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HOLLY HILL, S.C. (WCSC) - The Orangeburg County School District celebrated the grand opening of its new multi-million dollar school Friday with a ribbon cutting.

The new East Lake Elementary School was built off of Old State Road in Holly Hill.

Several community members, future students, school district officials as well as city and county council members came out to kick off the opening.

Everyone who came out had the chance to tour the new facility and see all it has to offer.

Officials say the two-story facility is about 110,000 square feet. Some of its features include teacher suites in several of the classrooms, which are similar to a kitchenette and have their own bathrooms, a STEM lab, turf playgrounds, a large gym, and outdoor patios.

Orangeburg County School District Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster says that this new school marks a historic milestone for the school district.

“I went through and I started to do some research and this is the first new, complete, elementary school in the eastern part of the county in 70 years, so that’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Foster says. “But, it’s also a facility that will allow us to serve our kids for the next 70 years.”

Foster says that the school cost $46 million to build. He says it was funded through a $190 million bond referendum that was passed by voters back in November 2022 for improvements throughout the school district.

Officials say that East Lake Elementary School will serve more than 700 students from Pre-K to 5th grade.

Holly Hill, St. James-Gaillard, and Vance-Providence Elementary Schools will all merge into this new facility.

However, Foster says that only Holly Hill Elementary School, which is located directly next to East Lake Elementary School, will start class on Monday. This is because the Holly Hill Elementary School building is being torn down to make room for parking and a parent drop-off loop for the new school.

St. James Gaillard and Vance-Providence will move in for the 2025-2026 school year.

Foster says that the Town of Vance will take over the Vance-Providence school building and the Town of Eutawville will take over the St. James Gaillard school building. Both will be repurposed into buildings for community use.

First-year teacher Joyden Glover is one of many teachers moving from Holly Hill Elementary School to the new building and she is prepping her classroom for her students this Monday. She says that she believes this change will have a positive impact on them.

“It has been a blessing to watch these kids grow and I know that being in a new environment with new furniture, new appliances, like they deserve it and I can’t wait to see how much they flourish and grow in this new environment and in this new beautiful space,” Glover says.

The principal of East Lake Elementary School, Wendee Evering, says although she is looking forward to welcoming some of her students on Monday, she is especially excited to have everyone under one roof this August.

“Can you imagine just what we can accomplish when we bring all the talents and skills of the students and the teachers and all the staff? The sky is the limit,” Evering says.

One future East Lake Elementary School student, Alaina Callender, says she can’t wait to start at her new school.

“It’s really big and I’m very excited because I get to see new people at my school and a lot of people are coming,” Callendar says.

Orangeburg County School District Chair Ruby Edwards says that this new facility is something their students deserve.

“Their mascot is going to be the eagles, so just to see them soaring, and just for them to come and participate today because they did not have school today, so for them to come that lets us know that they are very excited,” Edwards says.

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A Swedish company synonymous with the Midlands economy and zero-turn lawn mowers has found someone to handle the yard work.

Husqvarna Group last week said it turned over its longtime Orangeburg manufacturing operation to a global outsourcing business that plans to keep the assembly line running.

The company announced Feb. 4 that the deal with Singapore-based Flex Ltd. was effective immediately under what was described a "divestment" and a "strategic partnership."

Financial terms were not disclosed.

All 900 workers at the 1.9 million-square-foot South Carolina site, which makes or assembles lawn tractors, mowers, tillers and yard-and-garden gear, have been offered jobs with the new operator, Husqvarna said.

"Flex will manufacture Husqvarna's products in the factory under a long-term supply agreement, ensuring continued production of the company’s wheeled products and assembly of handheld products for the North American market," according to a written statement.

The Stockholm-based industrial company said it will continue to design the equipment that's made at the plant.

The venture with Flex's U.S. office in Austin, Texas, is expected to "increase profitability, improve capital efficiency, enhance production flexibility and strengthen the group’s competitiveness in North America," Husqvarna said.

It was estimated the deal will generate savings about $32 million over five years. The transaction also will require Husqvarna to book a $23 million onetime expense against its earnings this quarter.

Founded in 1990 and listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, Flex describes itself as "the advanced, end-to-end ... partner of choice that helps market-leading brands design, build, deliver and manage innovative products that improve the world."

The switch stems from an overhaul Husqvarna announced last year for its critical North America division, which includes the Midlands factory and accounted for about a third of total revenue last year.

The stated goal "to improve results."

"Low-margin business has been discontinued, and the production structure has been consolidated," the company said last week.

Husqvarna historically has been among the biggest employers in Orangeburg, requiring more than 2,000 workers during peak seasonal production runs.

It's also a survivor that's accustomed to turnover.

For much of the 1960s the plant was the home to another local job anchor — a 650-worker Smith-Corona typewriter factory that lost the price war to overseas competitors and went dark in 1970.

It was reopened within a few years by Roper Outdoor Power Equipment, a Midwest company that was making lawn mowers for Sears and for itself.

Successive operators included American Yard Products, Frigidaire and Electrolux before Husqvarna — named for the town where it was founded in the late 1600s — hung out its shingle in 2006.

The company expanded its footprint on Old Elloree Road in 2016 by adding a $29 million, 513,000-square-foot distribution center. More recently, all of its North America manufacturing work was transferred to South Carolina from other sites, including an Arkansas factory that was idled last year.

In keeping with the times, Husqvarna has been phasing out some of its gas-fueled equipment for battery-powered equipment, which led to more than 200 job cuts in Orangeburg about 18 months ago.

In a written statement, CEO Pavel Hajman said the outsourcing deal with Flex "is a significant step toward driving long-term profitability and enhancing our operational efficiency within the Husqvarna Forest & Garden division.

"The partnership secures our manufacturing of important products for the North American market, while enhancing flexibility and customer focus,” he said.

Eight schools in Orangeburg County were classified as underperforming, and one was labeled unsatisfactory.

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ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Orangeburg County School District is creating a plan to improve the performance of several schools after the state’s recent school report cards classified eight schools as underperforming with one labeled unsatisfactory.

Bethune Bowman Elementary, Middle, and High, Carver Edisto Middle, Hunter Kinard Tyler Elementary and High, Lake Marion High, Marshall Elementary, and Sheridan Elementary schools were all classified as underperforming by the South Carolina Department of Education’s annual school report cards. Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School received an unsatisfactory rating.

In 2023, Orangeburg had four underperforming schools. The number has now grown to eight.

Sandra Jenkins, a parent of four children in the district, said she was not surprised by the poor ratings. “No I’m not surprised because after they had COVID and they had homeschooling, that is when it all started,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins, who has a special needs child, hopes for more support. “I hope that they can be a little bit more supportive with, I have a special needs child, and that they can just accommodate him for more activities for him, things that he can do to help him improve his motor skills,” Jenkins said.

In response to the report cards, Orangeburg County is working on an improvement plan. The district discussed its plans at a recent school board meeting, focusing on enhancing academic achievement, preparing students for success, improving graduation rates, and better preparing students for college and careers. Some of the proposed initiatives include quarterly counselor advisement sessions, summer graduations, learning walks, SAT and ACT workshops, and offering credit and attendance recovery sessions.

At a recent school board meeting, the district showed some of those plans to the board members. Orangeburg School Board Member Sylvia Bruce-Stephens said there has to be an urgency in the district’s efforts. “We can’t afford to keep failing, we can’t, " she said. "And you know that, you can’t flunk for two years straight without the state coming in. The state cannot do a good or better job than your people that are involved in their community. I don’t care how hard they try, because they are outsiders. So we gotta get where we need to go. I know we’re looking good and I know there are a lot of, sometimes things happen, but we gotta get where we need to be."

News19 reached out to the district for comment, but did not receive a response before publication on Thursday.

The new school, which will serve hundreds of students, is set to welcome its first group of learners on Monday, with even more expected in the fall.

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HOLLY HILL, S.C. — The Orangeburg County School District celebrated the opening of East Lake Elementary School on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new school, which will serve hundreds of students, is set to welcome its first group of learners on Monday, with even more expected in the fall.

The $46 million East Lake Elementary School will accommodate 700 students from Holly Hill, St. James Gaillard, and Vance Providence elementary schools. It features state-of-the-art amenities, including suites for teachers and classrooms equipped with full-sized refrigerators.

Wendee Evering, the school's principal, shared her enthusiasm.

“I believe that this is a new beginning, a new opportunity for us to just come together. All of our strengths and all of our wonderful things that we have as individual schools—can you just imagine what that will mean when we come together as one?" Evering said. "I think this will allow kids to really discover who they are. We’ll have the platform to just have them take off and soar and just accomplish any goal they have for themselves.”

Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster explained that the consolidation of the three schools into one facility was a financial decision that benefits the district.

“With the maintenance costs from having an old facility, it made more sense to bring students into this state-of-the-art facility that will allow us the opportunity to have new programs but also the infrastructure to expand," Foster said. "But then bringing it here and making sure we have better utilization, which is a better use of taxpayer dollars and the operational costs to service and function with only one school, as opposed to three older facilities that are underutilized.”

The excitement was visible as students and parents toured the new 110,000-square-foot building.

“I think it’s going to be a fun experience, to talk to some friends, laugh, learn, get my grades up and stuff, so I think it will be fun,” student King Jackson said.

Parent Lakeeta Boyd expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’m very excited, grateful, blessed to have it. The other school has been here for a very long time, so I’m from the community, born and raised, so it’s very exciting to see a new school being put here.”

Mindy Wilson, another parent, added, “I think it’s great. I was so happy to hear about this. This is a great move for Holly Hill.”

To make room for a new parking lot and student drop-off loop, the old Holly Hill Elementary School will be demolished. Students from the old school will begin classes at East Lake Elementary on Monday, and those from St. James Gaillard and Vance Providence will join in the fall.

The town of Eutawville plans to transform the St. James Gaillard Elementary School into a new town hall.