The Hall County School Board voted unanimously to resume an old practice of issuing gift cards to teachers for school supplies at their meeting Monday afternoon.
The cards will be worth $100 each, and Superintendent Will Schofield said they will be issued to all non-administrative staff members of the school district. The cards are to be used for basic classroom supplies. Schofield said it's a way to relieve some financial stress for teachers.
"Everybody knows that great teachers pull a lot of money out of their pockets to provide for the boys and girls within their classroom," Schofield said.
According to Deputy Superintendent Lee Lovett, the practice is something that the school board has done in the past, even as recently as 2013. He said recent economic downturns were the primary reason the cards were discontinued.
The cards will be issued before the start of this school year.
School Board looks to save money on diesel fuel
The board also voted Monday to purchase diesel fuel for the upcoming year at a price that should save the system a lot of money.
The board purchased the fuel in a futures contract that Schofield said could save the system between $300,000 and $500,000. The savings come after the school board had to go deep into its reserve funds for the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
