Board hears capital-projects update and a request to post 27 administrative dean positions

The Horry County Board of Education received updates on capital projects and considered district staff requests related to capital funding and administrative staffing.

Facilities committee chair Neil James (S9) summarized ongoing work: kitchen demolition and renovation at Myrtle Beach High; multiple renovation phases at Carolina Forest High; HVAC and roofing and HVAC-related work at Waccamaw Elementary with projected completion timelines extending into summer 2027; completed tennis courts at Saka Sti High; and recent playground and parking-lot repairs. He also reported the facilities committee approved a renaming recommendation for the Green Sea Floyds tennis court to honor Sonny Shelley and approved placing a request for a $300,000 fine-arts facilities audit on the upcoming business agenda.

Mr. Gardner (S16) presented an annual request and said a resolution prepared by Burr Foreman recommends the board authorize expenditures not to exceed $90,000,000 from education capital improvement sales and use tax to pay costs for approved projects, including classroom and instructional technology and the capital improvement plan; he said that authorization will be added to the next business agenda for formal action.

Gardner also presented a request to use $2,904,687 of unassigned fund balance to post and hire 27 administrative dean positions pending adoption of the 2026–27 budget. Trustees moved and seconded the request and discussion followed about the vision for the roles and job security for those hired; the transcript records the recommendation and a motion to consider the funding but does not include a formal recorded roll-call result for final authorization in this session.

The facilities and finance updates will return as business items on a future agenda for formal votes and budget adoption.