COLUMBIA, S.C. — Several school districts in South Carolina will be closed Wednesday due to the teacher rally taking place at the South Carolina State House.
The event is expected to draw thousands to the capitol complex. Teacher group SC For Ed has asked teachers to take the school day off and rally for higher pay, smaller class sizes and other education reforms.
Here is the list of school districts that will not have class Wednesday:
- Colleton County
- Chester County
- Dorchester County
- Lexington-Richland 5
- Richland 1
- Richland 2
- Sumter School District
Detailed plans for each school district
Lexington-Richland School District 5
The district said Monday they will also not be open Wednesday.
"School District Five’s focus is always on our students and their safety," the district said in a statement. "It is out of an abundance of caution that the decision to close schools Wednesday was made."
The district said their main office will remain open, however.
As for making up the day, the district said it will likely have to do that at the end of the school year A final decision on that will be made by the school board at a later day.
Richland School District 1
Richland School District 1 announced their plans Tuesday morning. They said that due to the high number of expected teacher absences, they were concerned about not having enough staff to fill in for the teachers who will be out. Wednesday will instead be a work day for district employees, except those who have submitted leave requests and received approval to take leave that day.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that our students are safe and well supervised,” said Richland One Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon. “We have looked at the number of leave requests submitted across the district and determined that we would not have enough substitute teachers and staff members to cover all of those classrooms.”
Although classes are canceled, the district’s Student Nutrition Services staff will serve lunch at the following sites from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Any Richland One student can get a free meal at any of the following sites.
- Elementary Schools: Arden, Bradley, Brockman, Burton-Pack, Carver-Lyon, Caughman Road, Gadsden, Greenview, Hopkins, Hyatt Park, A.C. Moore, South Kilbourne, Edward E. Taylor, John P. Thomas, Watkins-Nance, and Webber.
- Middle School: St. Andrews
- High Schools: A.C. Flora, C.A. Johnson, Eau Claire and Lower Richland
Richland School District 2
The district said Tuesday afternoon the number of requested absences reached a point that any last-minute absences would undermine their ability to provide adequate coverage at their schools. They said they could no longer ensure that the school day could proceed in a safe and secure manner with minimum disruption.
Although classes are canceled, Richland Two will serve lunch from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Any Richland Two student can receive a bagged-lunch at any of the following sites: Bethel-Hanberry Elementary, Jackson Creek Elementary, Keels Elementary, Killian Elementary, North Springs Elementary and Pontiac Elementary.
The district job fair scheduled for May 1 will still be held from 4–5:30 p.m. at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation (R2i2).
Sumter School District
Sumter School District officials announced Tuesday afternoon that all schools and offices will be closed Wednesday, May 1 "due to a high number of expected teacher absences."
"Our top priority is to ensure the safety of our students and staff at all times," officials said in a post on Facebook Tuesday afternoon. "It is out of an abundance of caution that the decision to close schools Wednesday was made due to concerns about not having enough staff and substitutes to cover classes and supervise students in our schools."
Officials say they anticipate that the day will be made up at the end of the school year since options for make-up days are limited.
Schools and offices will operate on a normal schedule Thursday, May 2.
Normal schedules will resume on Thursday.
Spearman doesn't agree with effort
South Carolina State School Superintendent Molly Spearman said Monday that she does not support the effort, which she referred to as a "walkout."
"I support teachers using their voice to advocate for needed change and share in their commitment to ensuring reforms become reality," Spearman said in part. "However, I cannot support teachers walking out on their obligations to South Carolina students, families, and the thousands of hardworking bus drivers, cafeteria workers, counselors, aides, and custodial staff whose livelihoods depend on our schools being operational."