Town of McClellanville to purchase old middle school for public use

MCCLELLANVILLE, S.C. (WCBD)- The final sale of McClellanville Middle School will happen on Wednesday between the Charleston County School District and the Town of McClellanville.

Buying the building will cost the town 325,000 dollars.

“We just felt like we needed to get into some situation where it would be available for public use forever. We want this end of Charleston County to benefit from it in some way,” said Mayor Rutledge Leland.

The school used to be the center of town at one point when it taught 12 grades of students.

“It’s been around a long time and a lot of things have gone on here. Sports, education and movies here on Thursday nights,” said Mayor Leland.

Beating real estate developers to the acquisition of the property was a major concern for neighbors and the town government.

“It’s exciting and of all the alternatives I think having the town acquire it is the best of the alternatives,” said Don Rutledge, a nearby neighbor. “They want to keep the village as unique as it’s been for all these generations.”

There is no plan in place to renovate the building yet, but Mayor Leland says that the town’s council will listen to ideas soon.

“There are numerous people who have said that they would like to volunteer to just help us keep an eye on it. We’re just going to move forward, listen to the ideas and see what we can do best for the community,” said Mayor Leland.

“The Town of McClellanville plans to use the facility to serve the children and families in the area. We support that approach and believe the McClellanville community will benefit from this decision,” said Andrew Pruitt, a spokesperson for the Charleston County School District.