As budget tightens, schools welcome help

Through a handful of courtesy services, the Jackson County School District is still managing to help keep resident’s wallets from getting any thinner, despite money being tight for public education.
In return for those services, Jackson County residents have plenty of opportunities to give back to their local schools, according to local principals.
“As far as the local economy goes, we’re one of the largest businesses, if not the largest, in the county. Our annual budget is over $96 million. That alone has a huge impact,” said Deputy Superintendent Larry Moore.
There are other, less noticeable ways the school board gives back.
The state only provides funding towards transportation for students who ride buses, and who live outside a two-mile radius from the school.
As a courtesy, the Jackson County School Board opts to provide bus transportation to all students, free of charge.
Aside from the cost of gas and drivers, the purchase of a bus itself is around $100,000 each, according to school district finance director Terry St. Cyr.
Additionally, all Jackson County students are able to partake of the district’s free breakfast.
Students may eat a nutritional breakfast for free at all the schools, every morning.
A free or reduced lunch is also available to students who qualify.
According to district food service manager Bryan Kent, less than half of the students who qualify for the reduced lunch are participating in the program.
Those interested in helping the schools in their community might want to consider the following suggestions from some of Jackson County’s school principals:
• “I think getting involved in the schools is the best way for a resident to help.  What is really great is when someone comes to the school to say, ‘What can I do to help?’  Some people or businesses have the resources to help financially in a large way; others may not be able to help on a large scale, but can donate a pack of copy paper or a book or two for the media center,” Sneads Elementary Principal Cheryl McDaniel said. “Some may not be able to give financially, but can clip BoxTops and bring them to the school or volunteer time in the classroom.  With the cuts in state funds that have occurred and that are still to come, community involvement is more important than ever.”
• “The thing that came to mind for me first was volunteer bus drivers. We need more people who can sit through the training and learn to drive a bus. Our staff has several staff members who are certified but we can always use more. If we do not have a volunteer to drive the bus we have to pay more for the use of the bus,”  Chris Franklin, principal of Graceville High School said.
• “We do participate in many ways of conservation and recycling through the Sunland Recycling Center.  Riverside’s PTO has fund raising projects annually to help Riverside and it’s students in many ways ... Riverside provides a ‘New Friends’ program for targeted students.  The students, who have a New Friend are chosen by their teachers based academic and/or behavior needs,” Riverside Elementary School Principal John Ellerbee said. “The new friends are students from Chipola College that sign up for this program. Our business partners and civic clubs help us throughout the year with special projects. These projects include holiday items for Riverside families in need and other emergency situations. They also purchase classroom supplies. Our technology department takes reusable computer parts and use them for repairs or recycle.”
• “At Graceville Elementary School, we always appreciate cash donations and/or funding for specific projects, volunteer hours, or coupons to use at local businesses (often used as rewards). Our community is wonderful to always help with our fund raising events,” Sarah Odom, administrative assistant at Graceville Elementary School said.  “With budgets tight and getting tighter, we are very thankful for any assistance. We would invite business partners, parents, and interested citizens to give us a call. We would be happy to match them up with a specific need.”
Phone numbers for all Jackson County Schools are listed in the phone book under “Jackson County Public Schools.”