Construction has officially begun on a new tuition-free public charter school in Pickens County, with local elected officials, education leaders and community partners gathering Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Libertas Academy Easley. The school is slated to open for the 2027-28 school year, initially welcoming students in 4K through sixth grade before adding one grade level each year until it serves 4K through eighth grade.
The new campus, authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine, will sit at 340 Rolling Hills Circle in Easley, according to Greenville Journal. Libertas Academy already operates tuition-free campuses in Boiling Springs and Woodruff, and this marks its expansion into Pickens County, as reported by foxcarolina.com. The Easley campus will be managed by Tutelage School Solutions, a Columbia-based charter management organization, per Greenville Journal's reporting.
Tony Helton, CEO and founder of Tutelage School Solutions, said the ambition behind the project is straightforward: he wants the school to become Pickens County's top academically performing school, according to the same Greenville Journal account. That kind of goal places Libertas Easley alongside a competitive field of charter schools already putting up strong numbers elsewhere in the Upstate.
Local Leaders Frame the School as a New Choice for Families
Pickens County Council Chairman Chris Bowers spoke at the groundbreaking, saying the new school will give Pickens County parents more education choices, per Greenville Journal's reporting. Bowers also said he believes Libertas Academy will push the educational envelope further in Easley, and he pointed to the county's existing strength in education, noting that Pickens County has some of the best schools from its K5 program through secondary education, according to the outlet.
The building plans themselves are substantial for a school starting with just a handful of grade levels. Hubrich Contracting, serving as the project's design-builder from preconstruction through completion, says the campus will include a 54,246-square-foot two-story academic building paired with a 16,824-square-foot gymnasium, according to Hubrich Contracting. Combined, the structures will provide nearly 71,000 square feet of educational and athletic space, the company notes. Hubrich is partnering with Tutelage School Solutions and Mussman Architects on the build.
What a Libertas Education Looks Like
Families curious about the Libertas model can look to the network's Woodruff campus, which opened as a public charter school open to any child with a South Carolina address and no tuition cost, according to The Woodruff Times. That campus also began with 4K through sixth grade, adding seventh grade the following year, the paper reported. Libertas schools use a classical education model built around history, literature, core academic knowledge and character development, per the Woodruff Times account, and interest in the Woodruff campus was strong enough that it planned to enroll roughly 100 4K students in its first year while still carrying about 70 children on its 4K waiting list.
How Charter Schools Have Performed Statewide
Helton's stated goal of academic excellence comes against a backdrop of mixed but improving results for South Carolina's charter sector. The state had 111 operating charter schools during the 2025-26 school year, with 28 authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine — the same authorizer overseeing Libertas Easley — according to The State. Statewide, more than 60% of charter school students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts during 2025-26, compared with nearly 42% in mathematics, the paper reported.
Some of the state's strongest charter performers sit just up the road in Greenville. East Link Academy and the Greenville campus of GREEN Charter School were among only three charter schools statewide where elementary students topped 80% proficiency in both English language arts and math, per The State's analysis. Langston Charter Middle School in Greenville, meanwhile, ranked first among the state's charters in English language arts proficiency for grades 6 through 8. Those benchmarks offer a measuring stick for the kind of performance Libertas Easley's backers say they're chasing as construction moves forward in Pickens County.
