Allendale County Schools Seeks Bids for Tigers Stadium Track Lighting Upgrade

A Tiger track program that claimed more than six South Carolina state titles while never having a home facility is now one public bid away from lights on its own field. Allendale County Schools posted formal bid documents Monday for stadium and track lighting at Allendale-Fairfax High School, opening the project to contractors under state procurement rules.

The district's open-bids page lists a specifications packet, completion drawings, and a bid addendum for the project. The specification file, labeled "Specifications - Track Lighting - Allendale County Schools - 040620," is paired with architectural drawings titled "Completion of Track Lighting - Drawings," prepared by FWA Architects. The district has already issued one addendum containing clarifying changes to design or schedule requirements, which any contractor must incorporate to submit a valid proposal.

The scope covers completion and modernization of the track lighting system: pole foundations, luminaires, conduit, wiring, control systems, and coordination with local utility services. Contractors are expected to review the full specifications, conduct a site visit at 3581 Allendale-Fairfax Hwy in Fairfax, and submit sealed proposals by the district's advertised deadline. The procurement office will evaluate bids on cost, specification compliance, and contractor qualifications before awarding a contract, a step that typically requires school board approval.

For a program that once had to leave Allendale County entirely just to practice, the practical stakes of the upgrade are concrete: without adequate lighting, evening meets cannot be hosted, late practices end when daylight fades, and community events tied to the track are limited to daylight hours. The facility itself was hard-won. When the Allendale-Fairfax track first opened, it drew a ribbon-cutting attended by SC House Representative Lonnie Hosey of District 91 and Representative Bill Clyburn of District 82, a sign of how much the project meant to a county that had watched its athletes compete at the state level for years with nowhere to train at home.

The Tigers have not waited for the lights to compete at the highest level. At the SC Track and Field State Championships at Harry Parone Stadium, a standout AFHS duo each claimed four gold medals in a single meet, powering Allendale-Fairfax to its second consecutive Class A boys' title. That back-to-back championship run, achieved by a school of roughly 300 students in grades 9 through 12, has made the lighting project something more than a convenience; it is infrastructure that a championship-caliber program needs to host meets and train at full capacity year-round.

The financial stakes for taxpayers are substantial in a county with little margin for error. Allendale County's median household income sits at approximately $31,603, roughly half the South Carolina statewide median of $66,818, and about 48.1% of county residents under 18 live below the poverty line. Approximately 95% of the district's 928 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and per-pupil revenue of around $18,555 relies primarily on state sources (52.6%) and federal funding (15.8%), leaving little cushion if a capital project overruns its bid. The South Carolina Department of Education has designated Allendale County School District a Priority School district.

With no local newspaper in Allendale County, the district's procurement portal serves as one of the few formal public accountability mechanisms available to residents. The full bid documents are accessible through the Finance section of the Allendale County Schools website. The school can be reached directly at (803)-584-2311.