With no facility, South Carolina charter school can't open

From The Charleston Post and Courier: A new charter school for middle school students in South Carolina will be unable to open for a second consecutive year because it doesn't have a place to hold classes. Horizon Middle Academy made the agonizing decision last year to delay opening for a number of reasons that included not having a building. The school has design plans and a site for a building, but it couldn't get the money it needed to start construction. The school plans to serve 350 sixth- through eighth-grade Charleston County students. Charter schools approved by the state district don't need the local school board's approval, but they don't receive as much money as charter schools approved by local boards. The only funding they receive comes from state and federal sources; they receive no local money. School leaders want to build a $5.5 million, 26,000-square-foot "green" building and can get a loan to fund 80 percent of the project. But they need to come up with the remaining 20 percent, or roughly $1 million, and it's been difficult finding investors.