Rebuild or Renovate

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg has joined the chorus of voices in West Ashley calling for the county school district to rebuild, not just renovate, Stono Park Elementary.
Last week, Tecklenburg, a West Ashley resident, appeared before the Charleston County School Board and made the request, saying the area needed the change.
The high-poverty, high-scoring, largely black school had been included on a “construct and equip” list on a successful schools capital projects 2010 referendum. All the other schools on that same list have been rebuilt.
Last fall, school district staffers recommended the school go through a $9 million renovation instead of a $26 million reconstruction due to reduced student population, with the savings used for other projects in the district.
Earlier this year, the full School Board voted in a special work session to bring the recommendation for full public discussion. That discussion and possible decision was supposed to take place last Monday.
But the School Board voted to table the discussion until it holds a special March 14 workshop, and then votes on the issue on March 21.