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School District of Oconee County, South Carolina, elections

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School District of Oconee County
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 10,076 (2023-2024)
Schools: 17 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

School District of Oconee County is a school district in South Carolina (Oconee County). During the 2024 school year, 10,076 students attended one of the district's 17 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

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Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District II

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District II

Meghan McPhail Ketterman and Vicky Smith ran in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District II on November 5, 2024.

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Meghan McPhail Ketterman (Nonpartisan)
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Vicky Smith (Nonpartisan)

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV

Q. Sawyer Gambrell and Denise McCormick ran in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV on November 5, 2024.

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Q. Sawyer Gambrell (Nonpartisan)
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Denise McCormick (Nonpartisan)

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V

Keith Johnson and Terry Swain ran in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V on November 5, 2024.

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Keith Johnson (Nonpartisan)
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Terry Swain (Nonpartisan)

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV

Incumbent Denise McCormick won election in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District IV on November 8, 2016.

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Denise McCormick (Nonpartisan)

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V

Incumbent Buddy Herring won election in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District V on November 8, 2016.

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District I

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District I

Incumbent Jerry Lee won election in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District I on November 4, 2014.

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Jerry Lee (Nonpartisan)

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School District of Oconee County school board, Council District III

General election

General election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District III

Incumbent Andy Inabinet won election in the general election for School District of Oconee County school board, Council District III on November 4, 2014.

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Andy Inabinet (Nonpartisan)

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About the district

School board

The School District of Oconee County consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Denise McCormickCouncil District IV2028
Terry SwainCouncil District V2028
Meghan KettermanCouncil District II20212028
Amanda HolderCouncil District I2026
Sandra SloanCouncil District III20192026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

School District of Oconee County
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
South Carolina House of Representatives District 1Bill WhitmireRepublican Party 73% 82%
South Carolina House of Representatives District 2Adam DuncanRepublican Party 27% 100%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $34,707,000 $3,393 18%
Local: $79,995,000 $7,820 42%
State: $73,954,000 $7,230 39%
Total: $188,656,000 $18,443
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $169,175,000 $16,538
Total Current Expenditures: $141,932,000 $13,875
Instructional Expenditures: $83,687,000 $8,181 49%
Student and Staff Support: $17,967,766 $1,756 11%
Administration: $13,789,000 $1,348 8%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $26,488,234 $2,589 16%
Total Capital Outlay: $24,335,000 $2,379
Construction: $11,088,000 $1,083
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $342,000 $33
Interest on Debt: $2,274,000 $222

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 41 50-59 21 34 <50 30-34 45
2018-2019 48 60-69 31 39 >=50 35-39 52
2017-2018 45 60-69 27 33 >=50 40-44 49
2016-2017 46 60-69 30 34 <50 35-39 50
2015-2016 48 40-49 31 39 >=50 40-44 51
2014-2015 54 60-69 40 45 >=50 45-49 57
2013-2014 71 80-89 50 67 >=50 70-74 74
2012-2013 71 80-89 48 65 PS 60-64 75
2011-2012 71 80-89 52 66 PS 65-69 75
2010-2011 72 80-89 51 71 >=50 65-69 76

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 47 50-59 31 38 <50 35-39 51
2018-2019 48 50-59 31 36 >=50 35-39 52
2017-2018 46 50-59 30 34 >=50 35-39 50
2016-2017 43 50-59 27 29 >=50 35-39 47
2015-2016 47 50-59 29 33 >=50 40-44 51
2014-2015 41 50-59 25 27 >=50 30-34 45
2013-2014 73 80-89 53 60 >=50 70-74 77
2012-2013 74 80-89 53 62 PS 70-74 78
2011-2012 72 80-89 55 61 PS 70-74 75
2010-2011 72 70-79 54 64 >=50 65-69 75

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 86 >=50 80-84 90-94 PS 86
2018-2019 86 >=50 80-84 90-94 PS 86
2017-2018 84 >=50 80-84 80-89 PS 84
2016-2017 85 >=50 85-89 80-89 PS 84
2015-2016 84 >=50 90-94 80-89 PS 83
2014-2015 82 >=50 80-84 80-89 PS 81
2013-2014 82 >=50 80-84 80-89 PS 81
2012-2013 80 >=50 80-84 80-89 >=50 79
2011-2012 81 PS 75-79 80-89 PS 82
2010-2011 77 PS 70-74 80-89 PS 77

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 10,076 -1.4
2022-2023 10,217 -0.1
2021-2022 10,229 0.6
2020-2021 10,168 -3.6
2019-2020 10,532 -0.7
2018-2019 10,603 0.8
2017-2018 10,518 1.1
2016-2017 10,405 -0.7
2015-2016 10,476 -0.7
2014-2015 10,550 0.0
2013-2014 10,547 -0.1
2012-2013 10,558 0.1
2011-2012 10,546 -0.6
2010-2011 10,606 -1.5
2009-2010 10,760 1.1
2008-2009 10,645 -0.8
2007-2008 10,732 0.5
2006-2007 10,673 -8.8
2005-2006 11,614 5.7
2004-2005 10,949 0.0
2003-2004 10,951 2.4
2002-2003 10,684 2.8
2001-2002 10,390 -7.6
2000-2001 11,176 7.9
1999-2000 10,288 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE School District of Oconee County (%) South Carolina K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3 0.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.6 1.9
Black 9.3 31.2
Hispanic 13.1 13.4
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 4.9 6.0
White 71.9 47.2

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, School District of Oconee County had 781.40 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 12.89.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 20.00
Kindergarten: 38.00
Elementary: 523.60
Secondary: 199.80
Total: 781.40

School District of Oconee County employed 15.00 district administrators and 45.50 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 15.00
District Administrative Support: 46.35
School Administrators: 45.50
School Administrative Support: 77.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 270.48
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 9.90
Total Guidance Counselors: 29.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 20.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 9.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 17.00
Library/Media Support: 5.50
Student Support Services: 50.60
Other Support Services: 374.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The School District of Oconee County operates 17 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Blue Ridge Elementary569PK-5
Fair-Oak Elementary591PK-5
Hamilton Career And Technology Center09-12
James M. Brown Elementary548PK-5
Keowee Elementary336PK-5
Northside Elementary656PK-5
Orchard Park Elementary395PK-5
Ravenel Elementary519PK-5
Seneca High1,0229-12
Seneca Middle7636-8
Tamassee-Salem Elementary201PK-5
Walhalla Elementary600PK-5
Walhalla High1,1199-12
Walhalla Middle8616-8
Westminster Elementary390PK-5
West-Oak High7989-12
West Oak Middle7086-8


About school boards

Education legislation in South Carolina

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics South Carolina
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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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