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Horry County School District board meeting, Aug 24, 2026

1 h 21 min · 4 public speakers

Reading and test scores ▶ 9:56

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 21 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Horry County school board hears updates on summer facilities work and academics 4:14

  • The board heard a Facilities Committee update on summer projects and presentations from the academics, finance and communications divisions. 4:14
  • A district staff member said the academics division would enter the second phase of RISE with Reading and said students' screen minutes would decrease this school year. 14:10
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening, agenda and minutes 1:00
    • Wendy Hodges gave the invocation before the Pledge of Allegiance. 1:00
    • David Koch called for approval of the agenda and of the minutes for August 10th. 3:41
    • David Koch announced that the agenda and the minutes passed. 3:54
  2. Facilities committee update 4:14
    • Neil James said summer projects fell into five categories, including renovations, HVAC system upgrades, playgrounds, athletic fields and paving. 4:14
    • A video said phases 1 through 6 were complete at Carolina Forest High and phases 7 and 8 were underway. 4:49
    • Neil James said the committee hoped to receive the guaranteed max price for St. James Elementary School on September 10th and expected budgetary projections at the September 19th meeting. 8:12
  3. National competition funding request 8:33
    • A district staff member said Loris High School requested special consideration because the total cost of its national competition is over $10,000. 8:45
    • The staff member said board members who wished to contribute discretionary funds could email the staff member. 9:07
    • Asked about fundraising, a staff member said Loris had raised $1,000 and would continue to fundraise. 9:30
  4. Superintendent report on school opening 9:52
    • The superintendent said the district had a very strong opening to the school year and said the superintendent had visited over 20 schools. 9:56
    • The superintendent said there were isolated issues with transportation, enrollment and some warm facilities that teams addressed quickly. 10:23
  5. Academics division update 14:10
    • A district staff member outlined academic priorities, new programs, 5 new principals, 7 new assistant principals and 27 administrative deans, and said 735 professional development sessions were offered over 2 days. 14:10
    • Janet Graham asked when results from the math project could be expected, and the staff member said the goal was for results to improve this year. 25:16
    • Melanie Wellons said a principal had texted thanks for the board's approval of the administrative deans, and Wendy Hodges thanked teachers for their work on LETRS training. 26:33
  6. Finance and communications updates 30:38
    • The finance presenter said the governor signed the state budget on August 17th with 14 vetoes, none affecting public education, and said the minimum hourly rate rose from $15.77 to $16.76. 32:06
    • The finance presenter said a zero-based budget pilot reviewed 136 budget packages and identified $1.3 million in savings. 33:53
    • Pam Dawson asked whether the $400 teacher classroom reimbursement was taxable and was told no, and a communications staff member described the Parent Link notification system and the Top 65 Club. 35:28
  7. Student remarks and school recognition 45:27
    • A speaker from Scholars Academy said the school was named one of the top 20 schools in the nation by U.S. News. 49:50
  8. Public comment 53:56
    • Melanie Wellons read the public comment rules, including a maximum of 30 minutes for citizens to speak. 54:04
    • A speaker at public comment asked for spiritual education in schools and the Ten Commandments on school walls, and another speaker described Coastal School Ministries' release time Bible education program. 55:37
    • Another speaker thanked the board for the past year and said the paraprofessional event and the raise were a step toward honoring support staff. 1:09:49
  9. Executive session 1:10:39
    • David Koch called for a motion to go into executive session to discuss potential sale of property. 1:10:39
    • Melanie Wellons said no votes were taken and no decisions were made during the executive session. 1:12:38
    • The motion to enter executive session was announced as passed. 1:10:50
  10. Constitution Week proclamation and displays 1:12:45
    • A district staff member announced that framed copies of the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence would be displayed in every school and work location by the end of Constitution Week, September 23rd. 1:12:56
    • A district staff member presented a proclamation recognizing September 17th through September 23rd as Constitution Week. 1:13:27
  11. Board calendar and annual work plan 1:14:24
    • A district staff member said the updated calendar had one change, the removal of the September 2026 board retreat. 1:14:34
    • A district staff member said the GC6 annual work plan for the 2026⁠-⁠27 school year came forward with no changes. 1:15:08
    • The vote on the annual work plan was announced as unanimous. 1:15:20
  12. Succession designee and monitoring reports 1:15:27
    • The superintendent recommended a designee under the emergency superintendent succession policy for the 2026⁠-⁠27 school year. 1:15:27
    • A presenter said there had been no changes to the quarterly facilities reports since the last presentation. 1:16:28
  13. Legislative consultant agreement 1:17:00
    • A district staff member recommended a 1-year agreement with McGuire Woods Consulting for legislative representation at the state level. 1:17:00
  14. Advisory board appointments 1:17:19
    • David Koch, Debbie Edmonds and Matthew Robinson each nominated or renewed advisory board members for one- or two-year terms. 1:17:34
    • Janet Graham stated for the record that an advisory board member had been inadvertently left off the list, and Neil James made nominations for an advisory committee. 1:19:29
    • The vote on the final set of nominations was announced as unanimous. 1:20:30
  15. Consent agenda and adjournment 1:20:35
    • The board took a voice vote on a motion for the consent agenda before a motion to adjourn. 1:20:35

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education Meeting 08-24-2026”