn’t had a consistent coach over the past two seasons. However, she thought the team would have a new coach this year.

“We actually had a meeting at the start of the year saying we’re going to have somebody,” Baron said. “We just need to go through some red tape, but we’re going to have somebody.”

Baron said she doesn’t believe the school couldn’t find qualified candidates.

“I just feel like they had this in mind to shut down the program and they weren’t being truthful and honest with us,” the parent said.

In a letter to parents, the athletic director for the charter school said the girls could play at their home-zoned school while still attending Legion.

That is not an option for some girls because their zoned schools don’t offer girls’ lacrosse.

“They’re not taking it seriously,” Baron said. “They’re not taking us seriously. There are 26 girls that are committed to be a part of the lacrosse program for girls and they’re just turning a blind eye to the whole program.”

In that statement, school leaders said they couldn’t share any information about specific coach candidates.

Leaders have also said the program has been suspended for the school year and not canceled.

VIDEO: Former football player, local trainer translates his skills onto lacrosse field

Former football player, local trainer translates his skills onto lacrosse field

©2024 Cox Media Group