The sales tax would not provide adequate funding to cover all of the repairs required at our middle schools and would stall the progress of the repairs. Additionally, by funneling all the sales tax funding into middle schools, it would prevent the district from using the sales tax to support our other five facilities and their students, and addressing any unforeseen facility issues that may occur across the district.

The hospitality tax is allotted to each town rather than the school district.

Her are some facts about what the tax change would look like for a District 2 resident:

• For every $100,000 tax value of a home, you would pay an additional $84 annually or $7.00 a month.

• The district plans to allocate $500,000 annually of Education Capital Project Sales Tax to help offset property taxes.

• Due to the Homestead Exemption Tax, individuals aged 65 and older have a reduced property tax.

Building costs and maintenance costs will likely continue to increase over time. Acting now to build a new single middle school is projected to have a lower construction cost than years down the road. In addition, maintaining the current middle schools for educational purposes is expected to have a continual, recurring, and increasing cost.

We have been able to keep the two middle schools functional and comfortable since 1954-55. We have made multiple additions to both facilities during this time.  In addition, our maintenance department has done a tremendous job making sure the aging infrastructure has had a minimal effect on our students’ learning environment.

However, as is true for much aging infrastructure, it is increasingly challenging to continue paying for short-term repairs on old buildings. Continuing to pay for ongoing repairs provides temporary solutions, likely requiring us to revisit building a new middle school again in several years. 

In 2025, upon requests from 8 town hall and school-based meetings, the district hired a 3rd party architectural firm, McMillan Pazdan Smith, to conduct an extensive facility audit for our middle school facilities with itemized cost estimates.  The resulting report included a low estimate of $43,152,726 with a high estimate of $57,536,968 to complete the necessary remodeling for both facilities.

Initially, it would not be more expensive to remodel or fix the existing schools. However, remodeling and replacing portions of these buildings would likely delay but not eliminate the need to construct a new middle school.

A new energy efficient school building would be designed to provide long-term cost savings. 

During that phase, additions were made to all school buildings. Repairs to the existing structures were not included during that time.

Belton Middle School Construction History | Honea Path Middle School Construction History

The proposed new school is not a response to the area’s population growth; however, like many other towns across the Upstate, Belton and Honea Path are projected to grow over the next several decades. A new middle school primarily addresses the aging buildings that have surpassed their usefulness for academic purposes. Yet with an understanding of the area’s future, a new, single middle school would be built to accommodate 1,000 students.

Both the towns of Belton and Honea Path have expressed interest in using the current middle schools.

A single middle school would allow us to pool our resources, while maintaining the student-teacher ratio to support our middle schoolers during this transitionary time.

Each grade would be housed in a separate wing which would lead to collaboration among teachers and students.

With a single middle school, there would be the need to create seventh and eighth grade athletic teams, which would increase the opportunity for student participation.

Due to the combined BHPMS’s location, we would no longer need to bus students to the high school for their sports practices, saving time and money. Opportunities to participate in extracurriculars such as band, chorus, fine arts, leadership opportunities, and academic clubs would also be provided by the new facilities. We believe extracurriculars are a critical part of a student’s development, teaching teamwork, growth, and self-confidence, as well as making students more well-rounded individuals. Ensuring these activities are available to students is an important goal for the school district.

We will add buses and drivers as needed to meet our students’ needs.

The layout of the car rider line will allow for car stacking, which is expected to accommodate all car rider traffic. Currently, three public roads become blocked during arrival and dismissal at the middle schools. The middle school proximity to the high school will eliminate athletes’ bus traffic after school.

Shall the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 of Anderson County, South Carolina (the “School District”) be authorized to issue and sell, either as a single issue or as several separate issues, general obligation bonds of the School District in the aggregate principal amount of not exceeding $[65,000,000], the proceeds of which shall be applied to defray the costs (including architectural, engineering, legal and related fees) of  constructing, equipping and furnishing a new consolidated [Belton Honea Path] Middle School to replace the existing Belton Middle School and the existing Honea Path Middle School, on property owned by the School District adjacent to Belton Honea Path High School?   

Special Election:  May 2, 2026

Early Voting at Anderson Co. Election Office:  April 20-May 1, 2026