Thousands prepare for back to school in Fayette
Summer is ending, at least for school kids, and the 2016-2017 school year is set to begin.
The first day of school comes on Aug. 8, with the last day of the school year falling on May 26.
For the first time in eight years, the school system this year is requiring a residency check of all students. Parents must provide a current (dated within 60 days) electric bill with the parent’s name and address. The mailing address must match the service address. Other utility bills such as water, gas, phone and cable are not accepted.
“Parents of all enrolled students have received an email about the residency verification along with instructions on how to satisfy the requirement,” said school system spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach. “This can be done immediately by replying to the email, and including a scanned copy or photograph of the electric bill along with all students’ names and the schools they attend in the body of the email.
In terms of staffing, the school system is set for the new school year, though there is always a need for bus drivers, said Berry-Dreisbach.
Enrollment for the new school year beginning Aug. 8 remains to be seen. Enrollment when school ended in May showed 20,100 students in Fayette public schools. Year end totals for May 2015 showed 20,147 students. Preliminary enrollment projections from February anticipated 19,646 students.
Meals prices at schools will remain essentially the same as last year. The exceptions are the prices of lunch as elementary and middle schools which will increase by 10 cents.
Holidays through the end of the calendar year include Labor Day on Sept. 5, fall break on Oct. 10, Thanksgiving break from Nov. 21-25 and semester break coming on Dec. 19-30.
Holidays during the second half of the year include MLK Day on Jan. 16, President’s Day and winter break Feb. 20-24 and spring break April 3-7.
