The search for a new superintendent for Lexington County School District 1 is winding down to its final stages.

On Aug. 19 and 20, the district’s Board of Trustees interviewed a set of undisclosed semifinalists for the position.

Board Chair Anne Marie Green said the body interviewed seven semifinalists, and the trustees expect to name the finalists at their Aug. 30 board meeting.

There were a total of 18 applicants, and the board must choose a minimum of three finalists, S.C. School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Price told the Chronicle. The association was chosen by the Lexington 1’s trustees to conduct the search. 

Price said the board did not take any action after the semifinalist interviews.

The meetings on Aug. 19 and 20 opened in public session, but the interviews were conducted in executive session, District 1 Chief Communications Officer Kathryn McPhail said.

The Lexington 1 school board began their search for a new superintendent toward the end of the past school year when previous Superintendent Greg Little accepted a new position with the state Technical College System. Little was superintendent for six years. During the process, they have held community meetings and sent out a survey to district families.

Once the finalists are announced at the Aug. 30 meeting, they will spend a couple of days in the school district, Green said, including touring facilities and meeting with stakeholder groups and community members. 

It is up to the board to determine the process from that point, including how the finalists will spend time in the district. — Natalie Szrajer

Lt. Governor on Hand as Midlands Middle College Unveils Renovations

Midlands Technical College held a ribbon cutting Aug. 17 for the recently renovated home of the Midlands Middle College, with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in attendance.

The charter high school on the Airport Campus of Midlands Tech combines secondary education and technical college, allowing a route for students who might be having trouble in traditional high school a chance to dual enroll in technical college and get ahead on degrees they might earn there.

Teresa Cook, director of operations at Midlands Tech, said the renovations took about two months to complete. The upgrades to the college’s 8,000-square-foot home at Springdale Hall include seven classrooms, a hands-on science lab, a large student common area, a conference room and administrative offices, according to a press release.

The school has 135 students, with classes of 16 or fewer.

“Our technical charter high schools are some of the best kept secrets we have here in our state,” Evette said during her remarks. “You can go to high school, and then you can take college classes and you can get out of college quicker and it doesn’t cost your parents anything.”

“Here in South Carolina. Futures are bright for everybody. And what we need is a workforce, a workforce that is ready and willing and able,” she added of why fostering such opportunities is important for the state’s economy. — Jordan Lawrence

Lexington Attorney New USC Board Chair

Lexington attorney Thad Westbrook was elected last week as the new chair of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees, multiple outlets, including The Post and Courier, report.

Westbrook had served for two years as vice chair and was unopposed for the chair position.

While introducing new USC president Michael Amiridis during a speaking engagement at the Lexington Chamber earlier this month, Lexington Medical CEO Tod Augsburger credited Westbrook with helping to recruit the new president back to Columbia from the University of Illinois Chicago, where he was serving as chancellor. — Jordan Lawrence