Anderson County School District Five said Monday that Southwood Academy for the Arts will not expand to include high school students, which had been part of a tentative plan by the district under the past adminstration.
Wilson said the school, which current has 400 students and can accommodate 400, is too small and that the district's budget will not allow expansion. Wilson said the district's board approved a plan earlier this month which would allow students at T.L. Hanna or Westside to take courses at Southwood instead of adding a third high school in Anderson.
The School for the Arts concept was set in motion a decade ago when Calhoun Elementary School was designated an arts school and expanded when Southwood Middle School was added to the program seven years later. Many parents assumed the final stage of the arts eduation would include a high school for the arts.
Hanna and Westside students are already taking music and art classes at Southwood, so little change is expected in the current setup.