Board accepts voluntary relinquishment of Palmetto Excel charters for three campuses

The South Carolina Public Charter School District board on Dec. 11 accepted staff’s recommendation to accept voluntary relinquishment of charters for Palmetto Excel’s North Charleston, Sumter and Spartanburg campuses subject to written resolutions from the school’s board before the district’s Jan. 8, 2026 meeting.

John R. Payne said the relinquishment followed a Palmetto Excel board vote to transfer the schools to Voorhees; district staff said they had not received confirmation from Voorhees about any transfer. Payne and another staff member identified the Palmetto Excel program as an adult charter high-school model: two campuses had no enrolled students and one campus was serving 154 students as of the Monday before the meeting. Payne characterized voluntary relinquishment as a way to provide a “clean break” so the schools could apply for a new charter under a different sponsor and model.

Trustees asked whether a charter could be transferred if it had been relinquished; staff explained that voluntary relinquishment allows the school to apply to a new sponsor for a new charter and that the new sponsor would review and approve any model changes. The board moved, seconded and approved the staff recommendation by voice vote. The motion required the district to receive written resolutions from Palmetto Excel’s board voluntarily relinquishing the charters prior to the district’s Jan. 8, 2026 meeting.