ST. MARYS, Ga. – Students in Camden and Ware counties returned to school Monday — the first school district in our area back in the classroom.
At St. Marys Elementary School, the King family was savoring the moment of the first day of school for Samantha, who entered pre-K.
“First day of school, first day of just being in a school, so just got to hope she doesn’t get too freaked out,” one of her parents said.
Going back to school is routine for Dianne McCoy and her grandson, Matt. McCoy is certain this year will be better than the last.
“This is a wonderful school,” she said. “Camden County has great schools.”
But the first day back didn’t go exactly as planned for Camden County Schools. The school district told News4JAX that there were issues with buses on Monday morning because it was short 15 to 20 bus drivers. According to the district, the shortage caused a few delays, and it’s still working out this issue.
The good news: There isn’t a teacher shortage in Camden County, the district said.
“Although there is a teacher shortage in Georgia, Camden County Schools is not experiencing a shortage. The vacancies we do have are listed on the CCS website,” the district said.
As far as the new school year goes, the district is planning to keep it as safe and as close to normal as possible.
Georgia families didn’t have a sales tax holiday like Florida, so higher prices were hitting everyone a little harder. To help, the state is giving all full-time teachers $125 to buy school supplies. The money comes from COVID-19 relief funds.
It’s the second round of federally-backed school support. The first round went to help students with special needs and recruit teachers in rural areas.
Georgia teachers can apply for the extra money now through Aug. 31. Click here for a full list of requirements.
And sure to upload your child’s back-to-school photos on SnapJAX! Click here to share your photos.