Education The Georgetown County School District has lowered the pupil/teacher ratio to 15:1 in all first grades, 18:1 in all second grades, 19:1 in the middle schools, 18:1 in high schools greater than 700 students, 16:1 in high schools less than 700. These ratios allow for more individualized attention and provide a better learning environment at the various grade levels. In addition to the public school system, there are three private schools. Pawleys Island Montessori Day School offers training from pre-kindergarten through 6th grade. Andrews Christian School covers kindergarten through 8th grade and Low Country Day School 1st grade through high school. A recent survey of high school graduates revealed that 65 percent of graduates enter college,12 percent begin technical college training and 23 percent enter the work force. Colleges: Coastal Carolina University: 4 year Horry-Georgetown Technical College: 2 year Webster University: MA and MBA (Myrtle Beach) Public Schools: High Schools: 5 Middle Schools: 4 Elementary Schools: 9 Total Enrollment: 10,061 Pupil/Teacher ratio: 15:1 Higher Education and Specialized Training Higher Education The Georgetown campus of Horry-Georgetown Technical college, conveniently located adjacent to the Georgetown Airport Park, is the fastest growing campus in terms of new enrollment of any campus in the system. The college just completed a $1.5 million expansion program that doubled its facilities. Horry-Georgetown Technical College offers 19 associate degree and 36 certificate programs. Coastal Carolina University offers Baccalaureate degree programs in 37 fields of study, in addition to their graduate programs. Master of Arts and MBA degree programs are available at Webster University in Myrtle Beach, 30 miles away. The Center for Accelerated Technology Training The Center for Accelerated Technology Training (CATT) focuses on the training needs of new and existing business and industry in South Carolina. Four technology specific training teams have been created: semiconductor technology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical technology and information technology. Other areas of focus include manufacturing technology and distribution technology. The purpose of this effort is not only to be able to provide the highest quality of training but also to be able to reduce training program development, recruitment and implementation time for a manufacturer's facility startup or expansion. Health Care Facilities Georgetown Memorial Hospital in Georgetown is a 142 bed acute care medical facility offering a full complement of inpatient and outpatient services, including a level 3 trauma center, labor and delivery, diagnostic imaging, and oncology. The hospital is staffed by more than 80 physicians representing a wide range of specialty areas. Waccamaw Community Hospital, which opened in November, 2002, has 54 inpatient beds as well as 29 beds in an acute physical rehabilitation center and a 24-hour emergency department. WCH also offers outpatient services, community programs and special events. The newest member of the system is the Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment Center located in the Yawkey Medical Park on Highway 701 in Georgetown. The facility, which opened in 2004, brings radiation therapy to Georgetown County for the first time. Medical oncology/chemotherapy is also available at the Center. Other facilities owned by Georgetown Memorial Hospital include Georgetown Outpatient Therapy Center in Georgetown, which includes a pain therapy center, rehab services, and wound care services; HealthPoint Center for Health and Fitness, located in Pawleys Island, a comprehensive health and fitness facility staffed by fully trained and credentialed fitness professionals; Andrews Medical Center in Andrews, which offers family practice, specialty care, rehab services, and nutritional counseling; Waccamaw Medical Park, located in Murrells Inlet, offering physicians offices, pharmacy, diagnostics, and rehab services; and Waccamaw Same Day Surgery Center, located in Murrells Inlet. Utilities Electricity Four major suppliers provide electrical service in Georgetown County. Santee Cooper, Santee Electric Cooperative, Progress Energy and the City of Georgetown all offer reliable supply-competitive rates well below the national average. Natural Gas SCE&G and the South Carolina Pipeline Corporation, both subsidiaries of SCANA Corporation, provide natural gas transmission and distribution services to wholesale and retail customers in Andrews and Georgetown. Water and Sewer Clean water supplies are abundant and a consolidated regional wastewater system is being expanded through the cooperative efforts of the county's three primary providers: the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District, the City of Georgetown and the Town of Andrews. Telecommunications Instant access throughout the world is available through communication services, including high-speed data transmission, digital voice systems, fiber optics, a local POP station and Internet access. All of this is available through Verizon, one of the largest investor-owned carriers, and the Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc., the largest telephone co-op in the United States. Financial Institutions Banks in Georgetown County Assets (Dollars in Thousands) Bank of America $642,191,000 The South Financial Group (Carolina First) $5,220,554 Conway National Bank $498,170 First Citizens Bancorporation (First Citizens Bank) $3,240,510 First Financial Holdings, Inc (First Federal of Charleston, Peoples Federal) $2,256,511 Synovus Financial Corp.(National Bank of South Carolina) $14,908,092 Sun Bank $25,000 Plantation Financial Corp. (Plantation Federal) $71,780 Citizens Bancshares Corporation (The Citizens Bank) $156,523 Wachovia $322,000,000 Roads, Air Service and Waterways The County of Georgetown is connected to U.S. 521, the major northwest highway through the town of Andrews. In April 2001 $4.8 million was spent to acquire a right-of-way for the 521 bypass around the town of Andrews. Construction has begun on four miles of four-lane road that will take 36 months to complete at a cost of $30.4 million. Interstate-26 at Charleston and Interstate-95 at Manning are only an hour away. Commercial air service to Georgetown County is through Myrtle Beach International Jetport. For those who use private planes, the county's non-commercial airport with a runway length of 5,000 feet is just south of the city, adjacent to the area's business and industrial park. The Town of Andrews also has a non-commercial airport that can accommodate recreational and small commercial aircraft. Georgetown has always been a seaport town with some of the finest waterways in the world. For those who travel by boat, the Intracoastal Waterway cuts through the eastern side of the county and Winyah Bay offers a direct water link to the Atlantic Ocean and the world. The Port of Georgetown Georgetown is the oldest continuously open seaport on the eastern seaboard. It is known as a shallow-draft port, with a water level of 27 feet. This is a break-bulk port that imports salt, cement, wire, aluminum, forest products and limestone. The port also leases a berth to ISG, a major importer of raw materials. The Port of Georgetown is the South Carolina State Ports Authority's dedicated break-bulk and bulk facility. It annually handles approximately 1.8 million tons of cargo.