First charter school in Greenwood County financed with $25M in bonds.

• Position: South Carolina

The South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority has issued $24.9 million in educational facilities revenue bonds to finance the first ever charter school in Greenwood County.

Greenwood Charter Academy will use $24.2 million in tax-exempt bonds and $710,000 in taxable bonds to acquire, renovate, build and equip space in the Greenwood Mall located on 412 Bypass Highway 72, according to a JEDA news release.

"JEDA is pleased to once again be involved in the financing of a new educational option for our state's students," said Harry A. Huntley, CPA, Executive Director of JEDA in Columbia, in the release. "Additionally, an unused space in a landmark local mall is being transformed for a public benefit. That represents a double win for economic development in Greenwood."

The school will open for the 2023-24 school year with 700 students in grades K-6 with plans to add one grade each year through eighth grade, and is expected to create 62 new jobs, according to its operator, Tutelage Education...