Students added their names this past March to a structural beam that will become part of the new Jesse Boyd Elementary. Photo courtesy of Spartanburg School District 7.
The slow countdown has begun – As of the first day of school Aug. 6, parents, teachers, and students returning to Jesse Boyd Elementary in the Fernwood area of Spartanburg officially began the year-long transition from their original 61-year-old home to a new and bigger place.
And while all JBE family, new and old alike, want in some way for the old school to remain, they will tell you that they are far more excited about the move.
“I’m going to miss the murals which have been here so long, and the familiarity – my kids went here, and one is still here and will transfer next year,” said 2nd-grade teacher Sarah Anderson, now in her fourth year at JBE. “But I’m looking forward to a fresh start in the new school, putting our own touch on it, and making our own history.”
Sixth-year Principal Jonathan Duvall added that along with all the reading, writing, math, English, history, and recesses that still have to happen in this last year, he and other school leaders will be holding a number of special events and activities to commemorate this last group of 580 students in the original building.
“We will definitely recognize the final 5th-grade class, and hold a special celebration on the final day of this school year,” he said. “Our current building carries many wonderful memories of colleagues, students, and parents, and holds so much history with the amazing people that made JBE what it is today.”
Ironically, it is part of that history that led to the need for a new school.
Opening in January 1965, Jesse Boyd Elementary has served several generations of students through 11 U.S. presidents, 11 state governors, and momentous events such as the first moon landing, the end of the Vietnam War, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and even the switch from black-and-white to color television.
Following Pine Street Elementary, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, JBE is not only the district's second-oldest school, but was first tapped for replacement in the early 2000s.
But not until 2024 did plans for a new school begin to take shape when 73% of District 7 residents approved a $47 million bond referendum to fund both a new school and a classroom addition to Mary H. Wright Elementary. The referendum came on the heels of a 2023 District facility study, which again identified Boyd as a priority for replacement.
Cost for building the new Boyd school on the former McCracken Middle School site on the west side of Fernwood, was estimated at $55 million – which, along with the Wright addition, will include $7.57 million from the district’s debt service fund balance, $2 million from its general fund, $3 million from its food service fund, and general obligation bonds not to exceed $47 million.
Construction is not only progressing ahead of schedule, Duvall and 2nd-grade teacher Mollie Kuhn pointed out that the new school’s state-of-the-art environment will propel students into a “21st century learning space.”
“Right now we don’t have adequate space for different grade levels to get together to do projects, combined programs, and the ability to easily get on and off the property,” Duvall said. “We will work hard to make this investment pay off.”
And Kuhn added that while teachers and former students going back several decades will never forget a school that has become something akin to a local Fernwood landmark, the pull of the future at the new place carries all the weight.
“My husband went to JBE in the 1980s, and I’ve always wanted to teach here,” she said. “So there are a lot of memories here – but there is a lot more excitement about us moving.”
