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Tents were set up on a large cut of cleared land off of Black Tom Road in Berkeley County on Wednesday, Oct. 9, where local leaders gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Jedburg Elementary School.

The area has been growing, and a new school is overdue. The school will ease overcrowding at Whitesville Elementary and Cane Bay Elementary.

“The district and the school board are answering the call about the growth that we’ve had in this district,” said Berkeley County School District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon. “It will provide a much-needed new facility for about 1,200 students. We’re excited to get this going.”

The 163,000-square-foot school is expected to be completed in June 2026, just as students return from summer break. The district reports it will be a world-class facility for students and parents.

While the site is a crucial addition to the district, more schools are needed as the county’s population continues to grow. The new school on Black Tom Road will cost about $88 million to complete.

District planners have adopted the method of cutting out new schools from the same mold to speed up the construction process.

“The architect firm has drawn a prototype school,” said David Hemstrought, director of capital projects in Berkeley County. “It can be moved around; hallways can be flipped so we can fit it on the site we get. We can’t necessarily pick and choose exact site measurements in everything we want.”

As this prototype method continues, the district believes it will yield fruit for the taxpayer. Hemstrought is certain that as they continue to build, the process of doing it will become more streamlined.

“The plan is to keep using that in the future to make it work for us, which will cut down on design costs," Hemstrought said. "It will make the construction straightforward. The more we build it, the better we will get at it. In the end, building more buildings will save money."

More schools will no doubt be needed. The district reports it welcomes 700-1,000 new students every year. Currently, it serves about 40,000.

School district officials said the projects account for phase one of the voter-approved 1% Education Capital Improvement Tax, implemented by the Berkeley County Board of Education and voters in 2022. The Education Capital Improvement Tax is approved for seven years.

Phase one includes the Jedburg site, a new elementary school for Nexton, the renovation and expansion of three high schools and Hanahan Middle School. Also included are the improvements to athletic facilities at eight high schools.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Dorchester School District Two is ready to start building a new elementary school, but it doesn’t yet own the land where it will be built.

The school will be located within The Ponds of Summerville. 40 acres of trees adjacent to the “Village Center” will eventually be clear cut to make room for the Pre-K through 5th grade school.

A nearly 20-year-old development agreement states Kolter Homes will donate the land to Dorchester County, which will then deem it to the school district.

Kolter doesn’t have to turn the land over to the county until a specific amount of development is complete, which they are approaching the final phases of.

“The sooner the better,” councilman Jay Byars said.

Byars says a school in this neighborhood is needed.

“That elementary school will relieve some overcrowding,” Byars said. “A lot of the kids in this neighborhood go to Sandhill Elementary which is over near East Edisto and it’s already overcrowded they are adding trailers. This school will be right here in the neighborhood where the kids can bike to school and it’ll be a lot easier for everybody.”

Byars is hopeful that the county can get this land to DD2 in the next few months so they can get to work on this new school.

“There are so many children in The Ponds in general and not a ton of elementary schools in DD2 so I think adding one will lower class sizes which makes it easier for teachers and I definitely think it’s a need,” parent Hannah Litchfield said.

From working in real estate, Hannah’s husband Josh says people moving to the Charleston area want their kids to be in this specific school district.

“They come here and the first thing they say is ‘Dorchester School District Two we’ve heard it’s great, I wanna be here tell me about the schools’ so that is brining people here plus the people we already have so we desperately need this,” Josh Litchfield said.

DD2 officials confirmed a a traffic impact study has already been completed and they are still modifying plans to fit the site location.

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