Lexington County is served by five school districts, which have some of the best schools in the state: School-ranking website niche.com rates Lexington-Richland School District 5 as the best in South Carolina and Lexington School District 1 as the fifth-best; U.S. News and World Report rates Chapin High School as the fourth-best high school in the state. In addition, Midlands Technical College has campuses near the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, in Batesburg-Leesville, and in Irmo.
Lexington School District 1
District Office: 100 Tarrar Springs Rd., Lexington, 803-359-4178, lexington1.net.
Lexington 1 covers nearly half of Lexington County, stretching from the Lake Murray area to the southern border with Aiken County. The district serves more than 26,300 students and 30 schools (17 elementary schools, seven middle schools, five high schools and one technology center); it also has an alternative learning program called FOCUS. The school board meets the third Tuesday of each month in the district office’s auditorium. School board members are elected for four-year terms.
Superintendent: Gregory D. Little
School Board
Cynthia S. Smith, Chairperson
Anne Marie Green, Vice Chair
Dr. Brent M. Powers, Secretary
Michael E. Anderson, Member
Jada B. Garris, Member
Dr. R. Kyle Guyton, Member
Timothy F. Oswald, Member
Lexington School District 2
District Office: 715 Ninth St., West Columbia, 803-796-4708, lex2.org.
Lexington 2 serves 9,000 students at 15 schools (eight elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools and one alternative learning center) in West Columbia, Cayce, Springdale, Pine Ridge and South Congaree. The district’s board of trustees meets the third Thursday of each month.
Superintendent: William B. James, Jr.
School Board
William H. “Bill” Bingham, Jr., Chairperson
R. Kevin Key, Vice Chair
Christina F. Rucker, Secretary
Linda Alford-Wooten, Member
ElizaBeth Dickerson Branham, Member
James M. “Bud” Summers, Member
Cynthia M. “Cindy” Kessler, Member
Lexington School District 3
District Office: 338 W. Columbia Ave., Batesburg-Leesville, 803-532-4423, lex3.org.
Lexington 3 serves just shy of 2,100 students in the Batesburg-Leesville area with four K–12 schools and the Lifelong Learning Center. Its board meets the second Tuesday of each month in one of the district’s schools or at the district office.
Superintendent: Randall R. Gary
School Board
Stacey Derrick, Chairperson
Craig A. Caughman, Vice Chair
Rev. Leon Drafts, Secretary
Dr. Gariane Phillips Gunter, Member
Frances Bouknight, Member
Cheryl A. Burgess, Member
Sonya W. Cary, Member
Lexington School District 4
District Office: 607 E. Fifth St., Swansea, 803-490-7000, lexington4.net.
Lexington 4 primarily serves Swansea and Gaston. Its 3,400 students attend six schools (one primary, one elementary, one middle, one intermediate, one high school and one freshman academy); it also has an early childhood center and shares an adult-education facility with Lexington 2. The school board meets the second Monday of each month at either the district office or one of the schools.
Interim Superintendent: Justin Nutter
School Board
Quincy Sutton, Chairperson
Brad Frick, Secretary
Donna Goodwin, Member
Daniel Martin, Member
Chris Pound, Member
Doris Simmons, Member
Zachary Smith, Member
Richland-Lexington School District 5
District Office: 1020 Dutch Fork Rd., Irmo, 803-476-8000, lexrich5.org
As its name implies, Richland-Lexington 5 covers parts of both Richland and Lexington counties; in Lexington County, that’s the northern part of the county around Irmo and Chapin. It serves more than 17,000 students at 22 schools (12 elementary, five middle and intermediate schools and four high schools, plus a Center for Advanced Technical Studies and an Academy for Success). Four of its seven-member board of trustees are required to live in Lexington County; the board meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month during the school year.
Superintendent: Christina S. Melton, Ed.D.
School Board
Robert Gantt, Chairperson
Beth Hutchinson, Vice Chair
Michael Cates, Secretary
Nikki Gardner, Member
Jan Hammond, Member
Ken Loveless, Member
Ed White, Member
Adult Education
Batesburg-Leesville Lifelong Learning Center
101 W. Columbia Ave., Batesburg-Leesville, 803-532-2141, llc.lex3.org. Classes offered include adult basic education, pre-GED, GED, English as a second language, and certified nursing assistant and paraprofessional and substitute teacher training.
Lexington Two and Four Adult Education Program
114 Hook Ave., West Columbia, 803-739-4048, adulted.lex2.org. Offers reading, writing and math classes, and pre-GED, GED and diploma courses.
Midlands Technical College
Airport Campus: 1260 Lexington Dr., West Columbia, 803-738-8324, midlandstech.edu/campuses/airport-campus
Batesburg-Leesville Campus: 423 College St., Batesburg-Leesville, 803-604-1601, midlandstech.edu/campuses/batesburg-leesville-campus
Harbison Campus: 7300 College St., Irmo, 803-738-8324, midlandstech.edu/campuses/harbison-campus
In addition to degrees, certificates and diplomas, Midlands Tech offers career training and counseling services.
Libraries
The Lexington County Public Library System has books, yes, but it also provides wireless internet, computer labs and a wealth of research resources to the residents of Lexington County.
Lexington Main Branch: 5440 Augusta Rd., Lexington, 803-785-2600, lex.lib.sc.us
Batesburg-Leesville Branch: 203 Armory St., Batesburg, 803-532-9223, lex.lib.sc.us
Cayce-West Columbia Branch: 1500 Augusta Rd., West Columbia, 803-794-6791, lex.lib.sc.us
Chapin Branch: 129 NW Columbia Ave., Chapin, 803-345-5479, lex.lib.sc.us
Gaston Branch: 214 S. Main St., Gaston, 803-785-9908, lex.lib.sc.us
Gilbert-Summit Branch: 405 Broad St., Gilbert, 803-785-5387, lex.lib.sc.us
Irmo Branch: 6251 St. Andrews Rd., Columbia, 803-798-7880, lex.lib.sc.us
Pelion Branch: 206 Pine St., Pelion, 803-785-3272, lex.lib.sc.us
South Congaree-Pine Ridge Branch: 200 Sunset Dr., West Columbia, 803-785-3050, lex.lib.sc.us
Swansea Branch: 199 N. Lawrence Ave., Swansea, 803-785-3519, lex.lib.sc.us
