Major upgrades to schools, new classrooms and additional child care on site are included in a proposed referendum for Spartanburg School District Seven. Superintendent Jeff Stevens said Monday night before Spartanburg City Council the referendum to modernize their schools and take care of their employees. “I’ve heard the statistics. There’s 29 people coming to this city every day, so if we want to be a part of the conversation from an educational standpoint, we want to make sure that we are moving at least at the pace of the city,” Stevens said. Below is a breakdown of the tax increase if the referendum is approved by voters: The $47 million proposal includes a new Jesse Boyd Elementary School on the site of the old McCracken Middle School and renovations to Mary Wright Elementary School to add more space and more child care. “For us to retain and recruit the best teachers possible for our students in district seven, this is why we made this such a priority for our district,” Stevens said. The superintendent said more child care was heavily supported in a survey of their employees. Spartanburg Mayor Jerome Rice, an employee of the district, echoed that importance. “We’ve actually had those conversations in the city about the importance of child care and the affordability of child care even more so,” Rice said. “We are also in the process of looking at that and talking about that.”The district will hold several community meetings before people head to the polls to vote on the referendum. Thursday, June 20 – 6 p.m. – District 7 Fine Arts Center at Spartanburg High SchoolMonday, July 18 – 6 p.m. – Drayton Mills Elementary SchoolTuesday, July 30 – 6 p.m. – District 7 Fine Arts Center at Spartanburg High SchoolTuesday, Aug. 13 – noon and 6 p.m. (two sessions) – Mt. Moriah Baptist ChurchMonday, Aug. 19 – 6 p.m. – District 7 Fine Arts Center at Spartanburg High School”That speaks to you– if successful. If it’s not successful, we really don’t have a Plan B right now, so we are hoping for success, and we’re really trying to educate our community on what it actually looks like,” Stevens said. The referendum vote will happen on Aug. 20.