BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–Starting in September of last year, Senators Larry Grooms and Paul Campbell, who are both from Berkeley County, sought out answers from S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson concerning Daniel Island’s effort to break away from Berkeley County.
Many residents of Daniel Island started a petition last year to break away from Berkeley County and join Charleston County, stating that they felt like the county had neglected them. Homeowners spearheading the secession say the final straw came when the school district planned to build a new middle school in the Cainhoy area when they were reportedly told the school would be built on Daniel Island if they voted “yes” on the “Yes 4 Schools” referendum. Many Daniel Island homeowners said they felt duped.
According to Attorney General Alan Wilson, if Charleston County were to annex Daniel Island, its doing so would not necessarily affect BCSD’s boundary lines.
“In our best judgment, we believe a court would likely conclude that the Island remains a part of BCSD,” wrote Wilson. “We caution, however, that this is a novel issue and plausible legal arguments may be made that Daniel Island could, with annexation, become part of the CCSD. Thus, in order to ensure certainty and finality with respect to the impact of any such annexation, we believe a declaratory judgment is advisable.”
Wilson added that if Daniel Island joined Charleston County and became a part of the CCSD, the issue of whether children currently living in Charleston County could be rezoned to attend school on Daniel Island would be a decision for the school board to determine.
“Annexation would not affect children who, although being Berkeley County residents, do not live on Daniel Island but attend Daniel Island schools, unless BCSD’s boundary lines are changed,” Wilson noted.
Wilson added that it’s possible for Daniel Island to break away from the county because the school district is a separate body politic.
“The annexation of Daniel Island would mean Berkeley County would no longer be required to provide county services to Daniel Island and instead, Charleston County would bear such a responsibility,” said Wilson.
Regarding county infrastructure, Wilson stated that general rule of thumb is that infrastructure provided to residents of Daniel Island becomes property of Charleston County upon annexation.
In previous letters to Alan Wilson, the two lawmakers from Berkeley County asked in the USDOJ has the power to intervene with the annexation.
“USDOJ does not have authority to intervene in the annexation process itself since the process of altering county lines is strictly a state law issue,” wrote Wilson.
To view Attorney General Alan Wilson’s letter in its entirety, click here.
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Why don’t just just face facts. This is all about “the school district.” It’s all about the snobs on Daniel Island not wanting to send their precious churns to schools with “those people.” Hey,they’ve got the money, let them pay Charleston County taxes. If that’s the reason they want to leave BC, BC doesn’t really need them anyhow! When the Almighty sends the next hurricane their way, I’m sure they’ll be more that happy to see “those people” come and repair their condos and million dollar homes which they so thoughtfully built in an area so susceptible to hurricane damage.