WINNSBORO, S.C. — Bulldozers fill the 22-acre lot behind the Fairfield County School District Office as the dirt is being turned on what the district has named "The Village" a community for Fairfield County educators.
The property will welcome low-cost housing for teachers as an incentive for them to work and stay in the district.
“We want to improve our ability to retain the people we have recruited here now," said Superintendent J.R. Green. "It’s one thing to recruit, but it's another to retain them."
They will first build 16 homes, eight of them one-story residences with $700 per month rent, and eight two-story houses set at $900 per month. Both will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The district will soon open the application process.
“Priority will be given to certified staff which are teachers, and guidance counselors. The next priority will be classified staff which are cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and maintenance workers," Green said. "Within the certified staff of teachers will give priorities to those with the longest tenure in the district."
The first homes will be ready by early spring with teachers moving into their new homes next summer. Once the project is complete, Green hopes other districts will follow their plan.
“I think this will be a model for rural communities, not only South Carolina but particularly also the nation,” he said.
The district used multiple funding sources for the project including the $2 million it received from the lawsuit over the failed V.C. Summer nuclear reactor.
The school board hopes to build 70 homes over the next few years.