Despite water outage at one, Habersham schools have good first day

CLARKESVILLE - A storm-related water outage at Fairview Elementary School in Habersham County really was nothing more than an inconvenience on the first day of school.<br /> <br /> Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper said Friday afternoon the staff and students at Fairview took the lack of water in stride.<br /> <br /> "For elementary students, it's really kind of an adventure," Cooper said. "The administrators and staff handled it very well, and even were calling it Camp Fairview."<br /> <br /> Cooper said this is the first time in his education career he can remember morning thunderstorms on the first day of school, but said buses ran on time even in the storms.<br /> <br /> "Everything was pretty smooth," Cooper said. "If the kids are safe, the rest of the things you can deal with."<br /> <br /> Cooper said other aspects of the first day were good, and that many people are telling him it's the smoothest first day yet.<br /> <br /> "That's the only real challenge we faced," Cooper said of the water outage. <br /> <br /> He said portable toilets were brought in quickly and placed in a large covered area just outside the building.<br /> <br /> Cooper said he will release preliminary enrollment figures after Monday, noting usually there are quite a few children who miss the first day of school.<br /> <br /> As of now, Cooper anticipates steady enrollment close to last year's.