South Carolina Public Charter School District

South Carolina Public Charter School District
Location
1824 Barnwell Street Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
District information
Grades	Pre-k–12th
Established	2006
Superintendent	Chris G. Neeley
Deputy superintendent(s)	Emily Paul Michael Thom John R. Payne Emalee Baker
Chair of the board	John Payne
Schools	38
Budget	$3.45 million
NCES District ID	4503901
District ID	4701
Students and staff
Students	17,100 (2022)
Teachers	1244
Staff	31 FTEs (full-time equivalent)
Student–teacher ratio	13.45:1
Other information
Website	www.sccharter.org

The South Carolina Public Charter School District (often shortened to SCPCSD) is a school district based in Columbia, South Carolina that currently includes thirty eight public charter schools across the state of South Carolina. The district has approximately 17,500 students.

Funding

The South Carolina Public Charter School District is semi-unique in the United States for being one of the few public school districts that span the entire state.

SCPCSD is provided funding based on student population by a local school district. The South Carolina state legislature appropriates a per pupil amount through an annual budget proviso––$3,600/student for those attending a brick-and-mortar school, $1,900 for those enrolled in a virtual school and 4,300/student for those enrolled in a special education program.

Another way for a public charter school to open in South Carolina is through the auspices of a local public school district. However, many such traditional districts are hesitant to open public charter schools for a variety of reasons. The SCPCSD was created as a charter school authorizer by the state legislature as an alternative method for public charter schools to be approved for operation in the state. The state legislature did this, in part, to resolve various legal questions regarding resource allocation for public charter schools in local districts. In addition, the legislature hoped that a little competition with local school districts might lead to greater reform for the state's historically lagging public school system.

Schools

The district oversees the following public schools, of which some are traditional "brick and mortar" schools and some are virtual schools:

School name	Location	Grades
Bettis Preparatory Leadership Academy	Trenton	K–8
Bridges Preparatory School	Beaufort	K–12
Butler Academy	Hartsville	K–6
Calhoun Falls Charter School	Calhoun Falls	6–12
Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School	McClellanville	PK-8
Charleston Advancement Academy	Charleston	9-12
Coastal Leadership Academy	Myrtle Beach	9–12
Compass Collegiate Academy	Charleston	K-2
East Link Academy	Greenville	PK-8
East Point Academy	Cayce	PK-8
Felton Laboratory Charter School	Orangeburg	K-8
Fox Creek High School	North Augusta	9–12
GREEN Charter School of Greenville	Greenville	K-8
GREEN Charter School of Spartanburg	Spartanburg	K-8
GREEN Charter School of the Lowcountry	Charleston	K-8
GREEN Charter School of the Midlands	Irmo	K-8
GREEN Upstate High School	Simpsonville	9-12
Greenville Technical Charter High School	Greenville	9-12
Greer Middle College Charter High School	Taylors	9-12
High Point Academy	Spartanburg	PK-12
Imagine Columbia Leadership Academy	Columbia	K–5
Lakes and Bridges Charter School	Easley	1-8
LEAD Academy	Greenville	K-8
Learn4Life High School Charleston	Charleston	9-12
Legacy Early College	Greenville	PK-12
Liberty STEAM Charter School	Sumter	K-2
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy	North Charleston	9-12
Lowcountry Montessori School	Beaufort	PK–12
Meyer Center for Special Children	Greenville	PK-2
Midlands Arts Conservatory	Columbia	6-11
Midlands Middle College	Columbia	11-12
Palmetto Achievement Center for Excellence Academy (PACE)	Columbia	2-8
Palmetto Scholars Academy	North Charleston	6–12
Pee Dee Math, Science and Technology Academy	Bishopville	K–12
Polaris Tech Charter School	Ridgeland	5-12
Riverwalk Academy	Rock Hill	K–12
Royal Live Oaks Academy of Arts & Sciences	Hardeeville	K–8
SC Whitmore School	virtual school	9–12
South Carolina Science Academy	Columbia	6–11
South Carolina Virtual Charter School	virtual school	K–12
Spartanburg Preparatory School	Spartanburg	K–10
Tall Pines STEM Academy	Aiken	5–8
York Preparatory Academy	Rock Hill	K–12
Youth Leadership Academy (affiliated with Clemson University)	Pickens	6–8

Many of the district's virtual learning schools use an education management company. In some states, these companies are for-profit, yet in South Carolina these companies are prohibited by law from being for-profit. The schools are actually different entities than the management companies that serve the schools. For example, Palmetto State e-Cademy changed its education management company in 2009, which demonstrates that the school is broader than the hired management company. Palmetto State e-Cademy later decided that it could operate without an EMO and has been operating that way for the last two years. In practice, the line between school and education management company can be difficult to see, but the law in South Carolina is clear in making an operational and organizational distinction between the education management companies and the schools.

External links

• Official site