New BCSD Superintendent, SC Ports Authority President among DINA guests
The November 3 meeting of the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association was a speaker-studded affair. DINA President Glenn Williman covered a few pieces of new business in an expeditious manner in order to allow the scheduled guest more time at the podium.
A few administrative items
Williman first noted that the payment of DINA member dues will, going forward, take place once a year. Coincident with the first meeting of 2016, to take place in February, the association will send out dues notices via email to all active members. Cost of membership remains $10 per household. Williman also noted that DINA will have a booth at Park Day on November 14, and will be accepting new memberships at that time.
Noting that the current DINA officers have agreed to continue their posts in 2016 if unopposed, Williman invited anyone interested in taking over an officer position for the next year to put their name in for election at the February meeting. He also reminded the group that committee volunteers are always needed and welcome.
Lastly, an announcement was made that the last DINA meeting of the year will be an oyster roast at Pierce Park Pavilion on December 1 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event will be catered by Sticky Fingers, with a menu that includes oysters, pulled pork BBQ, and hickory chicken. Members are invited to bring their own coolers. Advance payment will be accepted through November 18 for $12 per person online at dineighborhoodassociation.ticketspice.com/dina-oyster-roast, or for $10 per person by check paid at the POA office. Children under 12 are free.
Standing in for Team 5’s Lt. James Byrne, Sgt. Joe Pinckney delivered a brief City of Charleston police update for Daniel Island. A member of the team’s street patrol, Sgt. Pinckney noted that he had seen an uptick in speeding recently, particularly along Seven Farms Drive and I-526. He also cautioned that, although there had not been any reports of property theft since the last meeting, 90-95% of theft comes from unsecured vehicles and garages. He reminded members that bikes can be registered at the DI police station, as well as at Cooper River Cycles. Lastly, Sgt. Pinckney explained that any suspicious-looking behavior in any of the neighborhoods or town center should be reported - it is not necessary to wait until an incident has occurred – and a member of Team 5 will follow up in an “anonymous” manner.
Introducing… Superintendent
Brenda Blackburn
Berkeley County School’s District 2 board member Mac McQuillin took the podium to provide a couple district updates and introduce the evening’s first guest speaker. He noted that the proposed attendance lines for the new Philip Simmons Elementary and Middle Schools have passed (attendance lines for the Philip Simmons High School had already been approved), and can be viewed on the BCSD website. McQuillin also reported that, despite recent weather-related setbacks, construction of the new Philip Simmons schools is still on schedule; the elementary/middle facility is slated to open in August 2016, and the high school will welcome students beginning August 2017.
Delivering a warm welcome and words of gratitude for participating in the DINA meeting, McQuillin then offered the podium to new Berkeley County School District Superintendent Brenda Blackburn.
“I have a habit that sometimes gets me into trouble,” Blackburn opened. “I generally say yes.” Though she acknowledged that it was a pleasure to have accepted McQuillin’s invitation to speak to the DINA members, she would also state that other promises can prove more challenging to fulfill, though if she gives her word, she keeps it.
Blackburn’s tenure with BCSD began on November 1. She praised the district of which she is now a part, and expressed her belief that an educated citizenry makes a great community. Earlier in the day, Blackburn visited Daniel Island School, as part of preparation for a six-year accreditation study to be conducted by AdvancED, an international accreditation agency.
The new Superintendent then offered a bit of personal background. She is a mother, a literary mystery buff, and a lover of the great outdoors. She also happens to not come from a particularly educated family, but reports that she had great parents and a wonderful public education. A first generation high school graduate and college graduate, she is passionate about public education and giving kids the same opportunity she was afforded.
Superintendent Blackburn previously served at a district in Blacksburg, Virginia, and had been seeking a change. She came across a posting for the position at BCSD, and the leadership profile for the open superintendent role indicated a need for M.I.L.C.: management, instruction, leadership, and communication. She not only felt qualified to meet those conditions, but also admitted to having an existing fondness for the South Carolina coast, having spent many vacations here while growing up in North Carolina.
Blackburn has been a teacher, a guidance counselor, an assistant principal, a principal, an associate superintendent, and a superintendent. “I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work,” she stated. “And I’m not afraid to ask others to roll up their sleeves and join me in that work, because it is very, very important work.”
She served in a “thriving” district that built 12 schools in eight years, and has worked in districts ranging in size from 6,000 students to 75,000 students. What she has gleaned along the way is the belief that collaboration is vital for strong schools,
stating, “I have one idea, but we have many ideas.”
Blackburn has done her homework on BCSD, and has devised both an entry plan (for her first six months on the job) and a long-term plan. She will outline both in greater detail during the six community drop-ins she has scheduled during the month of
November; dates and locations are listed on the district website.
A look inside Philip Simmons High School
Next to the podium was Deon Jackson, Chief Administrative Officer for BCSD, to introduce Paulette Myers from McMillan Pazdan Smith Architects, the designers of the new Philip Simmons High School.
Construction on the new school is underway. The facility is designed for a student body of 1,200, with flexibility to increase that capacity to 1,500 students. The floor plan is divided into academies: a Freshman Academy, and then 11th through 12th grade academies based on areas of study. The school will also feature a technology “forest;” athletic facilities to include a fieldhouse and tennis courts in addition to football, baseball, and practice fields; and many special structural nods to Philip Simmons himself, as conceived with the help of the Philip Simmons Foundation.
A virtual “fly-through” tour, which will be available on the district website in the coming days, shows such amenities as flexible learning spaces, full-and half-size gymnasiums, many social areas, and outdoor learning classrooms. Other renderings and photos on the BCSD “capital projects” page depict site plans and exterior elevations.
SCSPA President: Ports Authority today and tomorrow
The final guest for the evening, introduced by South Carolina Senator Larry Grooms, was the State Ports Authority President Jim Newsome. Newsome has served six years at the helm of the SCSPA, an entity to which one in 11 jobs in South Carolina is directly or indirectly tied. Interestingly enough, his father ran the Port of Savannah. “I never thought I’d work for a port,” he quipped. “But it’s a fun and challenging job.”
Newsome acknowledged that the Port of Charleston is a tremendous economic asset for the state, but there are also important quality of life issues surrounding it as well. SCSPA has grown about 15% over last year, but Newsome conceded that will likely slow to a 5% pace over the next ten years. Current operating earnings are approximately $30 million and volume has returned to 2005 levels, though the SPA president recognizes that there is a need to earn even more in order to justify the $1 billion balance sheet.
The University of South Carolina recently completed an updated economic impact report, and found that the ports of South Carolina, with a $53 billion annual economic impact, will outpace overall U.S. port growth. Global businesses locate near ports, and Volvo Cars will serve as a shining example of the impact international commerce can have on the region when the company commences operations in the Lowcountry in 2018.
“We have the most decisive five-year plan in the history of our ports,” stated Newsome. An important part of that plan is the new terminal at the former Navy base, as well as investment in existing terminals, such as the strengthening of the wharfs at the Wando terminal. And as the nation’s ninth largest container port, the Port of Charleston will benefit tremendously from the deepening of Charleston Harbor to 52 feet. That deepening, along with the completion of phase one of the Navy base terminal and the Palmetto Railways’ Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, is slated to be completed by the end of this decade.
Regarding the SCSPA’s ownership of land on Daniel Island, Newsome remarked, “It’s my view, and it’s a very strong view, that if we’re not operating on it, we shouldn’t own it.” He reminded the group that the Port Authority has transferred 50 acres of the land it owned on the island to the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, and is looking to sell another portion of its land on DI for residential development, pending zoning changes. Newsome also underscored the importance of maintaining 900 acres as dredge disposal for the harbor deepening project.
He went on to explain that longer gate hours at the terminal has helped to spread out the volume of truck traffic on access roads, as has the move to increased rail transfer, the upper limit of which is around 30% of container transfer (current level is approximately 22%). The SCSPA also continues to conduct pollution studies with air monitors at the Wando terminal and Union Pier, and has committed to a next-generation of electric machines. “As important as the economic impact study of any terminal is the environmental impact,” he assured.
Regarding the ground that the Port of Savannah gained on Charleston in the last decade, Newsome stated that the Georgia Ports Authority and legislators were simply very aggressive and focused, but that South Carolina now has leaders and legislators in place that are “rock stars” in supporting the SCSPA and attracting new business. Lastly, he shared that the Port of Charleston’s largest customer, the Danish behemoth Maersk, is “the one we were about to lose in 2009,” adding only half-jokingly, “I wouldn’t be here talking to you if we didn’t get it back.”
Learn more about the South Carolina State Ports Authority at scspa.com. For more information on the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association, visit www.dineighborhoodassociation.org.