Allendale County Schools unveils performing arts center, earns statewide recognition

Allendale-Fairfax Middle High School now has a new performing arts center built to do more than host school shows. The space includes a full stage, advanced lighting, seating for 420, a warming kitchen and a telescopic bleacher system, giving students a larger venue for concerts, performances and community events in the heart of the campus.

The project was highlighted as Allendale County Schools was recognized as “Best in Education for the state of South Carolina” in Business View Magazine’s May issue. In a district that has spent years trying to reset its public image, Superintendent Dr. Vallerie C. Cave described the work as “rebuilding, reuniting, redesigning our school district for a pathway forward,” and said the rebranding motto is “Together We Can Do This.”

The construction effort is being handled as a CM-at-risk project with M.B. Kahn and MPS Architecture. Under that model, the contractor says the owner gets more control over contractor selection and a guaranteed maximum price before construction begins. M.B. Kahn says the approach can save 5% to 15% of project costs and says the company has completed more than $1.2 billion in CM-at-risk contracts. District bid information also shows renovations to Allendale-Fairfax Middle and High School moving in phases, with a Phase 2 invitation to bid already issued for contractors and vendors.

For families, the first payoff is the arts center itself, but the broader work points to a larger campus reset at the middle-high school complex. The new facility is expected to be unveiled to faculty, students and the community, and the phased renovation plan suggests more work is still coming to the same campus.

That matters in a county where the stakes remain high. Allendale County had 8,039 residents in the 2020 Census, and the median household income was $32,328 in 2024 ACS estimates. On June 19, 2017, state education officials declared a state of emergency in the Allendale County School District after years of poor academic performance, financial and programmatic concerns and low morale. At the time, three of the district’s four schools were on the state priority list, and officials said the district was receiving more than $17,000 per student in combined local, state and federal funds. Cave, an Allendale County native and 1978 Allendale-Fairfax High School graduate who taught first grade at Allendale Primary for eight years, is now trying to turn that history into a more stable future for the district.