As summer vacation ends for many students, parents are beginning to gear up for the new school year. However, this year the “gear” will be a whole lot lighter for Lumpkin County students. The Lumpkin County School System (LCSS) has announced that all school supplies will be free for all students.
School systems across the state, and nation, are receiving relief funding from Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Relief Plan. According to Jason Lemley, the director of public relations, buying school supplies for students is how the LCSS wanted to use their funds. “When our schools system was looking at these additional funds we are getting in three different installments over the course of the next few years, we were trying to determine exactly how as a district administration we were going to use the funds and what we were going to prioritize.”
Lemley says that there are restrictions and stipulations on how the funds can be used. For instance, funds are not allowed to lower taxes within the community. So, Lemley said they had to evaluate how they could best use the funds within the guidelines. “We asked, what can we do to help families since we do have these additional funds that we will be getting? That’s where the conversation started. And we were able to come up with his and make this happen.”
This means there will be no school supply lists given out this year. It means parents will not be asked to buy a single thing to help provide items needed in the classroom, not at the beginning of the year, and not at all. “We have made it very clear to our principals and our teachers, anything they need, we need to know about it. We will cover with these funds and there is to be no asking for additional school supplies from teachers or from the schools at any point during the school year. We don’t want our parents or families to have to supply anything as far as school supplies are for this coming school year.”
Lemley says this is important for families as they try to budget in a hard economy, but it’s also important for the teachers. Many teachers are used to having to go without at times, or just buy the supplies out of their own pocket. He hopes it will be a relief for teachers to have the items that they need. “There have been years that have been very tight and our teachers have become accustomed to not asking for things that they might want or need for their classroom. While we aren’t bursting with money, and we can’t buy every single thing that every teacher wants, if it is something that might help them in their classroom or that they need to be successful, then we will make sure that happens for them and for our students,” says Lemley.
Parents should also feel some relief in knowing that the items are taken care of this year. Lemley says that, while things are better for most people than they were a year ago, every little bit helps. He knows firsthand as a parent with three kids in school. “I know for myself, we buy school supplies, and I know that for a family of three, we have to spend several hundred dollars every summer. So, for families that might not have the financial means to get all the things that teachers and schools request on the list, we are happy to do this.”
As a side note, all meals will be provided for students, as well. That was a federal decision thanks to the Food and Drug Administration, and it applies for all students across the state of Georgia. Lemley said that, after two years of lunches being free, he hopes that will continue in the future, beyond this year, but that’s a not a local decision. Regardless, having school meals and supplies paid for this year, should be an extra blessing to many families in the community.
