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For several years, overcrowded schools in Bluffton were forced to use mobile classrooms to accommodate growing student bodies. But this fall, students and teachers will finally be waving goodbye to mobile classrooms.
With the opening of two new schools this fall—Bluffton Middle School and Pritchardville Elementary—in addition to the Red Cedar Elementary and two new early childhood centers that opened last school year, the district will have enough building space to accommodate all of its students.
“It’s a huge turnaround to be able to get all those kids into the building,” said Chris Poe, construction and facilities planning officer for the Beaufort County School District.
At one time, the district had almost as many students in mobile classrooms as it had in buildings, he said. The district used 73 mobile classrooms in the 2009-2010 school year and 90 in 2008-2009. The new schools allow the district to move about 2,000 students into permanent classrooms, Poe said.
A few portable classrooms will remain at Bluffton Elementary, McCracken Middle and Bluffton High School, where they will be used for staff, remote offices and adult education.
