FOLKSTON, Ga. — The first day of school is upcoming for many and one of the districts waiting the longest to go back is Charlton County Schools.
They were originally supposed to go back on Monday, until Debby passed through as a tropical storm.
After being pushed back for the past three days because of the storm, Thursday marked the official first day of school for the Charlton County School District. Not one or two, but three days later then the district planned.
The combination of high winds and flooding from the storm impacted the safety of students getting to and from school, especially for students who live along dirt roads in the southern part of Charlton County.
There are still some roads along bus routes that are closed from the flooding left behind from tropical storm Debby.
Only ten students will be impacted and they'll have an excused absence on Thursday because the buses are unable to get to their stop.
Superintendent Brent Tilley explains although there are no major changes to any bus routes the school year, it's important for students and guardians to be patient with bus drivers as they map out their route for the rest of the school year.
“For parents, I would just encourage them that if you have questions, or if you’re unsure of a bus stop location, we don’t have any that have changed but if you are unsure because you’re new or you weren’t able to get the information from the school, just contact the board of education,” he said.
Both students and their parents should be aware of some of the other changes that are coming to the district this school year.
According to Tilley, the biggest change is that the district will no longer be hosting early release days on a monthly basis.
This was a protocol developed during the Covid-19 Pandemic created to have more time for cleaning the classrooms, but later transitioned into a time for teachers to have training opportunities.
Tilley says they are cutting this to add more time for instruction in the classroom.
He adds that another major change won't start during the first week of school, but during the school year, construction is beginning for a brand new high school.
“Charlton County High School will be under construction within the next several months, so it’s going to be on the same site the high school is at now. So it will be a good bit of disruption to traffic flow and buses and pick up and drop off,” Dr. Tilley explained.
The new high school has been in the works before Tilley took the role of superintendent. He anticipates to break ground before the end of this school year.