Update 9/16/13: Joe DeFeo, Horry County Board of Education Board Chair, addressed parents attending tonight's work session assuring them that their concerns were heard.

Colleen Mills, founder of the Facebook group Parents Against the Realignment of Carolina Forest Elementary School, addressed the Board noting concerns over the Carolina Forest Site Committee's recommendation to realign the majority of Carolina Forest Elementary School students to Black Water Middle School. That committee is made up of representatives from all Carolina Forest schools with the exception of Carolina Forest Elementary. She asked that the committee be reformed to include a representative and that other options beyond this realignment be considered to alleviate the overcrowding at Ocean Bay Middle School.

In a conversation with the group of attending parents prior to the start of the meeting, Mr. DeFeo also said it was his feeling that the Board would not be ready to vote on this issue during the September 30, 2013 meeting.

First report 7/19/13: We've been talking about this since September of 2011, but the possibility of Carolina Forest middle school students being realigned to Black Water Middle School in Conway is, yet again, back up for discussion.

Parents of student affected argue that the route to Black Water from the Carolina Forest area is longer and more dangerous as it includes a stint on Highway 501. They are also unhappy with the discreptancy between the performance of Ocean Bay Middle School (Excellent), the school Carolina Forest students currently attend, and Black Water Middle School (Good). According to this Waccamaw Publisher article, the meeting at which the Carolina Forest site committee officially recommended realignment was "sparsely attended." Word on local social media from parents continues to rally against the change. 

The move for these students must still be approved by the Horry County Board of Education and a district-wide site committee before it can be executed. Parents wishing to voice their concerns are encouraged to reach out to the Board. Here is a link to their contact information, and another that defines their areas of representation.