For more than two years, Horry County Schools fought against giving school builder Firstfloor Energy Positive and its contractors tax breaks worth nearly $1.5 million.
But the dispute quietly came to an end this year when Horry County Board of Education Chairman Ken Richardson signed off on the tax deal â shortly before the district gutted the part of its facilities department funded by capital dollars.
Emails obtained through a public records request show how Firstfloor officials pursued the tax breaks, even refusing to sign off on a road project for a Carolina Forest school as an objection to being denied a benefit the firm insisted it was due. Those emails also show how school district officials steadfastly opposed approving the builderâs request until suddenly changing course this year.