ROCK HILL, S.C. — York Prepatory Academy has halted plans ot cotruct a second campus that would have served more than 1,100 student on its waitlist, school officials announced Friday.
On Thursday night, the school board voted to stop the construction efforts due to rising material costs and lost revenue caused by delays in starting construction.
The school said that it has been unable to satisfy York County’s requirements for a grading permit despite multiple applications in 2022 and 2023.
“We know this is going to be a huge disappointment to the families who have children on the waiting list,” Board Chairman Scott Smith said in the announcement. “But we cannot afford to delay the opening to 2025, which is where we are now due to the latest permit denial.”
The K-12 public charter school would have served an additional 1,125 students in grades K-8, according to Managing Director of YPA Brian Myrup.
MORE NEWS: Fort Mill School District thinking outside the box, visiting HBCUs to recruit future teachers
The second campus was planned for the south side of Rock Hill in a proposed community called Kettlesong and would have been designed to use the outdoors as a core part of the learning experience.
The school would have added 109 new teaching and education-related jobs to the area.
YPA is one of the highest paying public schools in the state with first-year teacher compensation approaching $50,000.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.