Jesse Boyd School Replaces McCracken School
- Charles Reams
- Mar 26
- 2 min read
McCracken Middle School paves the way for Jesse Boyd Elementary School
So District 7 administrators have decreed.
Yet you can feel the tension in the community: there is sadness to see the old McCracken Middle School go and joy to see the Jesse Boyd Elementary School under construction.
Spartanburg School District 7 will demolish McCracken, which closed in 2020, and build a new Jesse Boyd School in its place.
Boyd will have more space and enhanced facilities. The new school is scheduled to be finished by August 2027.
Even though McCracken closed five years ago, residents fondly remember taking classes there. However, the 20-year-old nature trail will remain for faculty and students to enjoy.
Spartanburg School District 7 board member Jeff Mason said it was “bittersweet” to see the old McCracken Middle School being torn down.
A little over 20 years ago, he was a student there – McCracken was a junior high school in those days.
He even completed an Eagle Scout project on the school campus, leading to the construction of a natural walking trail and obstacle course. The project was featured in a 2004 Herald-Journal article that included Mason’s picture.
As heavy demolition equipment was ripping apart chunks of the building behind him, Mason pointed in the direction of his favorite teacher’s classroom.
In ninth grade, he took civics with Anne Martin, and “she really inspired a lot of students here,” he said. “This world would be a lot better if every student had a year in her class.”
Mason is pleased that the old McCracken, located on Webber Road, is being demolished for the benefit of future District 7 students. The campus will be the site of the new Jesse Boyd Elementary School.
Jesse Boyd opened 60 years ago on the east side of Spartanburg.
The building has been updated since then, but voters last fall approved a $47 million referendum to pay for the construction of a new school. The referendum also includes funding for an addition to Mary H. Wright Elementary to house a childcare center for District 7 employees as well as expansion of the district’s need-based 3K program.
“Jesse Boyd is a wonderful place that’s filled with wonderful students and families. I’m excited to bring that to a new building,” said principal Jonathan Duvall.
Duvall said the new Jesse Boyd will provide more space – the school serves about 600 children, and enrollment is on a slight upward trajectory. There will be an enhanced performance space and areas for collaborative learning.
“It will give our teachers more flexibility,” Duvall said.
The school is scheduled to open in August 2027.
The old McCracken facility was closed as a middle school in 2020. McCracken is now located in the former Spartanburg High School.
The trail that Mason helped to construct more than two decades ago is still part of the Webber Road campus.
“Our plan is to keep the trail in place,” Duvall said.
