Town Council votes on Housing Project

On Tuesday February 19th, the Winnsboro Town Council approved the rezoning of the Fairfield County School District Teacher Housing Project. Prior to the unanimous approval of the project, many Fairfield County residents and teachers spoke about the importance of this project. Fairfield Central educator, J. Renee Greene, spoke about her experience working in Fairfield County. She was not able to find adequate housing in the county when hired by the district. After many years of commuting from Columbia, Greene built a home in the county. While she was in a financial position to do so, many are unable to do the same. She stated that given the opportunity to lease in the teacher housing facility, she would have taken advantage of it. Additionally, Evette Howard, a resident of Fairfield County, spoke in support of the project. While she is not an employee of Fairfield County School District, she expressed her hope that the project will encourage the county to work on existing residential facilities. Other citizens expressed that this project will advance the economic development of the county. With the approval of the project by the Winnsboro Town Council, the developer in charge will begin construction of the project. The housing will be leased to teachers in the district with the hopes of attracting new teachers and provide housing for current teachers.