Superintendent announces school choice window opens, details enrollment, assessment results and teacher pay planning

The Charleston County School District superintendent told trustees at the Committee of the Whole meeting that the district’s school-choice application window opens tomorrow at noon and that staff are already working through enrollment, assessment data and budget models that could raise entry-level teacher pay above $60,000 in fiscal 2026.

The announcement matters because the school-choice cycle affects thousands of families’ school assignments, the district is tracking winter-to-fall assessment projections that staff say require targeted interventions, and trustees were briefed on pay strategies intended to improve recruitment and retention as leaders develop the FY26 budget.

Superintendent Angela Huggins said the school-choice department “opened from January 14th through February 21st” and emphasized the process is not first-come, first-served. “School choice window for the coming school year opens tomorrow at noon,” Huggins said, adding that all applications submitted during the window are considered equally and that families will receive seat offers or wait‑list notices through a parent dashboard. She…