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Orangeburg Schools looking for community, parent input on facilities, schools

Superintendent Shawn Foster says what parents say at these meetings could help decide what classes could be offered to students.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Orangeburg County Schools participated in demographic and facility studies this year to better understand the needs of its schools.

The study shows the district has seen a drop in enrollment by 2,786 students compared to the 2017-2018 students.

At Tuesday night's community input meeting, the trend correlates with the US Census data showing the Orangeburg County population has declined by 3,000 people since 2015.

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The study also showed 2019 census data highlighting 62 percent of Orangeburg County is black, 34 percent is white, and 2.4 percent is Hispanic or Latino.

Superintendent Shawn Foster said the input parents give from these meetings could help decide what classes will be offered to students.

“This isn’t really ultimately about buildings and demographics, this also prohibits our ability for programming and curriculum opportunities for students as well," said Foster.

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There were also facility studies conducted by Columbia-based architecture company LS3P which found some schools like Brookdale Elementary and Carver-Edisto Middle School need updates and repairs.

To view the details of these studies and provide input, visit the OCSD website.

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