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Wedding & Event Venue Near Hampton, SC.

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Your Magic Moment Awaits

Your wedding day. Without a doubt, it's one of the most significant events you will ever experience - when you and the love of your life officially seal the deal and get married. On this day, your friends and family will gather to celebrate the next step in your life. Photographers will be running around snapping photos, catering plates delicious food for guests to enjoy, and the DJ sets the mood for a night of fun and libation. You've worked extra hard to make everything look perfect and run smoothly. You have examined every moving part down to the tiniest detail. At the center of all your effort is your wedding venue in Hampton, SC.

Your event space can mean the difference between an unforgettable event and an average occasion. Capturing your uniqueness as a couple is paramount to a memorable wedding. But, without the right venue location and staff, your unforgettable event can turn into a painfully average occasion. Fortunately, at Abney Hall, you won't ever have to worry about dingy reception spaces and crummy chow halls.

Constructed in Hampton, SC, in 1962, Abney Hall is 15,000 square feet and sits on 500 acres of land, making it a large wedding venue unlike any other. Abney Hall was originally the home of Mrs. Josephine Abney, a Hampton native who was a lifelong philanthropist. Mrs. Abney devoted much of her time and effort towards supporting charities, educational institutions, hospitals, and other noble efforts. Today, Abney Hall stands tall as a symbol of love, both in our community and for the couples who choose to get married here.

Abney Hall is an exclusive event experience unlike any other, surrounded by verdant forests and sparkling ponds. Our venue is a natural fit for several occasions, including:

Special Event Space Hampton, SC

Weddings

 Event Venue Hampton, SC

Bridal Showers

 Event Space Hampton, SC

Bridal Portraits

 Rehearsal Dinner Venue Hampton, SC

Rehearsal Dinners

 Bridal Shower Venue Hampton, SC

Corporate Events

 Business Event Space Hampton, SC

Much More!

 Wedding Space Hampton, SC

The Top Wedding Venue in Hampton, SC

The beginning of your life starts at Abney Hall. With our team by your side, we can create the fairy tale wedding you have dreamed about since childhood. Whether you have 100 guests or 1,000, our waterfront ceremony locations and French-inspired courtyard are perfect for your big day. Celebrate in luxurious style surrounded by shady magnolia trees, a private forest, large ponds, and the beauty of Mother Nature. While our venue location and aesthetic have been praised far and wide, so too have the practical aspects of Abney Hall. Looking for a relaxing, comfortable spot for your bridal party to get ready in? We offer an entire floor in the Abney Hall residence to get the bridal party ready. Want to make your groomsman feel extra-special too? We've got a private, plush house just feet from a sparkling pond that is a proper hangout spot for the guys in your group.

To make life easier on you, we also offer Abney Hall as your go-to spot for rehearsal dinners. Why book an expensive restaurant or travel to another location when unmatched beauty and convenience are right at your fingertips? Abney Hall is just the place for that very important dinner the night before your big day. We are also happy to host your bridal shower at Abney Hall. Our venue makes for one of Hampton's most unique bridal shower settings, where your family and friends can gather to give gifts and be merry before you walk down the aisle.

With such a large, magnificent house and a vast property, Abney Hall also makes for an unforgettable location for your bridal portraits and other wedding-related photography needs. Don't take our word for it - book a tour and see for yourself why so many new brides and grooms choose Abney Hall as their wedding venue in Hampton.

 Wedding Venue Hampton, SC

What Sets Abney Hall Apart from Other Wedding Venues in Hampton?

You've already found the person you want to spend the rest of your life beside. The next step? Finding the perfect wedding venue for your ceremony, reception, and celebration of your lifelong commitment to one another. Remember, the backdrop for photos, dancing, eating, and all other activities will be at your wedding venue. That's why we work so hard to set Abney Hall apart from our competitors - so you and your guests can focus on love and living your new life while we work with your vendors and photographers to make your magic night a reality.

Here are just a few reasons why guests choose Abney Hall as their wedding venue in Hampton, SC, along with some helpful tips from our experienced wedding venue staff:

Venue Size

Choosing the appropriate-sied venue for your desired guest count is a critical decision. A venue's capacity affects the number of people you need to consider having at your ceremony and reception. As you're first starting out, we recommend having a guest count in mind as you're searching for the right venue. Try to stick with that number. You may fall in love with a particular venue, but if its max capacity can't accommodate your guest count, it may be time to cross them off your list.

 Corporate Conference Hall Hampton, SC
Abney Hall Pro Tip

Abney Hall Pro Tip:

Keep in mind that this is your big day. You shouldn't feel obligated to invite the college roommate you shared a dorm with for one semester. At the end of the day, your wedding venue should be one that can accommodate those closest to you. Abney Hall is equipped for both small and large weddings, consisting of 500 acres of forest, ponds, and lush natural beauty. Whether you want an intimate wedding with only your best friends or a grand ceremony with hundreds of people, we have the right amount of room to make you comfortable.

Location and Nearby Lodging

On your big day, you're likely to have friends and family traveling in from other parts of the state or country. These folks will need a place to stay during and even after your wedding. Accessibility and ease are important factors when it comes to choosing your wedding venue for both you and your guests.

Located in Hampton, SC, Abney Hall is situated in a memorable, natural setting, giving your wedding a private vibe in the midst of Mother Nature. While we pride ourselves on having a secluded wedding event space, our venue is within an easy driving distance of hotels and vacation rentals.

Abney Hall Pro Tip

Abney Hall Pro Tip:

When you contact us for a tour, make sure to speak with our experienced venue manager about nearby hotels and shuttle service options. We understand that your guest's comfort and convenience are important, and we're happy to work with you to figure out the best way to get your guests to Abney Hall.

Venue Staff

At Abney Hall, our staff has earned its reputation as one of the industry's most friendly, accessible teams. We will provide you with a purpose-minded point of contact that can help answer questions relating to timelines, preferred vendors, and every aspect of your wedding. When you tour our wedding venue in Hampton, SC, for the first time, we want you to feel like you have all the information you need to make an informed purchasing decision.

We would be happy to go over:
  • Venue Pricing
  • Ceremony Specifics
  • Reception Specifics
  • Catering Possibilities
  • Decorating Possibilities
  • Entertainment Options
  • Photography and Photo Opportunities
  • Venue Amenities
  • Bridal Party Needs
  • Groomsman Needs

At Abney Hall, our goal is to be your first resource when it comes to setting up and coordinating the details of your wedding day.

Decor

When it comes to your wedding's decor, you probably already have a few ideas in mind. We love it when our brides and grooms have a vision in mind because one of our greatest joys is turning that vision into a reality. At Abney Hall, our team is available to help you and your decorator fit, accent, and accommodate your fairy-tale wedding - whatever that may be.

Are you looking to dress up your wedding with decorations galore? Just want to add a few accents that tie into your preferred color palette? Abney Hall is versatile and ready to help however we are able.

 Reception Hall Hampton, SC
Abney-Hall-Pro-Tip

Abney Hall Pro Tip:

If you're thinking about bringing in your own greenery, lighting, floral pieces, and more, we recommend discussing your vision with us on your initial tour of our event space. That way, we can get a head start on making your big day exactly how you envision it.

Photo Opportunities

10 years from now, when you and your spouse are celebrating your anniversary, you will pull out photographs from your wedding and will reminisce about the unforgettable time you spent at Abney Hall. Your wedding photos will be with you forever, and as such, we work closely with you and your photographer to suggest extra-special photo op spots that you can only find on Abney Hall grounds.

From the grand staircase and French-inspired courtyard to our manicured gardens and lovely pond, there is no shortage of photo-op locations for your photographer to choose from. As one of the most popular wedding venues in Hampton, SC, we have worked with dozens of photographers over the years.

Our experience has allowed us to cultivate a list of preferred photographers - all of whom have the talent to take your pictures to the next level in a setting they're familiar with. We encourage you to check out our gallery to get a sense of the scope of our wedding venue and gain inspiration from other happy couples.

Abney-Hall-Pro-Tip

Abney Hall Pro Tip

The gallery on our website is extensive but be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages as well. We keep our social pages updated with recent wedding photographs, giving you an incredible resource that you can use for your own photography purposes.

Special Event Space Hampton, SC

The Premier Corporate Event Venue in Hampton, SC

Abney Hall is known across the United States for our stunning weddings, but we also play host to some of the largest corporate events in South Carolina. Why choose a bland, lifeless meeting space when you can enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature coupled with a professional atmosphere? If you have an important team-building event or corporate conference that you have to coordinate, look no further than Abney Hall.

The epitome of class and style, our corporate event space is large, lavish, and chock-full of onsite amenities for you and your co-workers to enjoy. If your team needs a morale boost, don't bring them to the local Olive Garden for a cheap lunch. Treat them to a refreshing experience in our main dining room, where we can work with you to incorporate your catering options with the goals of your event.

When the hard work is done, and your team needs a breather, what better way to relax than with a quick dip in our pool? To burn off a little steam, head over to our brand-new tennis court - the perfect place to get some exercise in an ultra-private setting while you enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Don't forget to bring your fishing poles for a couple of hours of fishing. There's even an opportunity to go hunting if you wish.

 Event Venue Hampton, SC

Elegance at Its Finest - Only
a Phone Call Away

If you're ready to learn more about Abney Hall as your wedding venue, don't hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear more about your plans, your vision, and your needs. We know that planning a wedding isn't easy. It takes time, attention to detail, and a whole lot of patience. Our goal is to help provide you with all the info you need to learn more about our venue. Once you decide on a date, we'll work closely with you and your vendors to craft a wedding experience that you will treasure for the rest of your life.

Our available dates for your big day are going quick, especially during peak seasons like spring and fall. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Contact us today for a FREE initial consultation
 Event Space Hampton, SC

Latest News in Hampton, SC

Hampton County, S.C., Officials Break Ground On New $88M 'Comprehensive' High School

A crowd gathered Jan. 18 under a huge tent in Hampton County, S.C., alongside mounds of fresh dirt and a row of gold-painted ceremonial shovels bearing construction hard hats prior to the groundbreaking of a new $88 million high school.The event was held at 1682 Savannah Highway/U.S. Highway 601 South along 62 acres recently purchased by the Hampton County School District (HCSD) for the new campus.But the site also is just a few hundred yards from the Coosawhatchie River swamp that had divided the rural county geographically, p...

A crowd gathered Jan. 18 under a huge tent in Hampton County, S.C., alongside mounds of fresh dirt and a row of gold-painted ceremonial shovels bearing construction hard hats prior to the groundbreaking of a new $88 million high school.

The event was held at 1682 Savannah Highway/U.S. Highway 601 South along 62 acres recently purchased by the Hampton County School District (HCSD) for the new campus.

But the site also is just a few hundred yards from the Coosawhatchie River swamp that had divided the rural county geographically, politically and educationally for more than a hundred years, Bluffton Today noted Jan. 21. Bygone historians wrote of this divide a half-century ago, describing it as "both sides of the swamp."

Hampton County public school students have truly been divided in many ways — until now. In a more modern and progressive age of school consolidation for many rural South Carolina residents, both sides of that once-segregated swamp have finally come together.

The recently consolidated HCSD threw both dirt and decades of division into the wind during the construction kickoff for the soon-to-be constructed high school.

In 2021, the school system united the county's former Districts 1 and 2, the latter of which was primarily made up of a minority student population, and the new Hampton County High School will consolidate the former Wade Hampton and Estill high schools.

Hampton County's school districts, along with other small, rural districts, were consolidated by the state Department of Education (SCDE) to improve cost efficiencies as well as better share and utilize resources among all students.

"Our goal today is not just to turn the soil, but to sow the seeds of the future," noted Hannah Priester, an HCSD board member and lifelong educator and administrator, who added that the momentous occasion was not about bricks and mortar, but a commitment to transforming lives and creating a space where dreams can come true for all who pass through its doors in generations to come.

She and her fellow school board members were joined at the ceremony by scores of local, regional and state officials, including Scott Price, executive director of the South Carolina School Boards Association, and Ellen Weaver, the state's Superintendent of Education.

"Today is a day of unity and partnership," Weaver commented. "Today is also about a partnership between the state and our local districts."

During her remarks, she also pointed to the barren field behind her that will soon be converted into a campus for all public high school students in the county.

"There is so much potential here behind us," she said. "Let's continue this incredible momentum. We have nothing but hope and opportunity here."

Construction Costs Shared by State, Hampton County

Bluffton Today reported that in August 2022, the Hampton County district was notified that the SCDE and the county's Legislative delegation had earned approval from the South Carolina General Assembly to allocate $52 million from various funding sources to build a modern high school as part of the ongoing consolidation efforts.

Two months later, local officials were successful in getting voters to approve a $25 million bond referendum to augment funding from the state to help pay for the project.

"This is not just about the construction of a building, but a consolidation of minds," added state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-45th District, who worked with fellow Hampton County Legislative Delegation members Sen. Brad Hutto, D-40th District, and former state Rep. Shedron Williams to help procure the initial funding for this project. "The State of South Carolina is heavily investing in our children."

High School's Design Based On Tennessee Campus

The new Hampton County High School's design will be based on a prototype of West Ridge High School in Blountville, Tenn. During the project's early planning stages, HCSD officials visited the Sullivan County, Tenn., school for a tour.

The Hampton County campus has been described as a "comprehensive" new high school, according to Bluffton Today.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Kameron Quick, an architect with LS3P, an architecture firm in Greenville, S.C., revealed that the campus will include facilities for Career and Technology Education (CATE) classes such as building instruction, welding, HVAC heating and air, culinary arts, barbering and cosmetology, pharmacy, culinary arts and a variety of computer-related courses, among others.

In addition, the school will be constructed by H.G. Reynolds Co. in Aiken, S.C., the same contracting firm that completed a recent expansion of North District Middle School in nearby Varnville.

The HCSD has not yet announced a completion date for the new Hampton County High School.

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Hampton County, S.C., Officials Break Ground On New $88M 'Comprehensive' High School

A crowd gathered Jan. 18 under a huge tent in Hampton County, S.C., alongside mounds of fresh dirt and a row of gold-painted ceremonial shovels bearing construction hard hats prior to the groundbreaking of a new $88 million high school.The event was held at 1682 Savannah Highway/U.S. Highway 601 South along 62 acres recently purchased by the Hampton County School District (HCSD) for the new campus.But the site also is just a few hundred yards from the Coosawhatchie River swamp that had divided the rural county geographically, p...

A crowd gathered Jan. 18 under a huge tent in Hampton County, S.C., alongside mounds of fresh dirt and a row of gold-painted ceremonial shovels bearing construction hard hats prior to the groundbreaking of a new $88 million high school.

The event was held at 1682 Savannah Highway/U.S. Highway 601 South along 62 acres recently purchased by the Hampton County School District (HCSD) for the new campus.

But the site also is just a few hundred yards from the Coosawhatchie River swamp that had divided the rural county geographically, politically and educationally for more than a hundred years, Bluffton Today noted Jan. 21. Bygone historians wrote of this divide a half-century ago, describing it as "both sides of the swamp."

Hampton County public school students have truly been divided in many ways — until now. In a more modern and progressive age of school consolidation for many rural South Carolina residents, both sides of that once-segregated swamp have finally come together.

The recently consolidated HCSD threw both dirt and decades of division into the wind during the construction kickoff for the soon-to-be constructed high school.

In 2021, the school system united the county's former Districts 1 and 2, the latter of which was primarily made up of a minority student population, and the new Hampton County High School will consolidate the former Wade Hampton and Estill high schools.

Hampton County's school districts, along with other small, rural districts, were consolidated by the state Department of Education (SCDE) to improve cost efficiencies as well as better share and utilize resources among all students.

"Our goal today is not just to turn the soil, but to sow the seeds of the future," noted Hannah Priester, an HCSD board member and lifelong educator and administrator, who added that the momentous occasion was not about bricks and mortar, but a commitment to transforming lives and creating a space where dreams can come true for all who pass through its doors in generations to come.

She and her fellow school board members were joined at the ceremony by scores of local, regional and state officials, including Scott Price, executive director of the South Carolina School Boards Association, and Ellen Weaver, the state's Superintendent of Education.

"Today is a day of unity and partnership," Weaver commented. "Today is also about a partnership between the state and our local districts."

During her remarks, she also pointed to the barren field behind her that will soon be converted into a campus for all public high school students in the county.

"There is so much potential here behind us," she said. "Let's continue this incredible momentum. We have nothing but hope and opportunity here."

Construction Costs Shared by State, Hampton County

Bluffton Today reported that in August 2022, the Hampton County district was notified that the SCDE and the county's Legislative delegation had earned approval from the South Carolina General Assembly to allocate $52 million from various funding sources to build a modern high school as part of the ongoing consolidation efforts.

Two months later, local officials were successful in getting voters to approve a $25 million bond referendum to augment funding from the state to help pay for the project.

"This is not just about the construction of a building, but a consolidation of minds," added state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-45th District, who worked with fellow Hampton County Legislative Delegation members Sen. Brad Hutto, D-40th District, and former state Rep. Shedron Williams to help procure the initial funding for this project. "The State of South Carolina is heavily investing in our children."

High School's Design Based On Tennessee Campus

The new Hampton County High School's design will be based on a prototype of West Ridge High School in Blountville, Tenn. During the project's early planning stages, HCSD officials visited the Sullivan County, Tenn., school for a tour.

The Hampton County campus has been described as a "comprehensive" new high school, according to Bluffton Today.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Kameron Quick, an architect with LS3P, an architecture firm in Greenville, S.C., revealed that the campus will include facilities for Career and Technology Education (CATE) classes such as building instruction, welding, HVAC heating and air, culinary arts, barbering and cosmetology, pharmacy, culinary arts and a variety of computer-related courses, among others.

In addition, the school will be constructed by H.G. Reynolds Co. in Aiken, S.C., the same contracting firm that completed a recent expansion of North District Middle School in nearby Varnville.

The HCSD has not yet announced a completion date for the new Hampton County High School.

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HC Legislative Delegation alerts SC Gov. McMaster to financial 'crisis' in Hampton County

With misspent millions, can Hampton County and the HC School District pay its employees, vendors?Bluffton Today"The situation has escalated to a crisis level whereby the county is not able to pay its vendors and employees," - the Hampton County Legislative Delegation in a letter to the S.C. Governor.The Hampton County Legislative Delegation is seeking the assistance of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster in addressing an "escalating" financial "crisis" in Hampton Cou...

With misspent millions, can Hampton County and the HC School District pay its employees, vendors?

Bluffton Today

"The situation has escalated to a crisis level whereby the county is not able to pay its vendors and employees," - the Hampton County Legislative Delegation in a letter to the S.C. Governor.

The Hampton County Legislative Delegation is seeking the assistance of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster in addressing an "escalating" financial "crisis" in Hampton County.

On Nov. 15, the Legislative Delegation, which includes S.C. House Representative William "Bill" Hagar and S.C. Senators Margie Bright Matthews and C. Brad Hutto, contacted Gov. McMaster to bring his attention to an "escalating situation" in Hampton County and requested assistance from his office.

Hampton County is currently in a state of financial reconstruction and mostly new leadership after officials in January 2022 revealed that the county had misspent millions in capital sales tax dollars and other protected funds and was in dire financial condition.

In the letter to the governor, provided to The Hampton County Guardian by the Hampton County Citizens for Active Restoration (HCCAR) along with emails, the Legislative Delegation blames both the previous county council and administration as well as the county treasurers for Hampton County's current situation.

"The previous and current Hampton County Treasurers have done great damage to the financial security of Hampton County, to the community and to the employees for which they serve," writes the Delegation. "The misappropriation of the 'penny sales tax' revenue, the misspending of South Carolina Department of Education funds, and the overall lack of financial accountability has impacted the county's fiscal soundness and integrity. The situation has escalated to a crisis level whereby the county is not able to pay its vendors and employees."

The H.C. Delegation says that it was apprised of three primary problems by concerned citizens of HCCAR:

"The obvious dereliction of duties by the Hampton County Treasurers have had an increasingly adverse impact on the operation and management of Hampton County and the Hampton County School District," the letter adds.

The office of H.C. Treasurer Jennifer Ginn Youmans did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment, and The Hampton County Guardian was unable to leave a voice message on the county's phone service seeking comment.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, HCCAR prompted this move by contacting members of the delegation with an email that included 21 attachments as information or evidence. That same week, the delegation met with HCCAR and the H.C. Council in separate meetings to discuss the financial conditions.

During the January 2022 H.C. Council meeting, auditors and the county's finance department revealed that, after two decades of "bad accounting," stated the letter, the local government has misspent at least $4.6 million of funding that was legally earmarked for other needs, but spent in the "catch-all" General Fund.

Following this announcement, HCCAR contacted numerous state agencies for assistance with investigating or auditing the county, including the state auditor, S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the S.C. Ethics Commission, the S.C. Attorney General, and the S.C. Department of Revenue (SCDOR).

According to the letter, SCDOR has agreed to audit the misuse of the sales tax funds only, and local sources say that the process has already begun.

The legislators tell the governor they are "exceedingly concerned" about the financial well-being of Hampton County, and since the cash-strapped county lacks the funds to hire an independent forensic accountant, are requesting a "full-scale audit and investigation" by multiple state agencies, including SLED, SCDOR, the S.C. Governor's Office of Ombudsman, the S.C. Inspector General's Office, and the S.C. Treasurer's Office.

"This audit and investigation would assist the Hampton County Council in determining who in the County Treasurer's Office bears responsibility for the misspending and misappropriation of funds," they conclude.

"HCCAR appreciates the support of the Legislative Delegation in asking our governor for assistance in investigating and conducting a forensic audit on the $5.1 million in misspent money," said HCCAR member Randy Vaughn. "This is about enriching the lives of the citizens of Hampton County. Delaying the construction of a recreation complex any longer is a travesty."

Michael DeWitt and The Hampton County Guardian will continue to cover this unfolding story. You can follow DeWitt on X at @mmdewittjr

Three Hampton County schools named Best Elementary Schools in South Carolina for 2024

Bluffton TodayWashington, D.C. - The following Hampton County Elementary Schools — Ben Hazel Primary, Varnville Elementary, and Brunson Elementary School — are among the South Carolina recipients honored by the 2024 Best Elementary School rankings by U.S. News & World Report.Across the nation, the top 40 percent of the state’s public, charter, and magnet schools receive rankings with highly ranked schools being awarded badges of recognition. Seven of the nine Hampton County Schools were incl...

Bluffton Today

Washington, D.C. - The following Hampton County Elementary Schools — Ben Hazel Primary, Varnville Elementary, and Brunson Elementary School — are among the South Carolina recipients honored by the 2024 Best Elementary School rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

Across the nation, the top 40 percent of the state’s public, charter, and magnet schools receive rankings with highly ranked schools being awarded badges of recognition. Seven of the nine Hampton County Schools were included in the rankings with three elementary schools earning the top honor badges.

“We are extremely proud of the work being done in our schools to provide students of Hampton County with a high-quality education," said Kristy C. Wood, HCSD director of curriculum & instruction. "This recognition is just a small glimpse into the great things happening in Hampton County School District. A huge 'Thank you' to our dedicated teachers, instructional leaders, and principals for all their hard work. We appreciate you and all you do for our students!”

Superintendent of Schools Ronald Wilcox added, “We are proud of our schools that were recognized in this report. We commend our administrators, teachers, and staff for their hard work. I also thank our curriculum committee that meets once per month to support our academic programs.”

The curriculum committee is comprised of instructional leaders along with two board members, Debra Holmes and Marsha Robinson, who meet with the committee to help support curriculum and instruction along with Board Chair Hannah Priester and Superintendent Wilcox.

The methodology of the rankings focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient or above in mathematics and reading/language arts while accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools are educating their students.

The 2024 Best Elementary and Best Middle School rankings are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education.

“The 2024 Best Elementary and Best Middle School rankings offer a way for parents to get a snapshot of their child’s school and how well it is doing compared to other schools within their community and state,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Hampton County School District US News Badge Awarded Schools:

To be eligible to earn a badge, the elementary or middle school must be in the 60th percentile or above.

Both HCSD middle schools were very close to earning the badge of recognition as well with Estill Middle School earning a percentile score of 58 and North District Middle a score of 51.

Hampton County School District has seen continuous growth in test scores despite the hurdles being faced in education today, say administrators.

For more information https://www.usnews.com/education

Uncovered: S.C. tax agency didn't enforce oversight rule as Hampton County misspent millions; Sumter, other counties didn't report penny tax spending

This article is part of The Post and Courier's Uncovered project, an ongoing initiative to shed light on corruption in South Carolina. The Post and Courier has partnered with 18 community newspapers, including The Sumter Item, across the state to bring investigative journalism to light. To read more Uncovered articles, visit www.postandcourier.com/uncovered.HAMPTON — Long before this county misspent a single dollar of its residents’ sales taxes, it broke a law intended to safeguard that money.Three months later, it ...

This article is part of The Post and Courier's Uncovered project, an ongoing initiative to shed light on corruption in South Carolina. The Post and Courier has partnered with 18 community newspapers, including The Sumter Item, across the state to bring investigative journalism to light. To read more Uncovered articles, visit www.postandcourier.com/uncovered.

HAMPTON — Long before this county misspent a single dollar of its residents’ sales taxes, it broke a law intended to safeguard that money.

Three months later, it did again. Then again and again and again, every quarter for the better part of a decade.

Counties are allowed to impose higher sales taxes to bankroll big projects like building roads and renovating their facilities. But in return, they’re required to send the state quarterly reports about how they’re using that money.

Hampton County didn’t comply with that law once in the eight years it collected the extra tax. It sent the S.C. Department of Revenue just one spending report, a year after its tax ended. By then, county officials had discovered at least $3.1 million was missing from the sales tax fund, setting off a firestorm among the county's residents.

The Department of Revenue, the state’s tax agency, did not take notice of the missing reports, even as the county blew through more than 30 deadlines, according to an investigation by Uncovered, The Post and Courier’s initiative to shine a light on questionable government conduct in partnership with community newspapers around South Carolina.

What’s more, Uncovered found, Hampton County was no exception in violating the law.

Almost half of the state’s counties — 22 of 46 — charge their residents an extra penny per dollar for construction projects. All but one failed to report their spending even once this year, according to records produced by the Department of Revenue in response to an open-records request.

Now, the agency says that will change. After Uncovered asked questions about the oversight, the Department of Revenue sent instructions to counties around the state, asking that they start sending reports next year.

“I’m sure they’re going to,” said state Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, who backed the requirement when it was passed in 2002. “Because if they don’t, we’re going to make ‘em.”

Sumter County

In Sumter County, voters approved the Penny for Progress in 2008 and again in 2014 but voted down the measure in November 2022. The most recent penny tax ended April 30 this year.

According to the records produced by the Department of Revenue in response to The Post and Courier’s open-records request, Sumter County was one of the 22 South Carolina counties to not report its penny tax spending to the Department of Revenue this year.

2023 is the final year Sumter County is required to send the state quarterly reports about how it is using that money because the county stopped the penny tax in April of this year after voters didn't renew it a third time.

The Sumter Item asked for comment on this from the county’s treasurer and did not hear back.

New tax, new requirement

Twenty-six years ago, South Carolina lawmakers set off a feeding frenzy among local governments eager to take on big projects without the state’s help.

In an effort to tamp down property taxes, they let counties pay for projects with new sales taxes instead.

But lawmakers did not want to give them too much leash. Before they could raise taxes, each county would have to convene a panel to decide what projects the money would go toward and what order to take them on. Then, voters would have to approve the plans in a referendum.

Soon after the Capital Project Sales Tax Act became law in 1997, counties jumped in. Spartanburg and York saw an opportunity to widen roads. Orangeburg wanted to pave dirt roads and build recreation facilities. Newberry wanted to renovate its courthouse and the county-run emergency room.

The new tax would become an important source of money for local governments. Last year, capital projects taxes brought in $385 million.

As the first round of taxes came up for renewal, lawmakers decided South Carolinians needed more assurance their money was being used the way county leaders said it was. In 2002, they tucked a new requirement into an all-encompassing bill that changed the state’s rules for bingo halls and economic development incentives, among other things.

Under the new law, counties would be required to tell the state every three months how much money they’d spent on each of their projects. The requirement was initially proposed as part of a bill sponsored by former state Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill.

His home county, York, was the first county to pass a penny tax in the 1990s, and it has had one ever since, using it to keep up with the growth of Charlotte’s suburbs. But support was tenuous at first, and the initial referendum barely passed. Hayes said lawmakers implemented a reporting requirement to assure voters that the tax would be used to get construction work done, not grow government.

Orangeburg County was also quick to adopt a tax. There, Hutto, D-Orangeburg, pushed the reporting requirement before it came up for renewal. Lawmakers thought someone ought to check counties’ work, he said.

They decided to give that job to the Department of Revenue, which collects sales taxes.

But the tax agency says the law only gave it so much power to make counties disclose their spending. For instance, it said, it cannot withhold funding from counties that don’t file reports. The law doesn’t say what the department is supposed to do with them.

Perhaps, Hutto says now, lawmakers ought to clear up the department’s role. For instance, the Legislature could instruct the agency to review the accuracy of counties’ submissions or force it to notify local lawmakers when a county misses a deadline, he said.

Without a clearly defined process, the requirement all but collapsed in the intervening years. The vast majority of counties subject to the rule this year violated it, records show, and the Department of Revenue said it took no steps to enforce it.

“That’s a problem,” Hutto said. “They may say, ‘Well, the Legislature didn’t say if nobody (sent) any reports that we needed to ring the bell.’ I just think that’s kind of common sense.”

In the dark

The discovery that nearly half of South Carolina’s counties were disregarding the reporting rule began with questions in one of its smallest: Hampton County.

Voters there approved an eight-year tax in 2012 to pay for a laundry list of projects: repairs to the county’s decaying jail, a new building for the health department and a new recreation complex among them.

But as the tax entered its final years, residents realized something didn’t add up. A former high school baseball coach named Randy Vaughn was volunteering for the local youth baseball league when he realized the county had reneged on its promise for new ballfields. He was told the county had simply run out of money.

In 2021, Vaughn and other residents began to press county leaders for information, including a retired banker who discovered the county’s books weren’t balanced. They formed a citizens’ group, Hampton County Citizens for Active Restoration, which has spent more than two years calling for a forensic audit.

In response to the public pressure, county officials began to check the books themselves.

In January 2022, they announced their findings: At least $3.1 million had been siphoned from the sales tax fund, apparently to pay for the government’s everyday expenses. (The Department of Revenue is planning to audit the misspent money, county officials say, but the agency has not yet done so.)

The Post and Courier’s Uncovered initiative asked the Department of Revenue for records showing what the county had been telling the state all along. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the agency revealed that Hampton County hadn’t been saying much at all.

Though the county should have sent in a total of 32 reports while the tax was being collected, the department said it had a total of just six pages of records on file.

The county had filed a single report, the agency said. It was submitted in April 2022, only after the missing money was revealed. Hampton County treasurer Jennifer Youmans sent it in; she declined to comment, saying she had been “advised not to speak on this matter.”

Officials in multiple counties said they had never gotten a call from the state about the rule, even as they violated it. In fact, they said, they didn’t even know it existed.

Williamsburg County supervisor Kelvin Washington, for instance, said his staff was pulling together reports now that they were aware of the requirement, but he said they had never heard of it before.

“I’m in the dark,” said Colleton County Treasurer Becky Hill. “They’ve never mentioned this.”

And it’s not as though she hadn’t heard from the Department of Revenue, Hill said: The agency audited the county’s capital projects tax just this year.

The only county to file reports this year, Horry, started doing so when it implemented its first tax in 2007 because county staff read the rules themselves, spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov said. It has been a useful exercise, she said, providing "another opportunity for oversight and review."

The Department of Revenue has indicated that it expects other counties to start taking part soon.

In a statement, the agency said it was developing a process for counties to send in information, a first. In an email to counties Nov. 16, it said the first reports will be due a month after the next round of sales tax money is distributed in January.

What will happen if counties still don’t comply, the agency did not say.

Nichole Livengood of The Kingstree News, Elizabeth Hustad of The Post and Courier North Augusta, Jane Alford of The Lancaster News, Michael DeWitt Jr. of The Hampton County Guardian, Damian Dominguez of the (Greenwood) Index-Journal and Bryn Eddy of The Sumter Item contributed to this report.

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